I would like to plan a day trip to Chianti and the wineries. Any suggestions on how to get there from Florence? Also is it worth a day trip?

We took the bus from Florence to Greve in Chianti. It's a pretty town with lots of wine shops, but the wineries are all a few miles out in the countyside. Maybe you could take a taxi from Greve.

I do not agree with the taxi thing. The best way to tour Tuscany (not only Chianti but Casentino, Maremma, Colline Metallifere, Amiata etc. too) is driving. Rent a car for one day and just get lost on the streets of this wonderful region. Do not worry about the typical "driving in Italy" stuff: tuscanian drivers are far from the sterotype: they are said to be only able to drive at 2 Mph and along the white line in the center of the road, in Italy there are loads of jokes about it.

I was very disappointed in Chianti. Too many twisty roads through forests with few views. Even Radda was disappointing. I would suggest San Gimigignano instead, or head further South to Montpulciano or Montecaltino, (great wine country) or more north, to Montspertoli.

Carol:<BR><BR>Chianti is about twisting roads in the forest!!!

I was actually very disappointed by Chianti as well and would suggest to replace it in your program.<BR>Chianti turned out to be too touristic, with wineries charging rediculous prices. Moreover, at those two that we tried the personnel was really rude asking money for wine-proving. It was really embarassing to be pushed out of the winery by a screaming woman who demanded to guarantee to guarantee that we would buy that wine...truly embarassing experience.

Mel,<BR><BR>please, please, please do not dismiss Chianti for a day trip! I recently returned from a 10 day trip near Gaiole in Chianti and cannot imagine a better place on earth! I definitely recommend renting a car, driving is not very taxing. My husband and I both are 33, the joke in our family is he drives like a grandpa - very slowly (well the speed limit actually) he had no problem whatsoever driving in chianti. Yes, it is hilly, yes there are forests - in fact we got lost on a white road - but that only made for a hilarious story. You can email the DOCG and they will send you a free map of the region with all DOCG wineries and you can easily map out your day accordingly. <BR><BR>I read the above post who said they were treated rudely, and honestly I never once felt that. Now we did not go to the bigger houses ie.Ruffino or Brolio, but I really cannot imagine that happening. Everyone is so friendly - and I do not know what one considers over priced, but on a verage we paid $20- $25 for a '97 riserva, and well under $20 for the '98 and '99 vintages (not riserva). If you would like more detailed info on some special places I be happy to email them to you!

Yes, I am very interested in hearing those special small wineries that you found. I plant to be in the Greve area for 2 days.<BR><BR>Thank you so much

I had a wonderful private tour of Chianti from Gianni at www.toursaroundtuscany.com<BR><BR>He drove us around all day and took us to a few nearly deserted Tuscan villages, so we never felt overrun by tourists. His tour included lunch and wine/olive oil tasting, shopping in Rada and Castellina, two castle tours, and an etruscan tomb! The cost was about $150-$160 per person, which I think is a deal. <BR><BR>Even though we had rented a car, we took the tour, deciding our day would be more productive if we didn’t have to consult maps and waste time getting lost. <BR><BR>If you’re renting a car, it can be VERY pricey for a single-day rental.<BR><BR>Just my .02!<BR><BR>- Alice