Hey guys! I completely recognize that there are tons of posts about winery tours in Tuscany (and I have read Rick Steve's book on Tuscany as well and looked up those tours). Here's my problem. My husband and I are winos, wine snobs: whatever you want to call us, we will accept the name. His family lives out in California in an awesome wine region and we did 11 wineries in two days once (yes, food was needed intermittently!). All the tours I have looked at in Tuscany are 1 or 2 wineries. Through research, I know that wineries in Italy are a bit different than the States and that many are not just open all the time (thus, making it hard to winery hop).

So, with all this being said, has anyone taken (or know of) a tour that hits more wineries than 2? I will even take 3 at this point! I haven't really made a decision whether I want to focus on Chianti or go the Brunello or Montepulciano route. Guess it depends on what tours are available. We will be based out of Florence and are looking for something that won't completely empty our pockets (we are foodies too...not the best financial combo!). Maybe under 150-175 euro pp.

Thanks in advance for anyone's help!

If you mainly want to winery hop, you can check out this and, to stay within your budget, consider hiring a driver out of Arezzo for a couple of hours. But you'll be on your own, without a guide, when it comes to deciding which wineries to visit and which wines to taste:

http://www.discovertuscany.com/arezz...-del-vino.html

If you are staying in Florence, you might want to go to a wine-focused dinner at Pitti Gola:

http://pittigolaecantina.com/tastings

Do you have a relationship with a wine seller where you live? Often that is the best way to get tips on arranging a tour.

I think you'll find that most guides will take you to two wineries and maybe a food producer, such as a cheese or olive oil stop.

In Florence, you can find tasting rooms, and you can also take a day trip Montalcino or Montepulciano to try enoteche there, but you will be expected to buy in these wine shops/tasting rooms.

It is not "a bit different" than the US. It's completely different. Grape Tours seem to get good reviews.

Stopping at enoteche and trying whatever is offered for sale by the glass is a good way to taste a variety of wines.

The above poster is correct. It's just different. As stated, many "Enotecas" are staffed by people that can give you a verbal "wine hopping" without you going anywhere. However, on the 3 to 4 hour 2 winery tour you mentioned, you go to the two wineries, and for about 70-90 minutes each, you own the place. Since these are frequently wineries that are not open to the public or may have limited hours, you and your guide are shown all "the good stuff." Think of it as an Italian wine immersion. WE did this one in Montepulciano, (metnioned as an example) and had an absolute blast. http://www.stradavinonobile.it/booki...rvizi.php?id=6

My experience aligns with docdan's post. We did a tour in Umbria that included three small wineries with lunch in between the second and third. I think we tasted at least five wines at each. I would have been happy stopping at just two wineries. Each place served food as well, e.g., cured meats and cheese. It was, for me, almost too much of a good thing--although we had a great time. We booked another tour with the same company for this coming May but picked their two winery tour with lunch on our own to follow.

Yes, it's different, but we have done a wine tour in Sonoma where we went to 3 wineries and a stop for lunch. The difference is IMO that here in the U.S. wineries have open tasting rooms, and it is easier to drive oneself around and stop here and there. Tours, either group, or private seem to be the same, or close to the same. We will be in Provence in June, and after our experiences in Italy and Croatia, all lovely, we have decided to book an afternoon winery tour, with just two stops.

You should tailor your own tour and have a private driver take you around for the day. This will be expensive (think around 400-500 euro) but their local knowledge plus your wine expertise will make it worthwhile. I know of one such driver who does these tailored private tours


http://manueledeb.wix.com/sommelier-in-tuscany

Thank you guys for all your great help. I'll spend some time researching and come back and reply just so you know what we decided on!

We are very excited for this trip. We have spent a small bit of time in Italy (mostly in Venice) but this trip is allowing us to explore a good bit more of such a gorgeous country. Our trip is 5 nights Florence, 4 nights Sorrento, and 4 nights Rome.