My family members are about to head to Italy and I’m hoping to provide them with some crowdsourced recs.
They are staying about 5 miles south of Florence for 8 days and looking for opportunities to taste wine. They will be a crowd of 6, with varying levels of wine interest, so trying to offer them some recs that hit a sweet spot of generally interesting and beautiful while also solid wine experiences while also not tourist hells.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
A few notes from my last trip:
Do:
Fontodi - Panzano
Felsina - Castelnuovo Berardenga - beautiful grounds and very quiet for such a large scale producer
Le Potazzine outside of Montalcino - arrange a tour with Michele
Don’t:
Volpaia
If you’re looking for some professional assistance we had a great time with https://italyunfiltered.com. At the very least their different programs online will give you some ideas.
Rather than specific recommendations, based on what you write, I’d be tempted by:
- a day trip to a very tourist friendly ‘tasting room’ town/village (say) on day 2 or 3. Montepulciano is a good example of this, with plenty of appeal outside of wine as well. However (and others will know better), there should be good examples at the heart of the chianti region, and hence closer to where they are based. Although I normally would recommend booking - even for tasting rooms - in this instance I’d suggest they bimbled between tasting rooms, tasting freely. It should be enjoyable and without stress.
- Booking a trip on another day to a couple of wineries recommended here for the experience/hospitality. Organise this in advance of the trip.
The thinking is it shows them something beyond what is in the glass, a sense of place, of where the wine is born, and of the warm hospitality that Italy can so often offer away from the tourist hordes. Maybe one medium sized producer and a smaller producer, though medium-large & medium-small could work just as well.
Regards
Ian
I always recommend Enoteca Falorni just off the piazza in Greve. Underground combination of wine museum, wine shop and tasting room. They have over 100 wines to taste on the Enotech machines. Great way to taste many different wines at all price/quality level. They also operate a butcher shop on the piazza that is a great place for lunch next door.