Heading to Italy in September (late) and October (early). Definitely spending a week in Tuscany and probably another almost week in Liguria. I want to do some wine tasting (olive oil and other things as well) while there. I have heard that you have to make appointments and that some wine tasting is actually done in wine stores.

I would appreciate recommendations on how to arrange some wine tastings at the wineries (which ones, how to contact, etc.)

Any wine stores that we have to go to?

Thanks in advance for any information provided.

We spent a week on an agritourismo outside Montalcino last October. There are literally hundreds of wineries within driving distance. There are many wine stores in Montalcino and some offer tastings. A great place to try a variety of wines is in the wine shop/restaurant in the fortezza. The shops are a good alternative if you want to try wines from more than one winery. Banfi, the largest producer in the region has a very nice tasting area and offers tours of their extensive estate. You'll have to call ahead to make an appointment at most of the small wineries in the region. Last night we had one of the bottles of Brunello we brought back with us from Montalcino. It tasted almost as good as it did in Tuscany. :)

Are there any of the wineries that you would recommend (maybe that bottle you just had is a good example :)

We also just booked 5 nights up near Lucca so if anyone knows of wineries or wine stores in that area, it would be great. I think we will have to hit the Chianti road as well, but don't want to miss anything and know that FT is a great resource of info.

Two that come to mind are 2000 La Fortuna Brunello and the 2000 Croce di Mezzo Brunello, which was made on the agritourismo where we stayed near Montalcino. We also liked the Croce di Mezzo Rosso. Banfi is the large corporate producer in the region and they grow a number of types of grapes and produce a range of wines, many of which are good, but expensive.

We went to Tuscany with a list of things we were going to do and the idea that we would schedule some of our days around visiting wineries and tasting wines. We did some of that but really got into exploring the hilltowns and driving the back roads of the region. The pace of life is much slower there and we ended up just relaxing and enjoying the scenary and people. And drinking wine.

The thing about Tuscany, and Italy in general, is that there is good wine everywhere. Even the house wine at restaurants. Another way to check out local wines is to try some of the wines you find at grocery stores. You can try higher end wine at wine shops. Have a fabulous trip!

I'm doing a quick trip next month to Florence, and will be taking a bus into Greve in Chianti for a day trip. Does anyone have a recommendation for wine shops in this area? I may rent a bike, but was really looking to just walk around with perhaps a quick 20min walk to Montefioralle. (Although with current temps in the high 90's, I may pass on that and opt to sit in a piazza sipping vino ;) )

I'm doing a quick trip next month to Florence, and will be taking a bus into Greve in Chianti for a day trip. Does anyone have a recommendation for wine shops in this area? I may rent a bike, but was really looking to just walk around with perhaps a quick 20min walk to Montefioralle. (Although with current temps in the high 90's, I may pass on that and opt to sit in a piazza sipping vino ;) )

Ha, ha, I'm with you! I'm arriving in Florence Aug. 18th and will be there for a week....with a useless car. I'm looking for wine shops, too. Oh boy, it will be HOT!! :( Linda (San Diego, Calif.)

Ha, ha, I'm with you! I'm arriving in Florence Aug. 18th and will be there for a week....with a useless car. I'm looking for wine shops, too. Oh boy, it will be HOT!! :( Linda (San Diego, Calif.)



A car is useless, expensive to park, and maybe not allowed into centeral Florence. However, a car in chianti Classico is close to a necessity. The wineries are pretty spread out, and the countryside is quite hilly. there is a nice map locating each member of whatever gallo nero is now called. also a booklet with those offering tasting.

there are wineshops in the center of all major villages in Chianti Classico. Most have bottles available, sell reasonably by the glass, and have some food.


In Florence, the great wine bar is le volpi e l'uva. over ponte vechio, and the first left, as I recall this is a footpath street, no cars. piazza d rossi.

http://www.studentsville.it/wineries.htm

has a list of over a dozen florence enoteche. next time there, we'll see if we can try them all.

As I recall, it took a couple of hours to get to Montalcino from central florence. there is no expressway out of florence, and the last piece of road to montalcino is slow.

most of the producers in montalcino are very small, and do not have tasting rooms. in the town, there are 2 or 3 enetocia or bars that have a wonderful selection open for by the glass sale, and available for sale. the fort has the largest selection open for by the glass, but i do not recall food there.

Unlike California, most wineries here charge for tasting. may rebate against wine purchase.

We are driving to Italy and plan on spending 5 nights near Lucca and 7 nights in Montalcino. We are going to avoid Florence and do that on another trip. I have heard that the area is spread out and you need a car or to hire one. We will have a car but was wondering if you can hire someone to drive you around in your own car (so can enjoy the wine :) I would assume hiring a car and driver might be very expensive but not sure if you could just get someone with a drivers license to take you around. Any thoughts?

Trip is coming up and I am looking forward to it (getting thirsty). Any additional recommendations would be appreciated.

Trip is coming up and I am looking forward to it (getting thirsty). Any additional recommendations would be appreciated.

We stay at residence montalcino... http://www.residencemontalcino.it/eindex.htm

nice wierd place. worth getting the best room in the place. not particularly upscale.

It is well inside the walls, within walking distance of everything in the town. Has parking in the back, although not for much over a midsized.

the best prices for wine and cheese that we found were at the co-op outside the walls over past the fort.

Heading to Italy in September (late) and October (early). Definitely spending a week in Tuscany and probably another almost week in Liguria. I want to do some wine tasting (olive oil and other things as well) while there. I have heard that you have to make appointments and that some wine tasting is actually done in wine stores.

I would appreciate recommendations on how to arrange some wine tastings at the wineries (which ones, how to contact, etc.)

Any wine stores that we have to go to?

Thanks in advance for any information provided.

We just returned from Italy, where we booked a tour for 2 wine tastings and some sightseeing. We used a guide, Sat only, but we were very satisfied with him, and his tour, and his pretty reasonable price. The tour included an hour in Greve, and another town, (I forget the name right now) with an optional lunch in a winery. http://tinyurl.com/neqk8

The thought of tasting wine all afternoon and driving did not excite me. ;)

One older winery that we visited was Montagliarni. www.montagliari.it

Another more modern and very impressive one was Casa Emma. www.casaemma.com

Here we bought one bottle of Chianti Classico for $20 (which the owner saw for sale in NYC for $268.

Because of the new carry-on rules, we could only bring back one bottle in our luggage. :mad:

There are many other places along the roads, but I don't know if you need reservations.

What we generally do (and have done in Italy) is do some research ahead of time to find out which types of wine we like are rated highly, but not generaly exported from Italy. Then we go on a hunt to find them. (What fun is it to bring back a wine you can easily pick up here?) Our last hunt led us to the Mazerati family winery. They had sold out of the wine there that we wanted, but they directed us to a wine shop in Cortona that they believed still had a bit left. There are several in Cortona, but the one we liked the most (best staff) is the one where there are two almost next to each other on the main piazza and the better one is furthest from the corner (if that makes sense). In addition to having what we were looking for, he was able to recommend several other wines we couldn't get in the US that he figured would be to our liking. I've also just walked in and tasted in cave-style tasting rooms in Montepulciano, but it's a lot more fun to me if you know what you're looking for and it becomes a bit of a hunt for a prize.

I'm also heading to Tuscany in Sept and have been doing a lot of research on wine there. In Greve there is an incredible wine store named Le Cantine that has over 140 wines to taste. You buy a card for €10, €15, or €25, put it into a machine and then select the wine you want and for a small price you get a taste. When you finish, you can get a refund for the value left on your card. Of course you can also buy a bottle of your favorite there as well.

http://www.lecantine.it/cantineUtente/index.php?cambialang=en

Click on "Tastings" and watch the movie.

if you are wine and food lovers and you enjoy youserlf in Italian cooking I suggest you visit the following web site: www.tuscany-cooking.com. We really enjoyed our cooking holiday and we really appreciated the tasting sessions, and the fun time at the San Lorenzo market and in the historical centre of Florence

if you are wine and food lovers and you enjoy youserlf in Italian cooking I suggest you visit the following web site: www.tuscany-cooking.com. We really enjoyed our cooking holiday and we really appreciated the tasting sessions, and the fun time at the San Lorenzo market and in the historical centre of Florence

looks like a promo to me. sorry if a mistake by me

looks like a promo to me. sorry if a mistake by me

In italy, but not available in italian?!...

To the OP's questions:

To make tasting appointments with Chianti wine producers, contact them by e-mail if possible before you leave or by phone a day or two before you'd like to visit.

A few personal favorites among many wonderful wineries to visit are Castello di Ama, Castello di Rampolla, Casa Emma, Brancaia, Terrabianca and Riecine. The wine commune Rocca Castagnoli is worth a visit for the drive alone. If not in season, the wine can be found by knocking on door # 3 (no kidding).

La Cantine, the wine shop in Greve that sells cards that allow you to taste up to 140 different wines, is a fun place to do a lot of sampling in one stop. Another wine shop in Greve at the south end of the main square (Gallo Nero??) is one of the best in the region, as is a small shop to your left on the highway as you leave nearby Panzano heading south.

Hope this helps. Cheers!