A little tired and nervous from a long train ride from Florence and strapped into a Jeep with three Italians who didn’t speak English, we drove through the rolling hills of Monferrato. Finally we arrived at the winery and pulled into a courtyard where the most gorgeous three storied brick house lay and in front a long, long table covered in vases of flowers and set for a feast. It was the winemakers 50th birthday and I’d arrived right in time for all the festivities. 

This is my blog post to tell you about what it’s really like WWOOFing in Italy as a mid-20s Australian woman. From experiencing daily Italian life and learning about natural wine making to romances and long-term friendships, it was one of the best things I’ve ever done. 

‘WWOOFING?!’ I hear you ask – rightly so, a little skeptical about the ridiculous sounding acronym. I wanted to share one of my favorite experiences ever working on organic farms and wineries when I first moved to Italy in 2019.

If you dream of meeting locals, learning more about food & wine, or simply extending your budget whilst traveling, then WWOOFing Italy is something you need to explore. Keep reading to find out what it is (no dog barking involved) and my personal experiences in this WWOOF blog post.

What is WWOOF Italy

WWOOF stands for ‘willing workers on organic farms’ and is a worldwide organisation that aims to connect travelers with organic farmers. Locals get help on their farm/vineyard/agriturismo and in exchange travelers (called WWOOFers) get to participate in daily Italian life and learn more about organic agriculture. 

The agreement is you’ll work about half a day and have the rest of the day to use as you wish. You’ll volunteer your help in exchange for free accommodation and meals. Whilst each placement will vary slightly, the general agreement is you’ll work around 25 hours a week (or 5 hours in 5 days). 

How much does WWOOF cost?

To join WWOOF, you need to sign up for a membership valid for a year and you’ll then get access to the directory of farms looking for help. The WWOOF in Italy price varies depending on your country of residence. For Americans, the price is 40USD per year, but you’ll be able to see the most up-to-date pricing based on your country when you sign up on their website.

Why I decided to WWOOF in Italy?

There were a few reasons I decided to join the WWOOF program back in 2019 and having done it now, I’m so glad I took the plunge! My biggest reasons for wanting to experience being a WWOOFer were:

• To learn more about Italian food and wine: the main reason I moved to Italy! I figured where else would I learn so much than directly on the farm/agriturismo/winery.

• To meet locals and like-minded travelers: I really wanted to network with people in the industry and this seemed a great starting place. Besides, traveling by yourself can get lonely after a while and I thought it would be nice to pepper in some experiences like this to make new friends.

• Extend my budget:  When you participate in the program you have zero expenses besides the cost to reach your farm and to leave. Moving over for a year, I’d saved up some funds but this really helped me stretch my budget!

• To experience real local Italian life: I also lived with Italian families during my first year living here, but this was another way to get up close and personal with Italian culture in a way that’s just not possible when you’re staying in a hotel or B&B.

4 Best places to WWOOF in Italy (in my experience)

I think Italy must be one of the best places to WWOOF in the world! If you’re interested in food and wine production, it’s hard to really think of a better country to have this experience. Whilst there were job ads listed all over the country, I knew I really wanted to have that classic experience working in beautiful Tuscany. I’d also recently completed my WSET wine course and had learned a lot about Piemontese wines which meant I was keen to work a harvest in Piedmont. And finally, I wanted to explore a region I’d never visited in central Italy which turned out to be Umbria (one of my biggest loves!)

After 4 amazing experiences WWOOFing, these are the places I would recommend:

• Fattoria di Statiano in Tuscany
• La Cuccagna in Umbria
• Cascina Iuli in Piedmont
• Cascina Degli Ulivi in Piedmont (if you like rustic and a really young atmosphere this is good, otherwise might not be for you)

My top tips to make it an enjoyable experience for everyone

When you find a few farms that you’re interested in, I suggest you contact the owners and ask the following:

• Sleeping arrangements: Will you have your own bedroom or be sharing? 
• What kind of work will you help with: I offered my digital marketing skills instead of just manual labor 
• Working hours: Ask what a typical day looks like to get an idea if you will only be working 5 hours or expected to work more
• Who else will be at the farm: Is anyone else WWOOFing? For example I wasn’t too comfortable with the idea of being somewhere by myself
• Video call: If the owner has time to have a quick chat on a video call you can all get to know eachother a little and feel more comfortable before your visit

My experience WWOOFING in Tuscany

My very first experience was to WWOOF in Tuscany for 2 weeks. I chose a winery/agriturismo about a 30 minute drive inland from the coastal town Cecina as I got a really great vibe from Tina the owner of Fattoria di Statiano. There were also going to be 3 other girls of a similar age working with me which felt like a comfortable way to start and I would have my own room for a few nights too. 

Tina was really interested in my experience in marketing and my wine certificate and let me know my duties would include helping serve & prepare breakfast for guests, wine tastings, light gardening, and waitressing at a wedding they were hosting. It sounded ideal and was a really great first experience. 

Honestly, I had such a great time here! Some highlights included: 

• Learning to make lavendar biscotti 
• Working at a medieval fair 
• Being taken to a nearby outdoor opera festival in Querceto 
• Enjoying day trips to Lucca and Volterra 
• A brief romance with the guitarist from the wedding band!

WWOOFing in Umbria

My next experience is one I’ll remember forever because I met some of the most gorgeous humans on this earth – Sarah and Sal from La Cuccagna. In fact, we are still friends and they’ve helped us to plan our wedding in Umbria in June 2024! Sarah is British and her husband Sal is Italian from Campania and they have a teenage daughter. La Cuccagna is an agriturismo about 30 minutes from Gubbio (a wonderful medieval town). They decided to open after years in the ‘rat race’ of London and have lived in Umbria for about 15+ years now!

I got my own room in their gorgeous stone farmhouse and spent the week working with another WWOOFer from England. They had the most lovely guests stay at their property too who even took us on a daytrip to Spello! My tasks included preparing and serving breakfast for guests, sometimes helping make up the rooms/make the beds, light gardening, and some digital marketing help. 

The highlights for me were:

• Meeting Sarah, Sal and their daughter
• The opportunity to get a glimpse into what it’s really like running a B&B (hard work!!)
• Visiting Spello and Gubbio
• Free time swimming in their infinity pool
• Sal’s homemade pizza night 
• Evening gin and tonics with Sarah
• Dining at a wonderful nearby restaurant on a kind-of date looking back at it with the other guy who was WWOOFing there – the food was amazing! 

WWOOFing in Piedmont

Last but certainly not least (since it ended up being my home region for 2 years!) were my experiences WWOOFing on a vineyard in Piedmont. I originally planned to have a week at Cascina Iuli in Monferrato and a week at Degli Ulivi near Novarra but it turned into 6 weeks at Cascina Iuli and just a few days at Degli Ulivi. It was one of the most amazing experiences ever thanks to the owners of Cascina Iuli (American sommelier and now winemaker Summer and her husband and winemaker Fabrizio, plus their two kids) and the other people WWOOFing with me (two Canadian guys for my first weeks and then a Swedish girl for the final weeks).

The first day I arrived at Cascina Iuli tells you everything you need to know about my time there – it was Fabrizio’s 50th birthday and my gosh was it fun! I was greeted with a long table set up in the courtyard and homemade pasta cooked by Summer and Fabrizio’s mum (who used to run a restaurant many years before). That evening, all their friends came over for an incredible buffet style meal and more wines than I can remember tasting. I was hilariously propositioned by their somewhat drunken (and way younger) nephew and became fast friends with the Canadians.

The gig at both wineries was simple – harvest time! I honestly had no idea what that really meant besides picking grapes. I still laugh at the memory of driving through the woods in a Fiat Panda with the Canadians and the moment of anticipation when another worker took out his shears and demonstrated how to cut the grapes. It was really that easy! The days were long and involved being out picking from around 8am until a break for lunch back at the house and then afternoon picking until aperitivo hour.

We’d go back to the gorgeous Cascina Iuli for a shower (I had my very own room with ensuite and a princess style bed – I still can’t believe how nice it was) before we’d meet downstairs for a raid through the cellar, to play with Lily the dog, chat and taste wine with Summer or hang out with her too cute little kids. Dinners often saw all kinds of interesting people come to visit – from fellow winemakers to importers from all over Europe and the States!

It was so much fun working at Iuli that I ended up staying way longer than I could ever have imagined and they really became like family to me. Some of the highlights were:

• Learning about organic wine making from Fabrizio
• Tasting wine with Summer – I could listen to her talk all day about wine!
• Learning to taste wine properly with Julian
• Eating Nonna’s pasta
• Hanging out and drinking with Swedish Sig
• Learning how to make a really good cosmo cocktail
• Tasting natural wines from all over Europe courtesy of Summer and Fabrizio’s incredible cellar
• Attending a local’s wedding!
• Learning to make sourdough
• Lily the dog!
• A fun romance and a date night that involved the infamous Fiat Panda running out of gas on the highway and meeting some incredibly friendly locals who helped us fill the car with petrol (carting us to and fro from the petrol station)
• Meeting Fabrizio’s sister who helped me get work as a teacher in Turin after the harvest ended
• Meeting Summer’s film maker friend who lived in Turin and let me stay with him for over a month when I first moved to Turin!

Inspired to try WWOOFing in Italy too? Let me know in the comments about your own experience or any questions you might have. I can’t recommend it highly enough and would do it again in a heartbeat. Want to learn more about working on a vineyard? Read my experience over on Italian Wine Tales now.