We’ll be in lucca in October and this place is on the hit list. Also doing a cooking class outside the city.
Enoteca Vanni
Piazza del Salvatore, 7, 55100 Lucca LU, Italy
+39 0583 491902
Leaving tomorrow. I’ll post a synopsis upon return. Looking forward to it!
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In boca al lupo.
What a great trip! Thanks to all for the recommendations. We incorporated many of them into our trip. Below is a brief synopsis:
- We stayed in a beautiful villa in the hills of Orbicciano, around 20 minutes Northwest of Lucca. We had a heat wave for the first part of the week and it was nice to be up in the hills with our own pool. Not having AC was not awesome at night. We made the following day trips:
- Cinque Terre: Drove to La Spezia and parked (a mild adventure). Took the train to Corniglia. Hiked from Corniglia to Vernazza. It was a 4km hike in about 97 degree heat. This was a challenge, but definitely worthwhile. We stopped at a little restuarant about 3/4 through the hike for a lemonade slushy, which was so awesome and helped cool down my core temp! Spent a few hours in Vernazza. If I had to do it again, I would have hiked in my swim suit and swam in Vernazza. The kids did and really enjoyed the water. Caught a quick lunch/gelato and took train back.
- Florence: Had lunch at Il Porcospino (solid place, good service). Got tickets in advance to see David. Explored the city, did some shopping, gelato, etc. Didn’t want to overdo it with museums for the kids.
- Our planned winery visit to Tenuta Valgiano was cancelled by the winery at the last minute. This ended up not being a bad thing, as we decided to do some serious driving and show the kids some hill towns. Drove from Lucca to San Gimignano. Explored the city and then off to Volterra. I enjoyed the feel of Volterra more on this trip. San Gimignano is a beautiful city, but the crowds are a bit out of control. Volterra has a more mellow vibe, which was appreciated. Then on to Pisa. Spent an hour walking around the Field of Miracles. Crowds were still significant. Not able to tour the tower, duomo, etc., but still enjoyable viewing from the outside. We had dinner at a nice pizza/seafood restaurant in Tirrenia, just across the street from the beach - Cavaliere Nero.
-Beach days: We spent one full day at Bagno Piemonte beach club in Marina di Pietrasanta, immediately south of Forte dei Marmi. This was a nice relaxing day. I was envisioning a packed, loud club. Actually it was very quiet, with perhaps 1/4 of the cabanas in use. The water was shallow and warm and the views of the Apuan Alps were beautiful. Lunch at next door Franco Mare was excellent!
Our 2nd day of the trip the forecast was for around 98 degrees in Lucca. We called an audible and packed up our beach things and spent a good part of the day at La Leccione beach in Viareggio. The beach was clean and not overly crowded. - The rest of our days were spent exploring Lucca in the late morning/early afternoon, back to the villa for swimming/relaxing and then either back to Lucca or surrounding area for dinner. Renting bikes in Lucca is a must. Biking around the wall and through town was great fun. We took the kids to the Puccini recital at a church in Lucca. This was very enjoyable and a great way to introduce teenagers to opera. Hearing Nessun Dorme and O Mio Babbino Caro sung in an intimate setting with great acoustics was sublime. We climbed up the Guinigi Tower to enjoy views of the city. I eventually made it to Enotecca Vanni and was not disappointed! The cellar is overwhelming and so impressive. I ended up picking up a few '97 Riserva Brunellos (our wedding year) to take home. We also enjoyed a glass of wine in the piazza in front of the shop.
- Favorite restaurants:
In Lucca: Lunch at Gigi Trattoria - solid, nice outdoor seating. Dinner at Buca di Sant’Antonio - Great! Excellent service. Overall fantastic dinner. A highlight. Dinner at Ristorante Giglio - This was every bit as good as our dinner at Buca. Three of us had the tasting menu, which was excellent. The risotto with chianti reduction was fantastic. My son’s chicken entree was a favorite. Enjoyed a bottle of wine from Cappezzana during dinner (realized later that this winery was recommended earlier in the thread!).
Outside of Lucca: Antico Locanda di Sesto: Great meal. Excellent service. Very relaxed ambiance. My son’s favorite tordelli lucchese of the trip. We had a few adventures, trying some very small restuarants in the hills near our villa. Both places were very enjoyable. Ristorante Castello in Santa Maria Albano - They serve pizza on weekends only. No menu. Really good antipasti and pizza. Trattoria La Collina in Lopeglia - Quality dinner with friendly staff. Enjoyed a small festival in the town after dining.
We had a few meals at our villa. Bought pasta in Florence along with a nice Brunello and caprese salad at home. We also experimented with the brick pizza oven at our villa, which was a lot of fun.
Gelato: Had it almost every day and twice on a few occasions. Here are our favorites: In Florence - Perche No. In Lucca: Chiardicrema in Piazza Anfiteatro, Gelateria Veneto (several locations).
Focaccia: Forno a Vapore Amadeo Giusti- Awesome bakery. They will make sandwiches with focaccia, which are awesome. I had a porchetta sandwhich, which was excellent. Lunch for four was under $20. Very friendly older gentleman helped us at the counter both days and spoke perfect English. He laughed when I ordered cheese with my porchetta (it was damn good!).
Overall we loved Lucca. My longer term goal is to come back and spend a month in the city, try to learn a little Italian before the trip.
Thanks again to everyone for the help in planning our trip!