Arrive at Montevarchi. The train comes into platform 1 and Jenny will be there to welcome you. It takes just ten minutes to drive up to her 400-year-old typically Tuscan home near the tiny village of Rendola. Settle in and then enjoy a chat over a glass of Chianti Classico wine. Local wine is included all main meals.

Breakfast and morning ride (about two and a half hours) with your English-speaking guide Eraldo through vineyards, olive groves and extensive woodland. Return to the farmhouse to change and then go out for your Sunday lunch at a charming hostelry nearby. Walk back and then join your host for a cup of tea, to be followed by Jenny’s hilarious lesson in Italian pronunciation which will prove useful over the next few days. Choose your pizza pronouncing all the ingredients correctly (more or less!) and enjoy it for dinner, followed by cantuccini, Tuscan almond-flavoured biscuits, dipped in vinsanto, a delicious dessert wine.

Breakfast and morning ride. After lunch Eraldo will accompany you to the farm of his friend Alessandro who will show you how Tuscan pecorino cheese is made. After some cheese-tasting you will be driven by Eraldo to Fattoria Casabianca to sample Aldo’s top-quality wine, as well as his award-winning vinsanto. Dinner back at Jenny’s home.

Day ride with Eraldo in the Chianti hills south of Rendola. You will pass the medieval village of San Leolino, the Castle of Cennina, a pretty lake and then have a picnic nearby. Back home past the Castle of Lupinari with frequent canters. Dinner at Jenny’s home.

A free day to laze around or to make your own arrangements for sightseeing, perhaps to visit Florence (which Jenny knows well and will gladly show you the main sites, there are both culture and shopping opportunities galore!) Or you can visit one of the hill-towns in the area, Arezzo, Assisi, Cortona or Orvieto, take your pick. All four are a direct train journey from Montevarchi and you will be driven to the station and back. Dinner at Jenny’s home.

Breakfast and morning ride. After lunch Eraldo will drive you to the winery of Cantalici in the Chianti Classico region for wine-tasting and a visit to the cellar to learn about its advanced technology. Come back to Jenny’s home and have a cooking lesson with Isabella, learning how to make pasta fresca and tiramisù. Dinner at Jenny’s home.

A final day-ride along the Chianti hills, with a stop to visit the medieval tower of Galatrona with its wonderful views. Down to visit a 14th century church and the grandiose 18th-century Villa Petrolo where you will be served a light lunch accompanied by the Fattoria’s famous wines, winners of many awards. Ride home for a farewell dinner at Jenny’s home.

Breakfast and then a ten-minute journey to Montevarchi station to meet the train back to Florence. Your own arrangements for your onward journey. For those going to Rome there is a direct and inexpensive train journey and you can buy a ticket at the station.