Can anyone recommend a nice winery to tour in the Montepulciano area. More interested in tasting and maybe having lunch in a nice setting.

Do most of the villages in the area have wine shops that you can go in and taste and purchase a bottle or two?

Do you get a better deal if you purchase from a winery vs. a wine shop. I know in Sonoma they had some of the same wines at a local Safeway, several dollars cheaper, and if you bought a case you could get an extra 10-15% off.

Even better than a local Safeway, is a good and BIG wine bar/enoteca, where you may find as many as a dozen bottle sopen, for your tasting. Combine that with a friendly and knowledgeable proprietor who can you guide you to wines you REALLY like (based on tasting of what is already open) - - and give it an hour or two - - and you ewnd up with purchases far superior to going to a winrery, IMO...

Any one winery has only their own stuff, of course.

Not that there is anything wrong with getting out in the country, and a lunch, prepared with THEIR wines in mind sounds like a lovely way to spend the midday. As Rally's says... You gotta eat...

Best wishes,

Rex

A wine store will not compare to the experience of going to a country winery. Add to the experience of being given the intricate details of their wine versus getting general information from a wine store proprietor who, more often than not, tries to push the bottles where they can achieve the greatest profit or just to lower the inventories tha has accumulated and remained unsold (these are the ones with the 10%-15% discount, just like in Safeway).

It's really to each his own, but, if one were to travel to Europe with winetasting as one of the agenda and then only to end up in a wine general store is simply a waste of time, imho.

yawning, I agree. Can anyone recommend a nice place?

yawning, I agree. Can anyone recommend a nice place or should I just wait till I get there for some recommendations from the landlord I am renting my apartment?

Sorry, I meant to provide some winery information about Montepulciano. The town is well known for their reds, spcifically Vino Nobile Di Montepulciano. These wines are made from a clone of the Sangiovese grape (the main Chianti grape) and are aged for about 2 years, longer than the regular Chianti wines. I have to admit that I have not gone to Montepulciano before, but I have had their wines before.

I dug this up from the internet and it contains a list of the wineries.
http://www.welcometuscany.it/special...tepulciano.htm

Cheeers.

Just one more thing:

Whenever we drive to wine hilltowns in Tuscany, unless we are specific about a
particular winery or wine, more often than not it is always a pleasant surprise to stop by a local winery than is open to the public for tasting.

The tourist center normally have guides and maps to the local wineries and in most cases, you'll chance upon them as you drive toward the town center.

It's really more satisfying to buy and bring home wines from a local producer's winery and keep it with the memories of the beautiful area where you found it.

yawning, thanks for the link. I've bookmarked it for later -- lots of great information.

I guess what you're telling me is that you can wonder around and just stop in to one that looks interesting. That sounds like a plan.

I'm really looking forward to this trip since I started experimenting with the different Tuscan grapes (California). I made a Brunello/Montepulciano (50/50) and a Sangiovese/Cab (70/30) Super Tuscany last year(2002), and they were both superb.

I was wondering if anybody had a particular place that they experienced first hand -- sitting outside, having a great lunch, great wine, and overlooking rolling hills of vineyard after vineyard.

Budman, I recently requested the same information and was given name of several vineyards from people who had personally been there and really, really enjoyed the experience.

Avignonesi Vineyards
[email protected]

Poggio Antico
Montalcino
Tel. +39 (0577) 848044
Fax +39 (0577) 846563
Email: [email protected]
www.poggioantico.com

Verrazzano Vineyards
Gino Rossi
Email: [email protected]

Volpaia Vineyard
Email: [email protected]

Ciacci Piccolomini Vineyard
Castelnuovo Dell Abate
Montalcino
Tel: 0577.835616 Fax: 0577.835785
www.ciaccipiccolomini.com

I emailed all of the above and received very nice responses, some quicker than others and we decided on Avignonesi and Verrazzano. We leave in five days....YEAH!

Good luck!

Good going Lorac ! More information for my travel files, too.

It just dawned on me that Lorac's information were for the town of Montalcino. This is about 30 minutes away from Montepulciano (which Budman was originally asking about). Due to the similarities in the names of the 2 towns things get confusing, but there are major differences in the wines. To confuse things further, there is another popular Italian wine from a grape named Montepulciano that is produced exclusively in a nother region of Italy called Abruzzo - the wine is popularly know as, what else, Montepulciano di Abruzzo.

Anyway, Brunnelos are produced exclusively at Montalcino, Tuscany; whereas Vino Nobile are made in Montepulciano, Tuscany.

I've been a few times in Montalcino because of my fondness for the Brunnelos and the beautiful town of/views at Montalcino. Aside from Lorac's list, Fattoria dei Barbi is also a very good producer with tasting room facility, a restaurant and an inn.

Cheers.

These vineyards are in various areas. I believe Verrazzano is in Greve. But information on location and types of wine they produce are easily available on their Web sites.

Lorac1127 -- great stuff. Thanks!!

yawning, thanks. I've used some of those from the Calif Lodi region. Looking forward to checking out all this great stuff!!

P.S. My wife doesn't drink wine. I sure hope she's going to be tolerant of me going crazy this trip.

We had a magnificent time in Italy a couple years ago. I've got some great pictures on Virtual Tourist, along with restaurant info, if you're interested. I also posted reviews here, but they've probably gotten lost long ago...
http://www.virtualtourist.com/m/21363/33/

We really enjoyed both Montepulciano and Montalcino, although found ourselves drinking more Montepulciano Vino Noble than Brunello -- the latter just cost too much. The beautiful wine bar/enoteca in Montalcino is an extraordinary experience, and you will taste wines from different producers. We didn't see the same stuff in the grocery store there, BUT I did buy a bottle of black truffle oil that turned me into a truffle addict for life. We never did make it to an Italian winery...it seemed that when we found them, it was between the hours of 12 and 3(?2?) and they weren't open. Of course, neither were the stores, so you'd best plan on a nice long lunch someplace. Yes, by the way, there are numerous wine shops in Montepulciano, too, where you can taste and buy.

Your post has got me daydreaming. Must be time to plan another trip to Italy. We're going to have to spend more than just a week in Tuscany next time.

I hear you, uhoh.

Brunnelos do cost a lot. The stuff from Montepulciano are good, too, and not easy to find around here.

Black truffle oil? Now I know where your Brunnelo money went to.

Daydreaming here, too. Hey, it's a Friday anyway.

Cheers.

Budman~you lucky dog! I agree with the suggestion to try the wines at the Fortezza in Montalcino. I tasted some amazing brunellos there. You might then see what you'd like to buy more of. We did go to the Avignonesi tasting room in Montepulciano. Frankly, I thought there was an enormous amount of attitude on the part of the person working there. We can readily buy their wines in California so might you in NJ. They are good! Think about a drive up to Chianti and a tour of the Antinori Winery. (It is usually reserved for those staying there but if you are in the food or wine business, you can partake. Given you are a winemaker, I'd think it would apply). It's a good tour and the tasting is at the end. It's good stuff. It's about 30E for the tour. Their restuarant is wonderful and open I think for both lunch and dinner. Fax/phone 055 8071278. The restaurant is closed on Sundays. I still recall with deep affection the gnocchetti with cream sauce I had there. In Greve, there is a wine tasting room. One buys a card and samples the wares. Greve is relatively small and it should be easy to find.Sorry, I can't remember the name. I might check out some wines first and then ask about tours/tastings. When will you be there? The cheeses studded with truffles are to die for! Hey..here are some pinot tips from California:Verve 2001 Russian River Valley Pinot from Aubin Cellars 510-339-0170,the 2000 Estate Pinot Noir from Lazy Creek (Anderson Valley) 707-895-3623. We just sent three bottles to friends as a wedding present. They shared one with us! DIVINE! Also, at wine tasting our friend from Esterlina in the Anderson Valley gave us tastings of his 2000 Pinot Noir(gold medal winner at the recent Chronicle Tasting). Great stuff! We're heading to Provence this year. So many wines, so little time. I'm livng the new Sopranos. Oh, how I miss New Jersey!

PamSF, thanks for all the helpful tips and your personal recommendations. I appreciate it and your love for Montepulciano. I'm going to try all the different wines I can get my hands on. We are going in mid-September.

Provence is on my short list of places to visit next. Have fun, and I'll enjoy reading your trip report.

You are a true foderite. I appreciate all your great posts and help on this board.

You miss NJ? Can you believe we had snow this morning?

Budman, Thank you for your kindness. And, for clarification..my text should read "I'm loving the new Sopranos"..not "I'm living the new Sopranos"! Oh what a difference a simple typo can mean.

It's me again. The Osteria di Passignano is where you readily end up after the tour of the winery at Antinori(you'll be right next door) There is also a wine shop attached to the Osteria.