The memories of our wonderful experience at La Vialla’s Speisekammer (pantry) in Rothrist were still fresh in our minds, when the invitation arrived, to spend a week at the home of Fattoria La Vialla in the heart of Tuscany! After years of dreamingly leafing through the alluring catalogs, filled with beautiful pictures of olive groves, festive tables at sunset, overflowing with incredible treats and more than anything, smiling faces, we couldn’t wait to explore the place where it all began, almost exactly 45 years ago, when Piero and Giuliana Lo Franco decided to make a small plot of Tuscan earth their home and slowly transformed it into a paradise of Demeter agriculture, showing that it is possible to live with the land and enjoy its bounty, without depleting it.
A warm Tuscan welcome à La Vialla
The sign on the road is small, easy to overlook, but we immediately feel that we are in the right place. Slowing down our car and opening the windows, we let the warm breeze in, as we slowly drive up the hill, passing through a beautiful vineyard, right to the main gate. We leave the car and step out into the main courtyard, the “piazzetta”, with the charming rustic stone buildings and the row of Cypress trees leading the way up to the main house. Tables are set out and happy families share their lunch in the shade of the trees, cheerfully tended to by the smiling Viallini, one of whom greets us with a hearty: “Buongiorno! Com’è stai? Welcome to Fattoria La Vialla! Annette is already waiting for you over there!” After a warm hug and cheerful welcome from our wonderful host, Annette, we sit down at the table, where a feast awaits. Home-cooked ribollita (a hearty Tuscan bean soup with lots of vegetables), a lavish farmers salad, beautifully garnished with olives and artichokes, freshly baked bread and other delicacies make our hearts jump and we toast with a bubbling glass of sparkling wine to an amazing week ahead at the one and only Fattoria La Vialla!
Rustic comfort – our home away from home
After lunch the adventure begins, as we follow Annette on the rugged road up the hill, to our beautiful rustico “Casale di Sotto Loggia”. Situated in a clearing on the hills above La Vialla, surrounded by 30 hectares of unspoilt chestnut and oak woodlands, stands the old farmhouse and 2 outhouses, simply yet perfectly restored by the Viallini. Almost from the beginning of their adventure the Lo Franco family started to run La Vialla as an agriturismo, bit by bit restoring the old farm and country houses on the property as La Vialla grew. Their guiding approach has always been to offer an authentic and intimate experience of the real Tuscany, maintain as much as possible of the original structure and use vintage furnishings to showcase the traditional Tuscan way of living, while providing modern comforts for their guests. When you stay at these rusticos, you’re not just enjoying a beautiful view, you’re also experiencing a piece of history!
We immediately fall in love with our cosy abode and when we find a lavish welcome basket on our dining table, filled with the best La Vialla has to offer, we know, this is going to be a magical week. And as we sit in front of the crackling woodfire in the evening, enjoying a delicious bowl of pasta and a glass of wine, we already feel at home.
A morning in paradise – exploring La Vialla’s woodlands
We wake early without any alarm to the first light of the sun peaking through our windows and the sounds of nature. As we step outside of our house, the grass is still wet with morning dew. It truly is a magical place! Wooden tables and benches outside the houses, some sun chairs here and there, wild herbs growing in the garden, a pool and outdoor fireplace nearby, what more can one ask for?
After a great breakfast in the garden, relishing a steaming cup of coffee with some fresh bread and La Vialla’s incredible orange marmalade and chocolate spread, we are ready for action. Before we head down to the farm though, we take a lovely morning walk through the hills. Equipped with a cute hand-drawn map and guided by the signposts in La Vialla’s signature writing, we make our way through the forrest. A large part of La Vialla’s property is stunning untouched woodland, a treasure trove of wildlife and biodiversity. The birdsong in the woods is mesmerising as we merrily follow the meandering path leading us up to Casa Spedale, another rustico, overlooking the vineyards, in which the grapes for some of La Vialla’s best wines are growing. The view of the valley from up here is breathtaking and it is easy to understand the potential of this land Piero and Giuliana must have felt, when they first laid eyes on it 45 years ago.
Fresh from the oven – A La Vialla greeting from the kitchen
The taste of the warm “Viallini” cookies straight from the oven tray is breathtaking. The delightful treat with raisins, pine and walnuts, and a sip of Vin Santo, melts in our mouths as we observe the baking team hard at work. The scent had lured us in from the outside and everyone welcomes us with a big smile. And while these delights are available to order, it is an altogether different sensation to try them warm straight from the oven.
The same goes for the amazing sourdough bread, baked every morning by Dimitri, who is the first to rise at La Vialla, to mill the flour in the magnificent historical stone-mill! Excited, he lets us smell a handful of this morning’s flour while which has a wonderful, almost nutty aroma! Nothing beats the old way of doing things, right?
La Vialla- building innovation upon tradition
The contrast of the old stone-mill and the modern sauce kitchen is stark, but the guiding principle behind both of them is the same, as Annette explains: “At La Vialla we treat the precious raw ingredients the land gives us with the utmost respect and process them in a way that maintains the highest amount of nutrients and flavour. In our flour this means using the ancient art of slow stone-grinding. In our kitchen however we cook in modern vacuum-sealed pots, instead of the old style, as this allows us to use much lower temperatures, which keeps the nutrients intact and makes the flavour more intense. We marry innovation with tradition for the very best results.” There is certainly no arguing with that and the sauce of pasta we enjoyed the night before is a testament to capturing the perfection of summer in a glass!
Demeter farming at its best – La Vialla’s commitment to the living land and sustainability
The humming and buzzing is unmistakable. This is bee and insect paradise! Walking through one of the glorious Vialla vineyards one cannot but marvel at the beauty and abundance of natural diversity. In between the rows of vines, which are starting to turn green with the first shoots, a rich tapestry of legumes and flowers already blossom and keep the bees busy. Touching the fertile soil in our hands, seeing the rich web of rootlets, it is obvious that the La Vialla method of Demeter agriculture not only creates the most excellent wines but also works in harmony with nature, enriching the land.
A wine lover’s heaven – visiting La Vialla’s wine cellar
The wine in the glass is golden, with an amber hue. The intense nose of dried apricots, vanilla, honey and a myriad of more subtle notes beguiles immediately. But it is the cloudy, turbid look of the wine, that catches our attention! This unique quality comes from not filtering out the yeasts, as we learn from Annette. Apart from the characteristics the grapes derive from the soil, each vineyard also has its own autochthonous yeasts, which create a lively bouquet like none other. The taste is incredibly rewarding and leaves us wanting for more!
A toast to perfection – Tasting La Vialla’s liquid gold
As we continue our tasting of La Vialla’s extraordinary wines a few days later with wine expert Jordan during a quiet moment in the shop (our tip – have a stroll there while the public tours are going on), we keep being blown away by their variety and depth. A few of their aged unfiltered reds make it immediately onto our favourites list like the Casal Duro and the Podere La Casotta! We even get a chance to taste La Vialla’s magnum bottling, the “Casa Quaranta”, which has been partially matured in clay amphoras! The nose is incredibly complex, an intricate dance of berries, spices and oak! Clearly this is a giant in the making, whose true potential will only reveal itself after a couple of more years in the quiet cellars of La Vialla!
Fattoria La Vialla – where guests become friends
Before we know it, we wistfully realize that our sojourn at La Vialla has almost come to an end. Our week at this magical place quite honestly flew by in a heartbeat and we never even managed to do the horseback riding lessons or the mountain bike trip we had planned. Between day trips to charming Arezzo and Florence, we indulged in the thermal baths of Petriolo, which are located about an hour and half south-west of La Vialla and are only second to the famous therme of Saturnia. The weather still being a bit cold, enjoying a bath in the hot water that comes out right out of the mountain is just about the best one can do to rejuvenate body and soul.
But quite honestly more than anything we enjoyed our time at La Vialla itself, cooking up delicious meals, sitting by the fireplace at night, grabbing the “Carta dei Sentieri” and exploring the beautiful surrounding hills or popping down to the main square for a cup of coffee, a glass of wine or just a chat. The “piazzetta” is the gathering place to meet and talk, enjoy a meal and just be in the moment. It is here where guests become friends and one feels that La Vialla is an extended family!
Farewell to paradise
It is in this elated mood on our last evening that we join the other guests, nay friends, at the main building for a full dinner à la Fattoria La Vialla. The apéro outside is a feast for the eyes, with a broad range of antipasti to choose from. We all clink glasses with some sparkling rosé as the sun sets in dramatic colours behind the horizon. As dusk settles, we stroll inside and are served a wonderful dinner by the Viallini, boasting the best La Vialla has to offer, accompanied by some fantastic wines. The conversation flows freely, children play and run, and there isn’t a happier place in the world than right here, right now.
At the end of the dinner, Jordan approaches us with a special bottle. “I don’t believe you had a chance to try this one earlier!” The viscous amber elixir swirls slowly in our glasses, the nose ripe with dried dates, raisins, apricots and honey! “This is our Vin Santo – the wine of the saints. In Tuscany a Vin Santo is the true pride of any winemaker and reserved for special guests. I hope you guys had a fantastic week here and carry the Viallini spirit back home with you. It was great to meet you. Salute!” As we slowly sip the precious liquid, surrounded by friends, we couldn’t be happier. The dream of Piero and Giuliana, carried forward by their sons and all the Viallini, has created a unique place, where strangers become friends and a kinder relationship between us humans and the living world seems possible. And as we depart the next morning after a very fond farewell from Annette and the whole team, we know that this has only been the first of many visits yet to come. Their words resonate with us, as we drive out of the gate: “See you soon, when the grapes are ripe and the olive harvest awaits! You have a home in Tuscany now!”
After dinner, we drove up to our cottage with all the amazing wines, oils, sauces, and pasta we had bought in the shop on the day. We really suggest stocking up on these delicious goodies because you will surely miss them once you depart! Of course, you can also order them online if you prefer.
The departure
The next morning we got up early to enjoy our coffee made with a traditional Bialetti machine. As a little thank you, we baked some fresh apple pie and banana and almond loaf cakes for our wonderful hosts. We used some of the ingredients we found in the shop at the farm to prepare them. We could see how their faces lit up when the news spread throughout the kitchen! They had already made us a part of their family by accepting the sweets and we wish we had baked some more because they were gone so quickly!
The week here was a stop on our whole journey of discovering vegan-friendly spots through Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna. You can also check out our whole guide to vegan travel through Tuscany and Emilia Romagna.
