The Villa Arceno estate lies in the rolling hills of the Chianti Classico region in the commune of Castelnuovo Berardenga, province of Siena. The name Arceno derives from an Etruscan word for "border" or "riverbank." Two rivers, the Ambra on the east side and the Ombrone on the west, border the estate. Historic mention of the site dates back to the 11th century, naming the Tenuta (or autonomous land holding) part of the feudal holdings of the Counts of Berardenga. Winemakers have produced wines of exceptional depth and character here for hundreds of years.
The current 2,200-acre (880-hectare) estate was officially founded in 1617 during the Renaissance that established Florence and Siena as important European centres of trade and artistic expression. Historically known as the "Tenuta di Villa Arceno," the estate also produced wheat, olives, grapes and pigs. Villa Arceno saw its golden age in the 17th and 18th centuries with the construction of the neo-classical villa now a luxury hotel. The Tenuta di Arceno emerged as one of the great estates of the Province of Siena. Renowned for its wine and olive oil, its setting reflected the Arcadian ideal of landscape architecture.
Kendall-Jackson, the American wine producers, purchased the agricultural concerns of the estate in 1994 and since then have undertaken an ambitious project of modernisation and replanting of the vines and olive groves. The team has upgraded winemaking equipment and practices and now produce exceptional wines which are widely avaiable in the US and recently in the UK. The estate wine shop just behind the Villa Arceno is a good place to try them out.
The estate is on the southern edge of the Chianti Classico area and many famous wine towns, villages and fattoria are within easy driving distance - Greve, Radda, Castellina, Bossi, Felsina to name a few. Ten minutes drive away is the market town of Castelnuovo Berardenga with a choice of supermarkets, local shops, restaurants and other local services. The charming villages of San Gusme, Villa a Sesta and Montebenichi are also within a ten minute drive and have good restaurants. The Unesco world heritage site of the fabulous "crete senese" is twenty minutes away.
Good, fast roads take you easily to Siena with its famous Campo (30 minutes), Arezzo and Monteriggioni (45 minutes) and Montepulciano, San Gimignano, Montalcino, Cortona (one hour) and countless other fascinating, romantic and beautiful towns. In ninety minutes you can be in the centre of that jewel of the Renaissance, Florence, and not much longer will get you to Pisa, Lucca, Orvieto and even a day out on the Tuscan coast.
The nearest airports are Perugia (one hour), Florence (one and a half hours) and Pisa (two hours).
You will need a car!
Chianti area websites
Here are some websites of interest. There are several websites which feature the Hotel Villa Arceno but we have not provided links to them until the hotel re-opens.