Tuscany Food and Wine Estate Tours

Tuscan Food & Wine Estates | 9 Nights/10 Days

Day 01: Rome Arrival and Private Transfer to Montepulciano| Welcome to Italy! Upon arrival at Rome airport please proceed to collect your luggage inside the customs area. Meet your driver and transfer to Montepulciano. Rest of the Day at Leisure. Overnight in Montepulciano.

Day 02: Montalcino and Montepulciano Food and Wine Tour | Breakfast at the Hotel. Meet your driver at the hotel lobby. Today, you will taste some of the most famous Italian wines: Montalcino and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. Montalcino and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. You will first visit Montepulciano on your own, a small village of Etruscan origin and one of the most beautiful hill towns in Tuscany. The main street of Montepulciano stretches from Porta al Prato to Piazza Grande at the top of the hill. The façades of the church of Sant’agostino and of the Oratorio della Misericordia are worth seeing. Notable among the civic buildings are the Tarugi palace, the Mercato, the Contucci palace designed by Sangallo and the fourteenth-century Palazzo Municipale, which contains a small gallery of Sienese and of Umbrian art.  It is time for lunch for a fabulous lunch at Avignonesi Wine Estate to be followed by a visit and Wine Tasting of Vino Nobile wines. The Nobile wines of Montepulciano were the first to be given the ultimate quality level of DOCG certification. Continue to Montalcino. an ancient village scarcely changed in appearance since the 16th century. Once you get up to the town, a magnificent spectacle unfolds for your eyes: rolling sunny hills dotted with yellow and red flowers, ancient oak trees, picturesque olive groves, scenic country roads winding through perfect vineyards and isolated cypress trees atop hills. You will have a visit to a Brunello Producer such as the prestigious Podere Le Ripi: Taste a selection of 5 wines, including the precious Rosso di Montalcino DOC Bonsai. Tour and tasting Bonsai. Visit the innovative vineyard with a Bonsai vine training system, the densest in the world, brilliant intuition of Francesco Illy. Taste a selection of 5 wines, including the precious Rosso di Montalcino DOC Bonsai. Only 600 bottles per year, the finest expression of the Sangiovese. Late afternoon return to your hotel. Overnight in Montepulciano.

Day 03: Maremma Food and Wine Tour | Breakfast at the Hotel. Meet your driver at the hotel lobby. Today you will travel to the mythical Maremma Wine Region, your driver-guide takes you through the Orcia Valley into the wild Maremma region. For wine lovers, it is the home of some of the biggest wine names in the world such as Ornellaia (Castagneto Carducci – Bolgheri) and Sassicaia (Super Tuscans wines), here the wineries make some of the world’s best (and most expensive) wines. You will stop on the way and enjoy superb wine tasting at the excellent cellar Petra (in Suvereto). Light lunch at the wine cellar based on bruschette, pecorino cheese, home made pasta and wine. In the afternoon you will visit Ornellaia winery, one of the best cellar in Italy. Late afternoon return to your hotel. Overnight in Montepulciano.

Day 04: Montepulciano at Leisure. Today spend the day at leisure. Overnight in Montepulciano.

Day 05: Montepulciano – Siena and San Gimignano Private Guided Tour – Chianti | Breakfast at the Hotel. Meet your driver and guide at the hotel lobby. This morning you will transfer to your Hotel in Chianti. On route stop in Siena for a private tour of Italy’s loveliest medieval city. Walking along the narrow medieval streets, you will admire the splendid Cathedral where you can visit the marvelous interior including the Libreria Piccolomini. You may continue to Piazza del Campo, where the famous Palio horse race is held twice a year, overlooked by imposing Palazzo del Comune. Siena was a very remarkable City-State in the Middle Ages, most of its important monuments were built between the XIII and the XIV century, today we can still admire these artistic and architectural wonders and much more. There are so many hidden spots within the city walls where past and present blend together. They are off the tourists’ beaten paths and can be discovered only with a Private Guide. Stop in a Wine Estate where you will enjoy a Lunch/Food a Wine Tasting. After lunch continue to  San Gimignano, a fantastic example of medieval architecture declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, famous for its medieval skyscrapers. These tower houses were built by local families at the height of the Guelph-Ghibelline conflict. In the afternoon continue to your Hotel. Overnight in Chianti.

Day 06: Oil cheese and wine in Impruneta and Chianti. | After breakfast at the hotel, meet the driver in the lobby for a Private Tour of the Tuscany countryside. This excursion begins in the heart of the Tuscan oil kingdom – the hills around Impruneta, were we’ll visit the Torrerossa oil farm. Here the olives are still collected by hand with the help of wood ladders leaning against the olive branches. Torrerossa still owns an old oil press, the oil is stored in antique enormous terracotta jars manufactured in Impruneta. On San Casciano hills, in the Chianti DOCG production area, we found the Corzano e Paterno winery and cheese farm, specialized in the production of cheeses with traditional methods, using the milk from the farm’s sheep. You will also taste their excellent wines. Late afternoon return to your hotel. Overnight in Chianti.

Day 07: Chianti at Leisure. Today spend the day at leisure. Overnight in Chianti.

Day 08: Chianti – Florence Private Guided Tour | Breakfast at the Hotel. Meet your driver at the hotel lobby. In the morning transfer to your Florence Hotel. Lunch at leisure. In the afternoon your local Florentine guide will meet at the hotel and will lead you on a unique walking tour discovering secret spots of Florence, taking in unusual corners and hidden small squares. Florence’s rich past as the cultural centre of the Italian Renaissance can still be seen today in the wealth of art gathered here and in the preservation of its splendid architecture. The tour includes visits of the Duomo and the Baptistery, the Piazza della Signoria, Ponte Vecchio, and the famous Accademia Gallery (entrance fee included). Late afternoon return to your hotel. Overnight in Florence.

Day 09: Florence Private Cooking Class | Breakfast at the Hotel. Meet your driver at the Hotel lobby. Private transfer to your Florentine hands-on Cooking Class. First step: a little walk to the Market, grocery shopping! You will go shopping with the chefs at the market, picking up the ingredients for your lunch. You will meet the butchers, the bakers, and the farmers selling vegetables from their gardens. You will learn how to distinguish the highest quality ingredients. After this fun experience you will return to the School where you’ll enjoy a delicious tasting of typical products and you will start putting your hands on the ingredients to create your own meal, driven by the expert guidance of your Chef. Your menu may slightly vary depending on the season and the fresh ingredients available, but will usually be made of bruschetta, different kinds of fresh home-made pasta from scratch (i.e. tagliatelle and ravioli), sauces for the pasta, and a dessert. And then you will obviously eat the meal you prepared, accompanied with two glasses of a selection of Chianti wine. In the early afternoon return to your Hotel. Overnight in Florence.

Day 10: Florence or Pisa Departure | After breakfast at the hotel enjoy a Private Transfer to Pisa or Florence Airport.

• 4 Nights in Montepulciano
• 3 Nights in Chianti
• 2 Nights in Florence
• Private Transportation by Mercedes E or V Class with English Speaking Driver
• Private Guided Tours with Professional Local Guides | Door to Door Service
• Entrances to Museums, Galleries, Archeological Parks and other Venues
• Breakfast at Hotels, All Food & Wine Tours/Enogastronomic and Most Lunches.
• 24/7 Assistance and Support from our Ground Operational Office in Italy