Tuscany winery recommendations
 

We like to visit wineries, but know very little about Italian wines. Which wineries should not be missed and why?

Italy is not Napa. What is it you want to do? If tasting wines and buying wines is your intent then enotecas in the villages are better for that.

No, we're unlikely to buy wines - we like the ambiance of owner-resident wineries. They know so much about the land, the history, etc it's great to spend time with them - over a glass of wine....

We haven't been to Tuscany so we wanted to explore - and the wineries was a way of doing that.

I would definitely recommend visiting Avignonesi - just outside of Montepulciano. We visited the winery in the fall of 2010. They offer a tour - which takes you through various buildings and shows you how they make the wine, shares the history of the family and the vineyard. (As for the name, the family came from France, when the papacy returned from France to Italy.) They also offer a lunch, with wine pairings. We sat outside, looking over the rolling hills, eating lovely food and drinking their wine. We did the 3 course lunch - they were very generous with their pours, which meant for a sleepy afternoon for us! In any case, this was a highlight of our trip.

For those who don't know so much about Italian wines perhaps a day tour would be money well spent. Then with the knowledge gleaned from your guide you could get more out of subsequent winery visits.

There are so many wineries in Tuscany it is difficult to single out just one, however I would certainly opt for one in the Chianti Classico region as being representative or typical of the area. Azienda Montefioralle has charm in buckets and makes some of the best Chianti in the region-

http://www.aziendamontefioralle.com

If you do decide on taking a day tour there are several to choose from: the Slow Day in Tuscany has a nice mix of wine & vineyards, food and picturesque villages which makes for a less boozy day than some other tours which seem to be more like a wine crawl from vineyard to vineyard.

http://www.slow-days.com