Autumn in Chianti, a villa for the harvest

Autumn is when Chianti does what it was planted for. The last grapes come in, the cellars smell of fermenting must, and by late October the olive harvest begins, with nets spread under the trees and the mills pressing late into the night. Mornings are misty, afternoons clear and often warm enough to eat outside, and the woods turn copper and gold across the hills.

Among the 94 villas below are estates surrounded by the harvest itself. The Ghirlandaio family's 15th century summer estate at Impruneta has vineyards, olive groves and a lake; a 16th century ducal estate above Figline Valdarno looks over vineyards and cypress woods to the Apennines; and a 15th century house near Colle Val d'Elsa keeps a stone clad wine cellar and a private chapel.

At a glance

• 94 private villas
• From 2 to 20 bedrooms
• Up to 41 guests in one villa
• 92 with a private pool
• 32 with a cook or staff
• Availability and price on request, reply within one working day