I Saw All Of Tuscany In One Hour… From A Balloon!
While planning my trip in luxury to Tuscany to mark a milestone birthday, I knew I wanted to somehow see as much of the beauty and experience as much of Tuscany that it has to offer. The problem I ran into was trying to see all of the breathtaking village cities like must-see San Gimignano and Siena, do all the wine tastings starting with the fabulous award-winning Buccelletti Winery nearby Casa Portagioia b & b villa where we stayed for the week in the heart of Tuscany, indulge in savoring the finest decadent Italian cuisine (which is basically anywhere you eat in this region) and eat A LOT of the best gelato on the planet. All while soaking in as much of the beauty the Tuscan countryside holds in less than a week. It’s virtually impossible to even scratch the surface in such a short period of time. So how could we magically capture everything we couldn’t see during the week all in one hour you may ask?
it Also was important to me that this specific trip be marked with a unique experience, filled with luxury, that me, my family and my dear friends who joined me on this Tuscan adventure would be able to look back on as a special experience that we shared for years to come.
Enter: “Wine in the Sky – Ballooning in Tuscany”.
A private luxury hot air ballooning, food and wine adventure for you and your loved ones that promises an experience you will never forget, and truly a one of a kind five star adventure. This once in a lifetime event is a joint partnership between the acclaimed Avignonesi Winery (http://www.avignonesi.it/wine-in-the-sky/) in the heart of Tuscany and Ballooning in Tuscany (http://www.ballooningintuscany.com), which is the number one balloon ride company on the region.
I Saw All Of Tuscany In One Hour From A Hot Air Balloon!
Avignonesi had been on my radar for quite some time, more specifically, being able to try their world-famous sweet wine known for its “Nectar of the Gods” characteristic. The big surprise came when I was there and tried their acclaimed Avignonesi-Capannelle 50 & 50, but I’ll get to that later…
Ballooning in Tuscany was the perfect choice and way to see the all of the beauty that the Tuscany countryside holds. One thing they had was a choice of a larger balloon at a discounted price, if you wanted to join along with other people. But this had to be special. We opted for the more intimate option of a private six to eight passenger balloon, and I’m glad we did. The exclusive experience for our group of five was extraordinary.
Here are my Five Star highlights of the day in order of how it all went down.
1. THE LUXURIOUS PRIVATE LIMO
Transport to and from this day’s special excursion was referred to us by Avignonesi and then the innkeepers at our beautiful villa, Casa Portagioia, just outside of Castiglion Fiorentino (named the #1 Bed & Breakfast in the world by Trip Advisor three years in a row) followed through and arranged the Luxurious private car service, Tuscany Luxury Transfers. At 5:00am, about ninety-minutes before sunrise, we were picked up at in an ultra-comfortable VIP Mercedes limo with reclining seats - allowing those of us who needed a bit more rest to do so while our driver brought us safely to the Avignonesi Winery, and all before sunrise!
2. THE BALLOON EXPERIENCE
Upon arrival we were greeted by our accomplished balloon captain, who pilots balloon tours year-round all over the world year, and his impressive crew. We were given a run-down of what to expect, including how the chase car would follow us and pick us up at the end wherever we land in the Tuscan countryside. He even asked us to help the crew in both the balloon set up and stow away process…wait, you mean I have to help set up the balloon?! What the heck am I paying for??
Fear not! Although some assembly is required, the expert crew makes it an incredibly smooth and fun process. We proceeded to go through about twenty-minutes of the balloon setup and inflation process and were able to watch it rise into the sky just as the sun began to hit the horizon – I felt as if I had been inserted into a Michelangelo painting.
Once inflated, we carefully loaded into the basket, which had plenty of extra room with our group of five and our captain. After a few blasts from the burner we were off before we knew it, and it was surprisingly peaceful as we lifted off. We couldn’t have asked for a better late-summer morning for this incredible experience with sun peaking over one of the lakes off in the distance as we ascended up into the morning sky.
It was time for the real magic to begin.
The beauty of the landscape immediately captured our eyes, and that’s when we saw it…fields upon fields of glorious vineyards followed by even larger fields of sunflower and olive tree farms as we coasted over the early morning Tuscan landscape. It wasn’t a minute before we soared past the Avignonesi Vineyards and over the vast landscape, seeing all of the vast farms and villages filled with castles and cathedrals of all sizes towering up out of the small enclaves. Our captain expertly guided us over the most beautiful rolling hills we’ve ever seen while pointing out some of the need to know landmarks.
After what seemed like 5 minutes, our one hour long trip (yep, just one hour), that was indeed long enough to get a vast birdseye glimpse of all the Tuscan countryside and many of it’s beautiful village cities.
We touched down in an open field that we found as a suitable landing site. This was where we helped deflate and stow the balloon, with help from the crew, in one of the chase vehicles that had been following us to our landing location.
Once the balloon was safely tucked away, we were given a lovely glass of bubbly while they presentated us “official balloon flight certificates”, followed by a brisk return to the vineyard to continue the rest of our morning’s festivities.
THEY EVEN PROVIDED US WITH A MAP THAT HAD OUR BALLOON’S ROUTE HIGHLIGHTED!
3. THE BRUNCH
About 9:00am, we arrived back at the vineyard where we were greeted by our vineyard host and tour guide. We were escorted by our host through the impressive tasting rooms and lead into the magnificent outdoor dining area that was situated alongside rows of grapevines overlooking the countryside. After being seated at the beautiful dining table, we were greeted by the winery’s executive chef who was going to prepare and serve a brunch exclusively for us.
The experience was one of a kind and I highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for a very exclusive and unique brunch at one of Tuscany’s premier wineries.
4. THE TOUR
Nestled between Cortona and Montepulciano, Avignonesi has become known for and is the leader in biodynamic viticulture producing beautiful and organic wines, while maintaining the integrity of the grapes and doing all that is possible to live and work in harmony with the land around them.
Immediately following brunch, our host gave us a private guided tour of the impressive Avignonesi Estate and Winery. The extensive tour walked us through the entire wine making process from vine to bottle. We got an overview of the nine vineyard plots, villa, chapel and the historic wine cellars including the unique aging cellar for its revered sweet wine, “Nectar of the Gods”. We even had the opportunity to go deep in the wine cellar cave and down to the haunted stairwell, where a ghost lurks, that has been left “as is” for anyone who dares to climb!
5. THE TASTING
After the tour, we were led into the cellar tasting where our incredible morning and early afternoon was topped off with a tasting of 4 very special wines including that revered sweet wine and my own personal favorite - the acclaimed Avignonesi-Capannelle 50 & 50. A truly a perfect red blend and – Oh My God were there fireworks. This is one of the very best reds I have ever experienced. Thankfully, I was lucky enough to walk away with two bottles of the 50 & 50 in hand, and at a nice discount, to experience this beautiful wine in the privacies of my beautiful Tuscan home.
After all of the wine festivities came to a close, we were led back to our private limo coach and away we went back at our Villa at Casa Portagioia, finished by about 1:00pm! to enjoy the rest of our day relaxing by our lavishly heated pool and taking in the gorgeous Five Star views of the rolling hills of Tuscany.
un giorno perfetto! - “A Perfect Day!”
an extraordinarilY PERFECT day indeed!
So, if you’re looking for an extraordinarily luxurious experience during your Tuscan getaway, look no further than this Wine In The Sky – Ballooning Over Tuscany excursion.
It gets my coveted 2020 Five Star Seal of Approval.
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Now, get out there, live bougie… and start experiencing the world in luxury!
Ciao,
Patrick