Italian winery recommendations?
 

Hi everybody.

I booked our family summer travel to Italy. My wife and I have been before, but visited Naples, Rome and Florence which ended being our favorite. This trip we are bringing our children who are 18 and 16 along with our best friends.

We are going to visit in Milan, Bologna, Florence, and spend the majority of the trip at a thermal spa between Florence and Lucca. I booked all the hotels and train travel between the cities.

Last year we did London and Paris, which was constant go go go. This time my wife wants something slightly more relaxing like sipping on wine. 😆 🍷

I would love to tap into the communities expertise on these destinations if possible. I’m currently struggling on which wineries to visit while in Tuscany. The number of options are overwhelming. Should we book a tour to visit multiple wineries or just go to a few on our own?

We also love to eat, so any local favorites would be greatly appreciated. 😊

Any and all suggestions are welcome. I really appreciate the insight.

Grazie

Well...I perfectly understand your wife as I just adore wine tourism in Italy.
The macro clusters for wines in Tuscany are Bolgheri, Chianti and Brunello/Rosso di Montalcino.
Booking is obligatory if you want a nice tour with explanation rather then pouring a sip of wine in your glass and then whatever.
Over the last years tasting is not free of charge any more, the pricing I see is around 25 euro for 1h30min tour with some basic wines. Some very small producers which are not tailored for massive wine tourism still do it for free.

You are mentioning travelling by train - you would need a car to get to the wineries.

This has not much to do with wines, but I had a great snack at the Cantina di Montalcino https://www.cantinadimontalcino.it/ when I rode the Eroica by bike.

I know you're not going to be in the Langhe, but if you do, this guy's a friend and his wines are really good. https://www.albertooggero.it/?lang=en

Thank you. Appreciate the suggestions!

Sounds idyllic! When we were in Bologna we visited Tenuta Bonzara. The scenery was a dream and the wine was like nothing I've ever tasted before. If you're looking for a winery in Bologna, I can't recommend this one enough. We purchased the Bonzara Experience which took around two hours and offered a wide selection of stunning wine and delicious food.