🍂 September Sips & Stories

A crisp breeze, golden sunlight, and the first hints of autumn in every sip — welcome to Grapestained this month! Here are our highlights of September.

💼 Sponsor of the Month

We’re proudly partnering this month with another wine platform — The Spill! (Yes, we see the naming similarity 😉.) While we dive deep into the stories of producers, culture, and the moments that make wine unforgettable, The Spill delivers a daily email with wine news, education, reviews, entertainment, podcasts, and videos from across the web. Perfect to enjoy alongside your morning coffee… or, let’s be honest, that first glass of wine.

Check out some of their editor Tom’s Top 10 lists:
👉 The Spill Top 10

📍 Where We Are

This September, we’ll be wandering through Florence and Tuscany, visiting some of our favorite producers, lending a hand with the harvest, and enjoying aperitivi with friends from hilltop towns to hidden piazzas. Expect too much pecorino, handmade pastas, and unforgettable wines, all while capturing the beauty of the season, savoring every taste, and making memories to inspire new stories

🍷 Wine of the Month: Magia di Rosa – Cà du Ferrà

This is the wine that defined our summer — most of it spent by the beach, enjoying crisp whites and roses, and crafting this newsletter! Magia di Rosa opens with an explosion on the palate, a playful mix of wild strawberries, red cherries, pink roses, grapefruit, orange peel, and a hint of Mediterranean herbs. Truly one of the most memorable wines we’ve sipped all season.

Perfect for September, it pairs beautifully with both summer and early fall dishes — or simply enjoyed glass by glass. A few sips are never enough!

We’ll have this beauty featured in our At-Home Tastings soon, and you can explore it directly at Cà du Ferrà.

Want to bring Magia di Rosa home?

• Order Form PDF

• How to Buy

Looking to finish summer with more refreshing wines? Check out our Summer Wine Passport for more inspiration.

🍽️ Dish of the Month: Spaghetti alle Vongole 🐚

One of the most memorable dishes of the summer was this seaside classic: Spaghetti alle Vongole. Tender clams, garlic, a splash of white wine, anchovy breadcrumbs, fresh herbs, and perfectly al dente pasta — simple, elegant, and unforgettable. It pairs beautifully with our Wine of the Month, Magia di Rosa, making every bite and sip a little celebration of late summer flavors.

For those craving more seasonal inspiration, Panzanella quietly stole the show at our summer tastings with its fresh ingredients and charm. But Panzanella doesn’t stop in summer — as fall arrives, swap tomatoes and basil for squash, apples, and sage for a new seasonal twist.

Scarpetta Club members: We’ll be sharing the full Spaghetti alle Vongole recipe and many more soon!
Sign up for Scarpetta Club to get exclusive monthly recipes delivered straight to your inbox.

🛒 Grapestained Pick of the Month: Extra Virgin Olive Oil ✨

There’s nothing quite like extra virgin olive oil straight from the source. From the rolling hills of Montepulciano and Montefollonico, this liquid gold comes from the same family-run farm where we stay during our Val d’Orcia tours — a place that embodies small-batch, organic, local tradition.

Hand-picked from 600 olive trees and cold-pressed within 24 hours, this oil preserves every drop of flavor, aroma, and nutrients. With a mix of Frantoio, Leccino, Moraiolo, and Pendolino cultivars, it’s fruity, vibrant, and layered — sometimes bitter or peppery — perfect for drizzling over fresh pasta, roasted vegetables, or a simple bruschetta.

Shipped directly from Sabrina at the farm, it arrives at your door within 1–2 weeks — fresh, flavorful, and ready to elevate every dish.

Order now by replying to this email!

• 2L – €40 (+€40 shipping)

• 3L – €60 (+€40 shipping)

• 4L – €80 (+€40 shipping)

(Tip: 100 kg of olives produce just 9–12 liters of this olive oil — savor it while you can!)

🚗 Small Business Spotlight: Gabriele of Tuscany Uncorked

Looking to explore Tuscany with a true local? Gabriele Alessandroni offers private day trips out of Florence, guiding you through the region’s wine country, hilltop towns, and hidden gems with ease, charm, and deep local knowledge.

He’s our trusted driver, wine educator, and the expert behind Tuscany Uncorked — and we partner with him on every Grapestained tour. Gabriele isn’t just our driver... he’s family.

👉 Book your private trip with Gabriele at Tuscany Uncorked

🍇 Producer Spotlight: Fabio Giannetti of La Fornace

If you missed it — or just want an excuse to fall in love with him all over again — meet Fabio Giannetti, the ever-smiling, punch-down king of Montalcino. He’s the heart and hands behind La Fornace, where small production meets big soul, tradition, and a whole lot of Sangiovese magic.

👉 Read the full story

🗓️ Event of the Month: Wine Sunset Experience at Podere Bucine

This month, we’re teaming up with one of our dearest friends in Tuscany — Loreto of Podere Bucine — for an unforgettable evening in Montefioralle filled with wine, food, music, and good company under the Chianti sunset.

We know not everyone can make it to a tiny hilltop town this September (though we wish you could!), but if you’re in Tuscany — or know someone who is — share the love and spread the word. We’ll be raising a glass for you.

✨ More events coming soon — and we hope to clink glasses with you somewhere special this fall.

🌍 Wine Region of the Month: Umbria

Lesser known, but impossible to forget — Umbria is Italy’s green heart, a land of rolling hills, quiet medieval towns, and open valleys that shift from golden to rust in the early days of fall. Think Lake Trasimeno sunsets, Montefalco vineyards, and long lunches near Orvieto, Assisi, or Perugia, with a glass of something local in hand.

It’s a region we adore — and one we’re dreaming up new tour experiences in for fall 2026. From Spello’s flower-strewn alleys to the bold reds of Sagrantino, the zippy whites of Orvieto Classico, and the underrated gems in between… Umbria is calling.

Stay tuned — and maybe start brushing up on your Umbrian appetite.

✈️ Travel Tip of the Month: Italy by Train (and When to Rent a Car)

The trains in Italy are great. Florence to Pisa, Milan to Lecce, Napoli to Venezia — no problem. But want to explore the villages of Umbria, the Dolomites, Val d’Orcia, or Montepulciano? You’ll need a car — and a sense of adventure.

Here’s our rule of thumb:
🚆 Cities and large towns = take the train
🚗 Hilltop villages and wineries = rent the car

Italy’s roads are smooth (well… on the highway 😉), well-marked, and breathtakingly scenic. And don’t rush the drive — you’ll want to pull over for cappuccino, countless photo ops, and that irresistible roadside pecorino stand.

Pro tip: Download the Trenitalia and Italo apps before you go. Easy booking, real-time schedules, and the occasional €9 deal that feels like magic. ✨

Not sure how to rent a car or what to watch out for? We’ve got you. Just ask — or check out The Grapestained Guide to Tuscany for more Tuscany travel tips.

📢 News: Spring Tour Dates Just Announced!

Don’t want to rent that car, but still want to sip wine in hilltop towns and explore the Tuscan countryside?
Come with us this spring — we just announced two incredible 2026 tour dates:

🌿 The Grand Tour of Tuscany
May 1–7, 2026 — 6 nights of unforgettable wine, food, and storybook views
🔗 grapestained.com/grand-tour-of-tuscany

🍷 Val d'Orcia & Val di Chiana Escape
April 24–28, 2026 — 4 nights exploring two of Tuscany’s most soul-stirring regions
🔗 grapestained.com/vald-orcia-val-di-chiana-tour

✨ More tour dates are on the way — stay tuned!
And remember: Scarpetta Club members receive early access and 10% off all 2026 tours.

🎥 Video of the Month: Grapestained Confessions with Ellen Hough

We had a blast with Ellen Hough, owner of Liberty Pole Spirits — one of the best distilleries in the US! 🥃🍷 She picked 10 random Grapestained Confessions questions — a mix of wine-fueled reflections, food pairings, and a little TMI…

🍷💬 Try them at your next wine night, date night, or solo mirror session — and let us know: who should we interview next month?

🧠 Fun Fact: Sardegna’s Secret to Longevity 🍷

The Oligastra region of Sardegna is a Blue Zone — a place where people live longer and healthier than almost anywhere else, with a remarkable number of centenarians. One key secret? Cannonau wine, also known as Grenache. These grapes are packed with polyphenols and flavonoids, antioxidants that support heart health, reduce inflammation, and even slow cellular aging. A sip of tradition, science, and longevity in every glass!

📖 Word of the Month (Italian Edition): Vendemmia

Vendemmia 🌾— It means “harvest,” and on an Italian wine label, it tells you the year the grapes were picked to create that bottle — the vintage that captures the magic of a single season and its ever-changing weather. Every sip is a little time machine, a taste of that moment when the grapes were plucked and the story of the year was written.

👀 What’s Coming Next

🍽️ Grapestained Recipes: From our table to yours — exclusive recipes for Scarpetta Club members.

🍷 Wine Aging 101: How to age wine properly, which bottles to save, and when to open them.

🧩 What Wine Are You?: Our big interactive quiz to help you find your perfect wine personality match.

Keep swirling, sniffing, sipping, and smiling — see you in the next pour!
- Grapestained 🍾

💜 Join the Scarpetta Club

Become a member to enjoy:

🍷 Monthly Discounts on Wines — sip more, save more.
✈️ Exclusive Access & Deals on Tours — explore Italy like a local.
🍽️ Recipes from Our Tables & Chefs Across Italy — cook, taste, repeat.
🌟 And Much More!

Sign Up Today and make every sip, bite, and journey even more special!