We absolutely adored our time at Agriturismo Marciano: on arrival there was a glass of wine each (with refills!) waiting for us and Nadia was so welcoming and kind. Our room was spacious and beautifully furnished; we stayed in the Verde room, and the bathroom was probably the nicest we experienced in Italy.
The brilliant thing about the location of this agriturismo is that though it is in the middle of the countryside surrounded by beautiful vineyards and Tuscan hills, the gorgeous city of Siena is just a 10 minute (and 10 euro) cab drive away, or a 45 minute walk, meaning you can explore this city very easily, or just pop in for dinner. We adored Siena with it's medieval streets and incredible duomo. The shopping and restaurants were all excellent, and Nadia ensured we had fabulous recommendations wherever we went. Florence is also just an hour away by bus (7.50 euros each way) and so very convenient for a day trip.
But the food and wine is why you must stay at Agriturismo Marciano: the breakfasts were delicious and incredible considering Nadia would get up at 6am to pick blackberries from the garden and bake them in a cake to be served at breakfast! Every morning there were new freshly baked goods and lovely coffee. We would often snack on the cakes and pastries throughout the day whilst relaxing with a glass of wine in the courtyard!
The dinners were the highlight: we stayed at Agriturismo Marciano for 5 nights and ate there 3 nights out of the five but would have happily eaten there every night, it just happened to be the day off of Nadia's helper! Four or five courses each night: a soup or salad to start, pasta second and then a main of cooked meat with incredible vegetables, followed by cheese and then a dessert. All the food is made from produce grown on the farm or sourced locally, meaning it was some of the best food we had in Italy: simple and beautiful. Each course had a different wine from Marciano or their sister farm in San Gimignano to match the food - and it really was the best wine we had in Italy. For around 38 euros each for all that food and wine per night we were more than happy! It's a lovely communal feel as all the guests eat together at the big wooden table in the farmhouse kitchen, and with the wine flowing, it was wonderful to get to know so many different people from countries all over the world. We also had a little wine tour from Nadia's husband Renato who took us down to the cellar to explain how they make the 9 different organic wines on their farm.
We wished we'd had time to take out the mountain bikes Nadia lends her guests and explore more of the countryside - and we wished we could have taken one of Nadia's cooking courses too. We will definitely be back! We even got Nadia to ship over 12 bottles of our favourite Marciano wine to remember this special part of our Honeymoon. Highly recommended, a wonderful stay!