Villa le Prata - Residenza del Vescovo

Every corner of Tuscany has its partisans, surely, but there’s no place quite like Montalcino, famous for the walled hilltop city, its idyllic surroundings, and the region’s coveted sangiovese grosso wines. And to that list of attractions you can add at least one extraordinary hotel. Villa le Prata - Residenza del Vescovo is a scant five minutes’ drive from the city walls, and it’s as pure an introduction to the delights of Tuscan countryside living as you could possibly ask for.

Olive groves, vineyards, cypresses gently swaying in the sea breeze — and, at the center of it all, the Villa itself, a 19th-century hunting lodge built by a local count, and later the home of the bishop of Montalcino. It’s part of a working wine estate, and the Brunello di Montalcino flows freely, while its rooms, named for a variety of local personages and places, recapture the grandeur of the 1800s (even as they provide the comforts of the present day). Wine tastings, tours, and special dinners or picnic lunches can be arranged, and breakfast is a lavish spread served in the garden, when weather permits — and another of the region’s charms is the fact that the weather in summer is almost always obliging.