At La Collina del Sole they have their own vineyard and produce organic wine, at this Lucca villa rental you can experience the vendemmia [wine harvest] and join in the celebrations afterwards as described in a recent blog. Coming up at this time of year there is a special date - Sunday the 19th of October 2014 the wine festival will be held in Riana, a picturesque village and definitely a place of interest near this Holiday villas in Lucca The chances are that when you rent a villa in Tuscany it might have a vineyard surrounding it but a feast day dedicated to wine…that is special! wherever you choose your villas for rent in Tuscany At the feat in Riana they will be serving wonderful food with Polenta with Funghi Porcini in every conceivable fried, stewed, roasted, these wonderful mushrooms which by the way are well known surrounding this area of villa rentals in Tuscany will be accompanied with a generous portion of organic wine, local cheeses, and cured meats and local tarts…of the eating variety, so we suggest after the festa you walk home to La Collina del Sole a 15 minute uphill walk from Riana, after you have visited a few of the cantinas where the wine is made, sampled the wine that spouts from the village fountain and witnessed the wine barrel race. And to get you in the mood in order to enjoy our wine and wine in general I thought I would put together four rules of thumb that I learnt from an ingenious website called Wine Folly, which will help you in the complex process of selecting wines: 1. Cotes du Rhone is a red wine from the South of France made with an abundance of varying grapes (the French name their wines by region, not by the type of grape, as Americans and Aussies do). If you can't pronounce the words on the wine list, ask for the "Coat Do Roan". French wines can be incredibly expensive but Cotes du Rhone is usually the most economical, because a substantial amount of the stuff is produced every year! 2. When you’re going cheap, the cabernet sauvignon is the best option. Making wine with the grape Variety cabernet sauvignon is incredibly easy as the cab fruit thrives even under strenuous conditions. Therefore even a bottle made from cheap grapes will be drinkable. 3. For a fancy wine, think pinot. The pinot noir grape is the opposite of cabernet sauvignon: It's hard to grow and do right. "Thin-skinned and temperamental" as Paul Giamatti would say. Some cash needs to be splashed when selecting a pinot noir so maybe only buy this one for serious wine lovers, your closest friends and family, or if you really had a terrible day at work and need a serious treat. 4. For cooking, the sauvignon blanc is apparently the best option for white wine sauces, because it adds a dash of acidity, like a lemon would. As we discovered previously, sauvignon blanc is economical - perfect for chucking into your moules marinieres recipe. When a recipe needs a red wine, Wine Folly suggests a Chianti or a Sangiovese. Now that you have the basic know-how of what to choose in France, why not try your knowledge out at one of the many wine shops near the La Collina del Sole the Lucca villa rental that overlooks the Carrara mountain range, or indulge in a “wine tasting experience” found at Il Vecchio Mulino at Castelnuovo the closest market town to La Collina del Sole. Or alternatively you could sit back and relax by our salt-water pool and enjoy the fresh bouquet of our complimentary organic, home-grown wine.