Wine tasting in Tuscany is not one place. Chianti Classico sits between Florence and Siena. Brunello sits at Montalcino, further south. Vino Nobile sits at Montepulciano. Bolgheri sits on the coast, and it is a different wine and a different light. Putting all four in the same day means seeing one of them and rushing the rest.
What follows is what separates the four, and what a private day actually is. You leave from Florence, Siena or your hotel. A chauffeur drives. You stay at one estate, or two, and you have lunch. It is not a castle ticket bought at a desk, and it is not a seat on a shared coach.
Chianti Classico, between Florence and Siena
Chianti Classico is the band of hills between the two cities, not every bottle that says Chianti on the label. Gaiole, Radda and Castellina are the villages that give it a shape. Castello di Brolio, the Ricasoli estate, is the stop made slowly: the tasting is the reason for being there, not a ticket to walk the castle on your own.
One estate fits a day. Two estates fit a day if you want the comparison. Brolio and Castello di Radda together are already a full one. A third estate is how lunch disappears.
Brunello at Montalcino, Vino Nobile at Montepulciano
Montalcino is south of Siena. Brunello is the wine of that town, and Casanova di Neri is one estate where the day stops. Col di Lamo is the other face of the same denomination: two estates, one wine, two ways of making it. Neither is a stand-in for Chianti Classico, and neither is an hour's detour from it.
Montepulciano is another hill and another set of rules, Vino Nobile. Boscarelli is the estate for that day. From Siena you go, you taste, you have lunch, you come back. Adding it to Montalcino in the same afternoon is the surest way to be in neither place.
Bolgheri, on the coast
Bolgheri is not an inland hill. It is the coast, the cypress avenue, a wine built on grapes that are not the grapes of Chianti. Petra is the estate for that day, and you can leave from Florence, Siena or your hotel. The drive is longer than the others. Treat it as the day, not as a stop bolted onto Chianti.
How to choose the day
Start from where you sleep. From Florence, Chianti Classico is the natural day. From Siena, Montalcino and Montepulciano open up as well. Bolgheri wants the whole day. In every case the day is private, with a chauffeur, so the person who tastes is not the person who drives back. The estimate depends on the date, the estate and the size of the group, and it arrives in the proposal. It is not a price pinned to this page.
Frequently asked questions
What is wine tasting in Tuscany?
A private day in one of four districts: Chianti Classico, Montalcino, Montepulciano or Bolgheri. You leave from Florence, Siena or your hotel, a chauffeur drives, you stay at one or two estates and you have lunch. It is not a seat on a coach.
Can you do a Chianti wine tour from Florence?
Yes. Chianti Classico lies between Florence and Siena. The day at Castello di Brolio runs about seven hours, with a tasting and lunch, and you are brought back to Florence, Siena or your hotel.
Are Brunello and Chianti the same trip?
No. Brunello is tasted at Montalcino, south of Siena. Chianti Classico sits between Florence and Siena. They are two days.
Is Castello di Brolio visited with a ticket?
The day described here is not an admission ticket. It is a private tour with a chauffeur, a tasting and lunch. Public opening hours of the castle are a separate matter, and they belong on the estate's own site.
