I will be in Montalcino for two days in June. I would appreciate any experiences and tips on winery (tenuta) visits annd tastings. Which ones are worth visiting. Also, any restaurant recommendations would be great. Thanks in advance!
Conti Costanti.
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Le Chiuse!
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Uccelliera
A great restaurant especially for lunch is Boccon di Vino.
Those opinions are based on 10+ years ago though. I love Montalcino.
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The food at Taverna del Grappolo Blu in the city center is spectacular. The service, if you don’t know Italian, is lacking.
Tratoria Il Pozzo is also a great place to eat. Next door, Osteria Il Cerchio del Vento is comparable. Located in a really cool hilltop town. Il Poggione is at the bottom of the hill and you can buy wine directly from them.
The 2 Michelin star restaurant, Campo del Drago, is next level. Castiglione del Bosco is the winery and they took over an entire hillside town to build the resort.
Really enjoyed Podere le Ripi for a full tasting or lunch experience.
If you could get in to taste at Le Ragnaie, I’d do it just to get my hands on their white wine.
We were just there in October for a friend’s wedding and I would go back tomorrow if I could.
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I’ll be there in April. Staying in Siena but doing a Montalcino day. Appointments at Fuligni, Potazzine, and Sesti di Sopra were pretty easy to line up. I tried Le Ragnaie but my week is the same as VinItaly and they were unavailable. All in all, it’s pretty easy to get good appointments and the response time on inquiries is generally good.
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Winery…you can’t go wrong with Altesino. Classic Brunello, spectacular views, great tour. Caparzo is just down the road (same owner).
Restaurant… Ristoro di’ Cambi. The best bistecca I’ve ever had. Great wine cellar too, with back vintages of Biondi-Santi and other greats.
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Had a great visit at Le Ragnaie a few years back. And a smaller producer that Fass hooked me up with a name I’m blanking on. Whole town and surrounding hills are great.
As John mentioned: Grappolo Blu. And Re de Macchia for eats.
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This wasn’t my experience but could easily be explained by contacting different wineries. Roughly half of those I contacted never responded and then of those that did respond, half were in the three days to a week plus later category. This was for initial inquiry just trying to establish who would receive a group of twelve for the week we were going to be there and rough parameters. We never got to the point of setting appointments as we decided not to spend the time going to Montalcino and instead visited some places closer to where we were staying.
This was a few years ago (2022) so things could have changed.
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Was there for a few weeks last April.
second the recommendation of Trattoria Il Pozzo. We ate there a few times. Good food, good wine list for bottles and also excellent by-the-glass options.
As for Winery visits … if you haven’t done many and want a professional tour, the larger wineries are the best bet. Some offer a tour plus lunch for a fee.
This last trip I wanted a more individual experience from the folks who make the wine … winemaker, vineyard manager etc … so I chose small wineries.
Enjoy
Pat
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You definitely should look into Podere Le Ripi and take them up on making a reservation for you at Vineria l’Aperta to eat.
I wrote a piece about some dining options in Montalcino that are worth checking out!
Le Chiuse was mentioned and they are close to Montalcino itself. It’s a beautiful vist. As is Castello Tricheri.
Be sure to keep yourself to 2 visits a day. You can certainly stack 3 visits in, but in June it should be absolutely beautiful out and with long days. You’ll want to enjoy the scenery and enjoy taking your time to walk around the town of Montalcino itself.
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I love Siena. PITA to travel from because you have to walk out of town for a rental. Really, it’s the walk back up that hurts! My wife would have me drop her off and the gate first. LOL
In town, would recommend a tasting at Enoteca Fortezza. Once the owner finds out you are interested in wine, he starts bringing over extra tastes
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Looks like we’re going to need a cab to/from the train station/car rental area from where we’re staying. We’re on the far side of town - looks like it’s about an hour to talk through the city and down. My wife’s the same way - she’ll be looking at me sideways if we get too ambitious walking back!
Exactly. BTW the walk into town from the train station is uphill. Nasty cobblestones.
I really like Siena. We “lived like locals” for 3 weeks. Cool experience.
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When driving in Italy, be aware of the laser speed control cameras. There are usually warning signs before them, stating in Italian something like electronic velocity control.
My GF got nabbed on our last day returning the rental car in Florence, 67 km in a 50 km zone. The ticket came 3 months later from Holland for $175.
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Pro tip: If walking, enter Siena via Porta Romana, the south entrance to the city. It is much less of an incline than the others.
The Grand Hotel Continental Siena is one of my favorite hotels in Italy. Especially the rooms on the top floor.
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Here are my favorite visits from 2023 and 2025. Also recommend the visit/lunch/visit daily winery itinerary:
- Le Chiuse
- Conti Costanti
- Pian Dell’Orino
- Baricci (tiny operation, so the visit is shorter but well worth it. Great option if you want to try squeeze three in a day)
- Fuligni
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In Montalcino I have visited Poggio Antico, Ciacci Piccolimini, Poggio di Sotto, Costanti and in Tuscany Badia a Passignano a couple times.
They will definitely take some time to get back to you on appointments. We did 3 in one day in Montalcino with a lunch stop. It is possible if you can get an early appointment and 2 after lunch. Some of the tastings aren’t super long; others will do the full tour. Also keep in mind the distance between wineries so you aren’t trying to race through some of the smaller villages.
I really enjoyed Costanti. Poggio di Sotto was an expensive stop but I got to take my dad and it was an awesome one as they opened the Riserva even though I don’t think it was supposed to be on the menu that day.
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Whether one likes the wines or not, Il Borgo (Castello Banfi) is a fabulous place to stay.
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