Stay Awhile to Enjoy the Wine and Olive Oil

Tours and tastings at olive oil estates and wineries are a popular part of any trip to Italy, but why visit for only an hour or two when you can spend the night? Several of these estates throughout the country hope to attract overnight guests with new accommodations and a lineup of activities.

Hanging your hat in a winery or with a local olive oil producer is an opportunity to enjoy a countryside getaway and connect with the local culture, said Luanne Savino O’Loughlin, manager of the Olio2Go, an online shop that specializes in Italian olive oils. She has stayed at more than a half-dozen of these properties over the last few years. “These estates have a small number of rooms and an intimate feel, and you interact in an informal way with the people who live in that destination, including producers, farmers and cooks,” she said.

Here are six producers across Italy with rooms that may be new, but olive oil and wine that has been around from decades to centuries.

Situated close to the border of France, about a 20-minute drive from the Mediterranean Sea, this olive oil estate and farm is run by the Cassini family and has three houses available to rent. The homes each have two to four bedrooms, full kitchens and views of the olive groves; the property also has a large fruit and vegetable garden and a pool.

The Cassinis live on the estate and personally welcome all guests. Earlier this year, the family reopened the on-site osteria, which originally opened in the late 19th century and closed in 1912.

Guests can pick produce and use it to prepare a meal, milk cows, make cheese and take a pasta-making lesson with the family’s matriarch, Lina, in her own kitchen. And, they’re invited every night of their stay to have dinner with Cassinis in their home. Bookings start at $150 a night, inclusive of some activities.

The olive oil and wine producer Antonio Roversi recently opened an agriturismo, or farmhouse retreat, called A 3 Passi, in the midst of his 150-acre olive oil estate outside of the city of Ancona. It has seven rooms, three three-bedroom apartments, a pool and a restaurant.

No matter the season, guests have the opportunity to help the estate’s farmers make olive oil. Guests can learn to prune olive trees, for example, and during harvest, they can pick and crush olives. Roversi also drives guests to his wine estate, about 40 minutes away, for a tour and tasting. Prices start from 80 euros (about $92), and include breakfast and most activities.

Marilisa Allegrini, one of Italy’s most renowned wine producers, owns this 15th-century villa, set on a 100-acre wine and olive oil estate near the city of Verona. She recently opened 10 rooms on the second floor, and like the villa itself, all are sumptuously decorated with furniture and antiques from the 15th and 16th centuries.

Overnight guests work with one of villa’s staff to create a custom itinerary when they check-in. Activities include a guided walk through the vineyards, a wine and olive oil tasting paired with food, bicycle tours, hikes on nearby Monte Baldo, and a boat tour of Lake Garda. They can even buy their own produce at the market in Verona and cook a meal in the estate’s kitchen.

Bookings start at 300 euros a night, inclusive of breakfast.

Set in the countryside about a 45-minute drive from the Amalfi Coast, this 1,000-acre wine estate has a new five-room agriturismo in a restored 300 year-old farmhouse. The rooms are decorated with contemporary furniture, and guests have access to a communal kitchen that’s stocked with coffee, olive oil, wine and cheeses, which they can enjoy for free.

Feudi is also home to a Michelin-starred restaurant, Marenna, and its executive chef, Paolo Barrale, is usually available to give cooking lessons. Other possible activities include walks on the property’s many hilly paths and working with the farmers in the wine fields. “When you come stay here, you become one of us,” said Antonio Capaldo, who owns Feudi. Bookings start at 100 euros a night, and include breakfast at Marenna and most activities.

This organic olive oil farm, an hour south of Florence, features eight upscale accommodations in its 11th-century restored hillside villa. Guests can go biking, hiking, horseback riding (the farm has a stable of horses), work in the farm fields with the olive farmers and take cooking lessons. Bookings start at 195 euros a night, inclusive of breakfast and some activities. Book by emailing amie@villamontecastelli.com.

Also of note, the olive oil expert Nicholas Coleman and the wine expert Dan Amatuzzi will team up to lead a small group trip to Villa Montecastelli from October 20 to 26 as part of their New York-based olive oil company Grove and Vine. Activities on the trip include a workshop on Tuscan grape and olive varieties, visits to boutique wineries in San Gimignano, Chianti and Montalcino, tours and tastings at the estate, a pizza making class and a day trip to Florence. Prices start at $4,900 a person and include accommodations, activities and most meals.

Planeta produces both olive oil and wine and has two estates on Sicily’s western coast that are a ten-minute drive apart. Its new 14-room hotel, La Foresteria, is set between the two properties and has an infinity pool with views of vineyards and the Mediterranean Sea. The hotel also features a restaurant that specializes in modern Sicilian cuisine.

Guests can take cooking classes, go on wine and olive oil tasting tours and take a guided walk through both estates to learn about indigenous plants and flowers. Visitors also have access to a private villa on the nearby beach, which has lounge chairs and serves drinks. Prices start at 180 euros a night inclusive of breakfast.