Tuscany Wine Tasting Tours

Tuscany in unquestionably the most important region of Italy in regards for the production of Wine. It is second to Veneto in quantity but, in terms of gross income it is number one, which implies that a smaller amount of wine sells for a higher value, therefore evidencing the superior quality in its wines. A visit to Tuscany could not be considered complete if you didn't include at least 1 wine tasting tour from Florence or Siena but we can also pick you up for these tours regardless where you stay in Tuscany.

We should clarify that going to visit Chianti, Montalcino or Montepulciano should not only mean to go wine tasting all day, there is nothing wrong with that, but Tuscany has a lot more to offer than wine in terms or history, architecture, landscapes. We often give Chianti Tours to people who don't drink nor care about wine tasting and they are among those who enjoy the area the most as they sightsee more than those that spend a lot time wine tasting! Therefore a good balance in between wine tasting and cultural sightseeing is the ideal for those who care about both, we normally advice to have 1 Winery Tour a day and possibly a second Wine Tasting, so as to leave time to sightsee as well in as part of the wine tours.

Before outlining the different options we offer in regards to wine tours and wine experiences, we would like to clarify the difference in between a Wine Tastings versus an actual Winery Tours.

Wine Tasting: Stopping at a winery, whether the actual wine cellars or their wine shop and taste various of their wines. This is something which may take form 15 to 30 minutes, it is not something which deserve to make specific arrangements for unless you absolutely want to taste wines of some specific estate. This has an average cost from 0 to 10 euro

Winery Tour or Estate Tour: Going to a specific Winery and tour it's premises, including fermentation plants, cellars and in some cases bottling plant and vineyards. An employee of the winery or in small wineries the owner will give the tour explaining the background and history of the estate and their peculiarities of the wines, how the wine is made aged etc... At the end of the tour you also have a more structured and informative wine tasting of their products. This is something which may take form 45 minutes to 1h30', This has an average cost from 10 to 30 euro
In some wineries it's possible to only do wine  tastings in other is only possible to get a winery tours, in other you can do either of the options.
As part of these tuscany wine tasting tours we may plan as many Winery Visit and Wine Tastings as needed, If you have specific wineries in mind tell us which they are.
In either case in most estates you can buy wines and in some cases they also can ship them. (It's worth to ship a minimum of 6 bottles, as long as you buy valuable wines, cost of shipping is @ euro 12 per bottle, therefore if you buy cheap wine it's more the shipping than the wine.)
Blending 2 or more of the below areas and every other secondary wine production area of Tuscany in the same day or days of the wine tasting tour is naturally something which can and should be done, but the ways of doing it are just too complicated to be expressed in writing, therefore in case advice is needed on such issues, we kindly request to be able to go over the different options by phone, to better and more efficiently understand what's needed and wanted by the clients and giving instant advices accordingly. Such assistance is given to our customers on a complimentary basis and it is unquestionably how we mean to add value to collaborating with us.

Important Note: We pride ourselves in clarifying that our company is not a tour operator or travel agency, therefore it is NOT our economic interests to include in the cost of our tours what wineries charge to give wine tasting tours and visits. we don't make a profit out of such bookings therefore we do prefer to limit our role to advising our customers as to WHERE we should take them and just book the estate on their behalf for them to pay for it directly. In our data base of visited wineries we have the beauty of 209 wineries that we can tour. This single datum can outline how much we know. But is only the satisfaction of the passengers we give tours to deriving from a good advice that is what brings us goodwill and future business. Our know-how and expertise is what we feel we are entitled to make a profit on, that's why we cannot publish on the web site the endless list of the wineries we tour. We have no vested interests in advising a producer rather than another. We don't collect commissions off what our guests buy at the wineries we visit as part of our tours. We want to make it clear that our advice is not influenced on making more money on the side. We can surely put our expertise at disposal of all the agencies, and tour operators we work for to assist them in selecting the best resources for their customers.
 
In Tuscany there are 4 Primary Wine Production areas:

Chianti Classico - This is unquestionably the most famous and celebrated wine production area in Tuscany and therefore a must when it comes to Wine Tasting Tours regardless of where one stays inTuscany. It strategically and very conveniently located in between Florence and Siena. Chianti Classico Area can be reached from Florence in about in only 30' and in 20' from Siena, therefore it is the ideal destination for visitors staying in either of the 2 above cities. For a better description please see our Chianti Tour page. Over the years we have visited and selected the beauty of 155 Wineries in Chianti Classico area where we can take guests for wine tasting tours, we obviously have our preferred ones, but there is not an absolutely best winery, for someone "best" may mean a world famous "wine spectator celebrated winery" for other it would be a "never heard of" emerging family owned estate which only produces 20.000 bottles a year of superb quality". Good or Best are relative words when you talk about such a personal subject such as wine... that's why if you have preferences please give us your input to best personalize your tour selecting the winery which best suits what you love the best.

Montalcino - Located in the 40km south of Siena, it can be reached on as a Siena or Florence Wine Tour in about 1,5 hrs and only 30' from Siena. The tour will take you through this beautiful countryside of Tuscany, once part of the state of Siena, you will have the chance to also visit the small city center, ending at the impressive XIV Century fortress, used in that century by the people of Montalcino and those of Siena to defend the independence of the glorious republic. Don't miss climbing its ramparts to admire the landscape of Tuscany, and take advantage of the Wine Tasting opportunity offered by the enoteca located in the cellars of the fortress so as to have a 1st contact with "King Brunello" the best among the traditional DOCG red wines of Tuscany. We will proceed on to tour a renown winery to including a visit the cellars and a second Wine Tasting and which will naturally include Brunello's. We then advice a stop at Sant'Antimo,  one of the main attractions of Tuscany considered the most beautiful Romanesque country basilica, a must for any private tour in the region, not just for its architecture but for the intact and peaceful landscape in which is immersed. At the basiclica it will be possible to listen to a the Gregorian Chants performance. After lunch at leisure in a local restaurant you may chose to tour a second and third winery for additional Wine Tastings or divert to other attractions in Tuscany on the way back to your hotel. If you have specific wineries in mind please let us know, otherwise we will select them out of the 28 wineries can visit in Montalcino as part of the tour, if you like you may give us a description of the wineries you'd like to visit, such as small or big, modern or old style.

Montepulciano - Located 50km south-east of Siena, it can be reached from Florence in about 1,5 hrs and only 40' from Siena. This is another perfect tour in Tuscany for a Wine Tasting Tour from Florence or Siena. Its' location is the Val d'Orcia, a part of Tuscany with one of the most unique and attractive landscape, that specialized Tuscany tours never omit. Montepulciano is synonymous of great wine and renaissances beauty, its nickname "little Florence of the countryside" eloquently describes the beauty and value of th this town, which constantly appear in TV ads and often used as the set for block busting movies such as "Under the Tuscan Sun".  Montepulciano, a perfect Tuscan hill town, boats the oldest registered Wine of Italy and here only, you can tour underneath the beautyful renaissance palazzos, the historical aging wine cellars, that were famous already at the time of Lorenzo the Magnificient, the wine produced here is called Nobile (i.e. noble) just because is a tradition that last for over 8 centuries. The main square of Montepulciano with it palaces and monuments is considered a jewel and even more impressive is the temple of San Biagio, the finest early renaissance architecture by Antonio da Sangallo il Vecchio you may find in Tuscany. Needless to say that wine is a main character in this area, we have selected 11 wineries where we can take guests for wine tasting tours and winery visits.

Bolgheri - Located 130 Kms south-west of Florence this is the homeland of the latest Super Tuscan Wines. This is an area recommended only to those wine lovers who can truly appreciate wine quality and want to take a top quality Wine Tasting Tour from Florence, Lucca, Livorno or Pisa. While wines produced here are of incomparable standards the historical attractions of this area are not as rich as the areas of Tuscany mentioned above: Chianti, Montalcino, Montepulciano. We recommend to spend the day entirely in an in depth learning and tasting process of some of the greatest examples of the “nectar of gods”. We will tour wineries producing wines renown to be the best Italian Reds, starting with from the Tenute Ornellaia, where you will enjoy “Le Volte”, “Serre Nuove”, "Masseto" and “Ornellaia” itself. After this first tour we suggest you visit a new "secret treasure" of the Italian wine-industry: one of the most attractive wineries ever built in the world, result of a major investment, designed by one of the most famous world contemporary architects, who was given freedom to fully express his talent, resulting in what has been described by specialized journalists as “The Wine Cathedral”. A third winery could be added. On limited days and with long anticipation we could include in our tours the famous Tenuta San Guido the producer of “Guidalberto” and  “Sassicaia”, that you will sample there are about 10 other wineries we could select as alternatives.