My boyfriend and I will be driving from Rome to Florence on Monday, May 7th, and are hoping to do some wine tasting in between (we'll be driving the scenic SS22 route between Sienna and Florence). Does anyone know how we would go about finding wineries that do tastings, and possibly take advance reservations? Is there one concentrated area (like Napa) that have a bunch of wineries that we should just get ourselves to and then just drop in? Not really sure how to go about this! We are not too particular about what kind of wine, though we may also have to swing by Montalcino for some Brunello! Can we go into the town and find anything like the tasting rooms they have in Napa & Sonoma, or is it better/easier to go straight to the wineries?

Magdeline,
In Montalcino the enoteca in the fortezza has tastings for about 10 euro for three flights of Brunello. If you want to go to the winery this may help http://www.consorziobrunellodimontal...re/file-18.pdf

>>>Is there one concentrated area (like Napa) that have a bunch of wineries that we should just get ourselves to and then just drop in?<<<

No, it's not like Napa. Many wineries require an appointment.

The fortezza in Montalcino.

http://www.enotecalafortezza.com/

In Greve, you can sample a lot of different wines at Le Cantine's automated dispenser.

http://www.lecantine.it/cantineUtente/degustazione.php

Thanks for the tips, Henry & kybourbon!

Just remember, you must be very careful about drinking and driving. The Italian blood alcohol limit of 0.05 may be much lower than where you live, and penalties are stiffer. The limit in the U.S., Canada and the U.K. is 0.08.

We had a great tasting at the Avignonesi Winery, just east of Montepulciano. You should try their Vino Nobile, in any event. Our host made reservations. You can have the tasting only, for 15E, or a memorable spread for much more.