Hi Josh,
You are welcome.
BTW another favorite restaurant, forgot it yesterday http://www.leradicieleali.it/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; you have to mak an reservation. Only locals there and loads of food … price 25€ and the food keeps comming. No winelist “only” Dolcetto.
Also been here 4-5 times, great food http://www.osterialamadernassa.it/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Ciao
Birger
This is Cesare of La Luna Nel Pozzo in the old part of Neive, that Rick also write about. Make an reservation there and just say “please feed me Cesare” when you arrive. Exelent winelist as well.
http://www.lalunanelpozzo-neive.it/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Hi Sean,
No that would not be a good idea, the Italian has a very different way to have their pets. The dogs are either free or in a chain, even in winter. Usally the dogs live outside in a little house, not many dogs are inside.
We always go to Italy in September and we have our dog with us, untill now only once we had a problem, walking my dog in the evening and a Rottweiler came and attack my dog.
Ciao
Birger
Been to Italy many times, only once in August, mostly in Cinque Terre. I would guess that well over half the places listed above are closed for visits/patrons, but I’d be intereted in seeing your results.
September is wonderful in Italy, late summer, much less crowded, everyone back from the beach.
August may be unbearable heat wise or it may be not that bad, it depends the weather that year… this past August was pretty bad. It’s not so much the heat, it’s what you are used to. As an American I am used to having SOME relief from AC either at home or work, here in Florence there is rarely AC anywhere, and I was really suffering from being in 92, 93 degree temps 24 hours a day.
August 15th is called “ferragosto” and ALL Italians are at the beach or out of Italy. Restaurants close, store close, and wineries will not be available for visits. I would avoid that day unless you are planning on renting a villa and just hanging out as others said. In that case what do you care!
If you’re looking for winery visit recs or restaurant recs, let me know, I live in Florence, and I used to live in Montalcino.
Looks like we have made up our mind. We are going to go with our friends on the only dates they are free, which is early August.
Please do provide restaurant/winery recs for Tuscany. We are leaning towards staying in Siena for this leg of the trip, and will be there for 5 days. Two is dedicated to wine country only on 8/11 (mon) and 8/12 (tues).
Possible hotel (wanted to stay in a smaller place outside of town, but little options with AC): http://www.hotelilgiardino.it/index.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
We have also now planned on adding in Lago di Como (Lake Como) as Eric suggested, most likely the town of Verenna at this hotel I hope (if not booked already) http://www.varenna.net" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; . We will be here 8/14-8/17 (national holiday falling on that Sunday). Please send any food/must do’s here as well.
Thanks all
Josh
I tlooks like this has already been said, but just to throw my two cents in, I was in Rome and Sicily last August and while Sicily was warm, but comfortable because of the sea breezes off the Med, Rome was insanely hot and disgustingly humid. Make sure that where ever you stay has A/C or sleeping may become tough. Otherwise, that is w pretty big city and we found that most everything we needed/wanted was open.
In Sicily, we found the opposite. The weather was better, but not only were half of the shops closed, but of course the half would take their afternoon siesta from 1-4pm. So nothing was open. If you didn’t plan ahead for lunch, it became quite an adventure to find something open.
Have a great time!
We stayed at a very nice bed and breakfast in Montalcino - Palazzina Cesira. Robert is American so communication was no problem. I loved the feel of the town; small, quiet, and historic was exactly what I was looking for. This may not be all that practical if you’re looking to explore Florence from this base as well. We had seperate accomodations for Florence as it can be a bit of a hassle to leave the city once you’re in there.
We have had excellent luck with bed and breakfasts and Agritourismos in Italy. It really adds to the experience to have a local sit down and help plan things out, make suggestions, tell stories, etc.
Thanks Jeremy and Dana
I was in Piemonte in August 2005 (I think) and we froze our asses off so… anything can happen.
Sorry just saw your response now.
I am not familiar with that hotel in Siena, but it is a bit outside the city if that is what you are looking for. Hotel Duomo is great if you are looking for inside the city.
In terms of restaurants near your hotel, I would recommend L’Osteria on Via dei Rossi 79/81. It is affordable but good. Another option not too far from where your hotel is is called La Capaninna. It is on the Via Cassia (SS2) south of Siena a few kilometers. It will be on your right, you can’t miss its large neon sign outside. You will probably be the only foreigners there, beware no one will speak English. It is very no frills, but reasonably priced, the service is not great but the food is amazing, especially seafood! Pizzas are good too. They have one dish under fish appetizers that is called “Il Pescatore” or “Padellone del Pescatore”, something like that, that is a huge cast iron pot filled with all kinds of shellfish and seafood, with some bruschette stuck in, in a tomato fish broth. It is enough for a meal, and SO delicious.
In terms of winery and wine country, do you mean south towards Montalcino (very easy to get to from Siena) or north towards Chianti/Florence? Sorry to ask another question but I don’t want to give you all Montalcino rec’s if you are not planning to go there.
michelec,
I did a little research on both. I plan a day in Chianti Classico and one towards Montalcino. Please let me know your experience with these or others.
I should probably plan to do 3 tops. Maybe even 2 a day.
Chianti Classico:
Montalcino
Found a nice link for others traveling to the region.
Tuscany Food/Wine recs: http://www.doorwaysltd.com/openthed…-Restaurant.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Thanks again,
Josh
Josh,
I’d plan on 2, maybe 3 wineries a day. You WILL need appointments - email and/or call. Note that Felsina is much closer to Rufina/Montalcino than it seems… and a don’t miss. Call or email them and if they give you a late morning appt you may well get lunch… plan on at least a couple of hours for the full tour, the vineyards, etc.
I’d hit the places who make wines that you love - it’s quite cool to see the vineyards and winery that has been making the wines you like.
Hi Josh,
OK here’s what I think. I do have more Montalcino experience than Chianti experience.
In Chianti I have experience with visiting Felsina, Castello di Ama, Dievole and Badia a Coltibuono. All are good. Although I never like Dievole’s wines, no matter how many times I try. Maybe it’s me. Badia a Coltibuono is a great stop for lunch, they also run cooking classes if you are interested and sell a wonderful olive oil that I believe has won awards. If you are into olive oil def. buy some because the latest harvest at the end of 2009 has been pretty good, everything I tasted has been great.
For Montalcino, I have done the last three there, Banfi, Siro Pacenti and the Fortezza. The Fortezza of course is not a winery but more of a wine bar/wine store located in the town of Montalcino. I would definitely recommend it though. There were 2 American girls working there, their names escape me right now, but they are very nice and love to talk about their wines. There is a large Enomatic machine with lots of wines so you can taste a lot without buying bottles. They also serve small dishes, so it’s a good stop for lunch. I recommend the local pecorinos with truffle honey. Another good local restaurant in the town of Montalcino is the Grappolo Blu.
For wineries, Banfi obviously is a huge operation run by Americans so it is well organize for visits. Other options for visits are Fattoria dei Barbi, which organizes tastings and has a small Brunello museum on their property, which I was never able to actually go to. Biondi Santi has amazing wines of course, but I don’t know how many external visits they do, I went on business.
To help you with your trip, I would highly recommend this new book I bought which came out not too long ago, called The Finest Wines of Tuscany and Central Italy Amazon.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. It is a pretty coffee table book but useful if you’re doing a wine trip here - it has profiles of all of the wine producers with their photos and history of the wineries with contact details.
If I recall correctly, a visit at Biondi is possible (maybe about 100 for the tour, 40 for a tasting?). As mentioned, you should call ahead. Even though they indicated they were open at 1:00 for tours, there was no one to be seen when we were there.
We also had a great time at Sesta di Sopra. Very small family winery with good wine and they’re great people to boot. We were told to just drive in without an appointment here.
To help you with your trip, I would highly recommend this new book I bought which came out not too long ago, called The Finest Wines of Tuscany and Central Italy > Amazon.com> " onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.
Nice find. I will have to order this. Thanks again.
Dana - Thanks for the additional feedback. I think the afternoon in Montalcino, we want a smaller winery, so this helps.
Biondi-Santi is probably the best tour to be hand in Montalcino! Stop by the day or so before and set up the tour. Don’t count on showing up at 1:00 and getting in on it. The guy speaks impeccable English and gives far more insight into history and what is happening in the region than any of the others do. Beautiful grounds also, buy wine and bring it home!
I’m checking this thread for recommendations re: Barola and the area - I have found what I wanted for restaurants and producers, which leaves only one question: any good wine shop in the area, particularly to stock up on older vintages? By older vintages I’m thinking about pre-95, and even if possible some bottles from the 70s and 80s…
Just be flexible, the last time I was in Rome in August all of my favorite stores and restaurants were closed
We’ll be in Tuscany next month, about 40 minutes outside of Florence. I’d love a few winery recommendations.
Thanks.
