Tuscany wine country tour
Has anyone done a Tuscany wine tour (independent of a tour group)? We have three nights in which we would like to visit Siena and other sorrownding cities/wineries. I need suggestion for route and where to stay (what cities). We are thinking of renting a car. Thank you!
Lora
Mercer Island, Washington 10/28/09
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Loar:
There are (of course) loads of great wineries in Tuscany. We prefer the smaller family run kind of places as opposed to the larger industrial wineries.
We have done wine touring on our own in Tuscany on two separate trips. Here are three of our favorites:
1. Panzanello - a small newer winery on an ancient vineyard. Located just outside of Panzano. Andrea (the owner) is a great guy and his wines are excellent.
2. Vignamaggio - This beautiful estate is a must see. It is near Greve. It was the setting for Kenneth Branagh's film version of Much Ado About Nothing.
3. Volpaia - the entire tiny hilltop village is subsumed into the wine making operations. This is also near Panzano.
All of these locations have websites and all three will communicate in English. For a more positive experience do make phone or email arrangements ahead of time. We arranged a private lunch at Panzanello and a wonderful private dinner at Volpaia.
For your own Tuscan wine tour you will surely need a car.
Our headquarters village in the area is Panzano - it is located exactly between Florence and Siena on the S222 (also called the Chianti Road). The village is charming and has two great wine bars (Enoteca Baldi is a favorite) several restaurants and Italy's most famous butcher - Dario Cecchini. Have fun.
Hi Loar,
My husband and I were there in May and did a wine tasting at Castello di Verrazzano (http://www.verrazzano.com/). It was only a 30 min bus ride from Florence to the Chianti Region and was near the town of Greve. It was the highlight of our trip.
It was an approx. 1 hour tour of the grounds/wine making and then we did the lunch tour option (the Chianti tradition) which was fabulous. We sat on the terrace overlooking all of tuscany which was beautiful. Each person got a huge plate of a mix of meats and cheeses (there was a vegetarian version available). Then we sampled 4 wines, and after they poured they left the remaining bottles for the table to finish (and there were only 6 of us at each table). We also sampled a dessert wine and balsamic vinaigrette. And there was also bread with olive oil drizzled over it.
I would highly recommend this place. The views were amazing and the people were so friendly!
Have a great trip!
If you have a car and are by yourself call the wineries directly - they are always accommodating. Just a few (in addition to others already mentioned which are all great):
Casa Emma - great wine, beautiful vineyards, easy location: http://www.casaemma.com/en
Fattoria Rignana - sort of hidden, great restaurant nearby: http://www.rignana.it/eng/home.htm
And very nearby, run by a Swiss family - Poggio A Sole: http://www.poggioalsole.com/poggioalsole/Tuscany.html
Loar-- Great suggestions by previous posters re Chianti area. Especially the small hill town of Volpaia where the winery and the town are basically one in the same.
If you have a car and are going further south I would suggest the Montalcino area for Brunello wine. Barbi, Poggio Antico, Altesino are some to go to.
Probably the most expensive Chianti is made at Castello di Ama which is between Radda and Lecchi. Nice tour including, believe it or not, an art tour through the winery. Very different.
You should make a reservation where possible.
Have fun.
My husband and I did our own wine tour of Tuscany, it was amazing. Things to concider,
1. Siesta time, they were all closed!!! Including wine bars and stores in Montalcino and Montepulciano.
2. plan a route , you can cover alot of ground in one day.
3. call ahead to find out if you need a reservation or appointment, some vinyards to not take walk ins.
4. Brunello di Montalcino is my fave, its about 90 mins max from siena.
Loar, Do consider Montalcino about 45 minutes south of Siena. For wineries consider going from Montalcino to Sant'Antimo after about three kilometers is Croce di Mezzo http://www.crocedimezzo.com/eng_index.asp and after another kilometer is Fattoria dei Barbi http://www.fattoriadeibarbi.it/ both have free wine tastings and you can arrive without an appointment.
Barbi has a good restaurant and there is a good restaurant about 100 meters from Croce di Mezzo.
Do consider continuing down the road about anothe eight kilometer to Sant'Antimo http://www.antimo.it/pagine_en/00FRAME.html