Hello,

My wife and I will be staying in Tuscany for three full days in April. We are very interested in private Chianti and Super Tuscan wine tasting and winery tours. For context, we enjoy California wines very much (Cabernet in particular) and have toured extensively through the California wine regions. We are still deciding whether to base ourselves in Florance or Siena (probably a single day in one and two in the other). Probably will not rent a vehicle. I would appreciate any thoughts on insight on tour companies, wineries, strategies, etc.

Cheers,
Ben

Tuscany is not CA. While some wineries have tastings/tours, most aren't set up for drop ins. You typically have to make an appointment. To do any private tastings you need to book with a driver that has some connections.

If you stay in Siena, you should head towards Montalcino for the Brunellos. Staying in Siena, there will be wine tours you can book to Montalcino (Brunellos), Montepulciano (Vino Nobile), Chianti area, etc. You could also book with a service like Hillsandroads which is based out of Siena. Luca with Hillsandroads has a lot of positive reviews on this board.

Two nights somewhere only gives you one sightseeing day. Do you have four hotel nights for Siena/Florence or three?

If you want to taste quite a few wines, in Greve you can taste Chianti's at the Cantina.

http://www.lecantine.it/cantineUtent...?cambialang=en

In Montalcino, you can sample Brunellos at the Fortezza. This is a pic of the Fortezza. The enotecca is inside. You can also get a ticket for the top.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...cino-SI-IT.jpg

http://www.enotecalafortezza.com/eng...montalcino.php

If you stay in Florence, you are closest to the Chianti area. The Florence tourist board will have lists of tour providers. Caf has several to choose from, but there are lots of other tour providers.

http://www.caftours.com/chianti-auth...-a-castle.html

http://www.hillsandroads.com/

Another recommendation for Luca Garapa of Hillsandroads.com. We spent three days with him touring vineyards and some of the hill towns. It was a highlight of our trip. He's a really great guy!

Well said, ky
Tuscany is not Napa.

Actually, a good enoteca is often better than a wine tour. Montalcino is full of enoteche. My husband and I joked that even the barber had an enoteca in his shop.

Luca from hills and roads.com is the BEST. He took 6 of us for 3 day during Nov. 2013 and gave us the best part of our trip. He'll give you a great education in olive oil and wine tasting. Can't imagine anyone not being happy with him. He is truly a four star escort.

Thank you all so much for your replies! I have reached out to Luca from hill and roads and am waiting for a response.

I have four hotel nights for Siena/Florence so I'm thinking two days of wine tours etc and one or one and a half days for enjoying the cities.

Does anyone have any other suggestions besides Luca from hills and roads, in case he is not available for my dates?

Thanks,
Ben

We loved Taverna Di San Giuseppe in Siena for dinner. I highly recommend making reservations in advance. We had one of the best meals of our trip here which included the most amazing black truffle gnocchi I have ever tasted . It was small, service was excellent, food delish, and they even called us a cab since it was late and our hotel was a little out of the way.

I will also give Hills and Roads a huge thumbs up. Andrea, our driver, took us from Siena to Rome stopping in several Tuscan towns along the way. They even set up a terrific farm to table lunch along the way.They had originally planned a winery tour and lunch for us, but only one half of us drinks, a shame I know. You will love your time spent with them.