In Chianti Classico, food and wine are never an afterthought. They are the pulse of daily life. At Borgo San Felice Resort,a Relais & Châteaux property occupying a medieval hamlet near Siena, that pulse is amplified into something unforgettable. The Borgo’s cobblestoned lanes and ochre-toned walls frame not just a retreat of rare beauty, but also a culinary destination where the traditions of Tuscany meet an ethos of sustainability and a kitchen that moves with precision and artistry.
A Chef with an Artistic Muse
The centerpiece of Borgo San Felice Resort’s dining program is Poggio Rosso, its Michelin-starred flagship. In July 2025, the resort welcomed Chef Stelios Sakalis, a native of Athens whose international training threads through Michelin kitchens in Italy, France, and the UK. His formative years under Gordon Ramsay taught him discipline and finesse, while time at Heston Blumenthal’s The Fat Duck expanded his creative vocabulary. He earned his first Michelin star at Il Pievano in nearby Gaiole in Chianti, and at San Felice he continues to refine a personal style that balances Mediterranean brightness with Tuscan depth.
Art is Sakalis’s muse, and it comes through vividly in the plating. His scampi shabu shabu, for instance, resembles a Kandinsky still-life, color and movement rendered on porcelain before the flavors unfold across the palate. Each dish respects the raw materials while elevating them into compositions that are as cerebral as they are sensual.
Osteria del Grigio: Tuscany at the Table
The resort’s second restaurant, Osteria del Grigio, complements Poggio Rosso’s refinement with Tuscan staples. Here, pici pasta is dense and chewy, coated in ragù the way locals insist it must be. Ribollita, a peasant dish of beans and greens, arrives thick and hearty. The bistecca alla Fiorentina, a towering cut of Chianina beef, is brought to the table on a sizzling hot platter, its aroma filling the room before the first bite. It’s Tuscany in its purest form; ingredient-driven, rustic, and deeply satisfying.
A Commitment Beyond the Plate
What distinguishes Borgo San Felice’s culinary program is not just what’s on the table, but how it gets there. Sustainability is a guiding principle. The resort partners with local farmers, cheesemakers, and foragers, ensuring that each dish is an expression of Chianti’s landscape and its people. Seasonality dictates the menus, aligning kitchen practice with the natural rhythms of the countryside. Ingredients are organic and zero-kilometre, many of which are proudly sourced directly from the property’s Orto & Aia Felice garden, a philanthropic initiative which reflects a strong commitment to sustainability.
Borgo San Felice Resort also participates in international initiatives that link gastronomy with global responsibility. Through Slow Food’s “Food for Change” campaign, Poggio Rosso supports projects in more than 160 countries, empowering small-scale producers who cultivate food that is “good, clean, and fair.” The restaurant also takes part in World Ocean’s Day, creating special menus that showcase lesser-known fish and freshwater species. By highlighting alternatives to overfished staples, Chef Sakalis and his team bring both biodiversity and conversation to the table.
Wine: The Other Language of San Felice
No account of Borgo San Felice Resort’s gastronomy would be complete without its winery. The resort anchors a 150-hectare estate in Chianti Classico, but also farms in Montalcino (Campogiovanni) and Bolgheri (Le Sondraie). Between these three sites, the winery produces more than a million bottles annually, spanning Chianti Classico, Brunello di Montalcino, Rosso di Montalcino, and Bolgheri labels.
The cellar’s reputation was established decades ago with Poggio Rosso Gran Selezione and Campogiovanni Brunello di Montalcino, both recognized on the Wine Spectator Top 100 list. More recently, the Il Grigio Gran Selezione captured the number-one slot in Wine Enthusiast’s Top 100, cementing San Felice’s position among Italy’s most lauded producers. Alongside the wines, the estate also bottles extra virgin olive oil, grappa, and vin santo, giving guests a broader taste of Tuscany’s agricultural richness.
Visitors can explore this legacy firsthand. Winery tours and tastings introduce guests to San Felice’s spectrum of labels, from youthful Chianti Classico to the structured elegance of Brunello. The experience deepens the connection between vineyard, kitchen, and glass—a closed loop of terroir that few resorts can claim so holistically.
Aperitivo, the Tuscan Way
Evenings at Borgo San Felice Resort begin with aperitivo on the terrace. Guests gather as the last light slips behind the hills, a spritz or a glass of San Felice’s Chianti in hand. The ritual is as much about community as it is about the drinks: canapés circulate, conversations begin, and the anticipation of dinner sets the stage. It’s an interlude that feels timeless, connecting the medieval stones of the hamlet with the enduring Italian art of hospitality.
A Resort that Lives Its Values
Beyond the dining rooms and cellars, the resort’s philosophy carries through in details both subtle and sensory. The signature towels at the pool, in burnt orange and forest green, echo the colors of Siena’s Palio. Bath amenities, robes, and slippers are elevated to the level of couture, designed to cocoon guests in quiet luxury. A bespoke Borgo San Felice Resort candle, crafted to replicate the hamlet’s distinctive aroma of cypress, stone, and herbs, allows guests to carry home a fragment of the place. These gestures reinforce a sense of continuity: that what is savored in the restaurants or tasted in the glass is part of a larger, carefully woven whole.
A Living Legacy
Borgo San Felice Resort is not a museum to Tuscan tradition; it’s a living system, where gastronomy, viticulture, and hospitality move in harmony with heritage and innovation. For guests, the experience is immersive: walking among vineyards that produce wines poured at dinner, eating food that reflects the arc of the seasons, and meeting the people whose livelihoods sustain it all. It is a place where pleasure and purpose converge, and proof that in Chianti, the future of fine dining is inseparable from the land and community that make it possible.
Photos courtesy of Borgo San Felice Resort
