I had the same issue last March when I tried. But I cannot speak highly enough about the hospitality we received from the folks at Le Ragnaie. We stayed there during our time in Montalcino and Riccardo’s team was great. Fabulous wines for sure! And the torta della nonna as part of the breakfast spread was 
Thank you Tim. We will be there in December. Not exactly the best weather but that is how it works out. My purpose is to broaden my interests not reinforce them. Your recommendations are appreciated.
Never heard it put like this before, but that’s some real life advice there !!!
I contacted Biserno. They are doing their tastings at Relais il Biserno. For those that are interested, this is what they offer. Looks like they have learned a lesson or two from Napa and gone high end. I am finding that they are not alone in Tuscany when it comes to charging a hefty tasting fee.
Tour visit and Standard Wine Tasting Euro 75,00 p.p.
Wines Sof, Insoglio del Cinghiale, Il Pino di Biserno, Biserno
Food Biserno Extra Vergine Olive Oil and Bread
Tour visit and Tasting Lunch or Dinner Euro 85,00 p.p.
Wines Sof, Insoglio del Cinghiale, Il Pino di Biserno,
Food 3-courses meal with a selection of Tuscan food
Tour visit and Tasting Lunch or Dinner Euro 115,00 p.p.
Wines Sof, Insoglio del Cinghiale,
Il Pino di Biserno, Biserno.
Food 3-courses meal with a selection of Tuscan food and cheeses
Jumping into this thread, hope you don’t mind, Paul!
Doing a few days in Montalcino in June. Tried to stay at Ragnaie, but they were booked on our dates, so we are staying in town.
Are planning to visit them, Poggio Antico, Fuligni. Any other good visits in Montalcino that aren’t long tour commitments?
Good drop-ins- so to speak. Thanks for any tips.
Casanova di Neri’s tasting room is still free I believe…small pours though. If you want to taste a range of producers on limited time, I would also suggest walking into a few of the wine shops in Montalcino. One had enomatic machines throughout the store and gave you a card to pay for tastings across the spectrum of rosso and brunello-apologies that I forget the name of the shop.
Thanks, Kaitlyn. The place you speak of with enomatic machines is on my list. I forget the name, but we are staying right across the street from it. Looks good!
This bolded above is my favorite town in Tuscany hands down. Lots to do for such a small town. So beautiful. Walkable. Florence is worth a week itself. I did Sienna in a day and that was plenty for me. It is nice but nothing like Florence. The small towns like Greve in Chianti and Val d’Elsa (where we stayed) are so charming. The wine areas are nice I have heard. Montalcino especially. Have a great time.
We firmed up/booked our plans. Florence, then on to Maremma then back to Chianti. Those travels don’t exactly flow but these are the areas that appealed to us. We’ve never been to Italy so we’re trying to take in a lot in our first trip.
Thanks to everyone who made recommendations. It’s very much appreciated!
(following - I’ll be there a couple weeks after Dennis, a bit northeast of Montalcino, near town of Bettolle)
Thanks everyone for the recommendations in this thread, particularly those in Montalcino.
I am staying with friends for a week in a villa in Chianti, and then spending a couple nights in Boldheri, and I am looking for additional winery or wine shop recommendations that offer tastings, either by appointment or unscheduled to walk-in. Thank you in advance for any suggestions you may have!
Il Pellicano is my favorite hotel in the world. It’s not fancy, but it is exclusive. We were there last May and already planning a trip back.
This thread has been super helpful. Many thanks! Here’s our itinerary if helpful. Feedback welcome and appreciated!
May 24-26: Florence
Hotel - Palazzo Vechietti
Meals: Osteria dell’Enoteca, others TBD
May 26-28: Bolgheri
Hotel: Relais Sant’Elena (have heard amazing things and can’t wait)
Meals: Enoteca di Tognoni, Relais Sant’Elena, Enoteca San Guido. We were devastated that La Pineta canceled on us after confirming our reservation. They’re closing the restaurant for an event on Sunday and they’re always closed on Monday.
Tastings: TBD. Ornellaia is $100 per person and I was very unimpressed with several we tasted a few weeks ago at a Super Tuscan dinner. Not worth it. Considering Guado al Tasso or Le Macchiole. Masseto said no to visitors.
We rented a car and will drive from Bolgheri to Radda. We plan to stop in San Gimignano and maybe Volterra on the way.
May 28 - June 1: Chianti Classico/Montalcino
Hotel: Hotel Villa Campomaggio (Radda)
May 28-29 in Radda and surrounding areas
Meals: Osteria Volpaia, Casa Porciatti (Radda), TBD
Tastings: Volpaia, Chianti Classico Cantina, others TBD
May 30: Montalcino (my birthday thus as much tasting as my designated driver wife will put up with)
Meals: Trattoria Il Leccio, maybe dinner in Siena on the way back to Radda
Tastings: Le Ragnaie, Lisini, Altesino, various wine shops, rejected at Soldera and Biondi Santi.
May 31: Chianti Classico
Meals: TBD
Tastings: Felsina, San Giusto a Rentannano (Percarlo)
June 1: Radda to Florence for final night then early flight back to Houston on the 2nd.
We are planning to stop by “The Mall” outlet outside of Florence on this afternoon for shopping. My wife will have earned it by this point! I’ve heard good, if mixed, things. No Florence plans as I’m sure we’ll want to hit a few things we missed on the front end.
If you are in Radda, highly recommend visiting Monteraponi. Fabulous wines, great property.
Hi David,
Nice itinerary. I’m going to PM you a couple questions about Montalcino.!
Thanks for the rec! I’ll reach out.
Following this thread. My wife and I are going to Tuscany in October and wondering exactly where we want to hit. Recommendations are welcome as people have them – thank you all!!!
Just left Bolgheri today. To say I was disappointed with my winery experiences is an understatement. Think about all of the awful things about Napa tasting rooms today and that’s Bolgheri…except Bolgheri lacks all of the great Napa restaurants. Very commercialized and sterile. No passion or charm. I won’t elaborate here but I’ll never go back to Le Macchiole or buy their wines again. They also sell their wines for 40-50 euro more at the winery than wine shops in Tuscany do. This rip off was just insult to injury after a terrible experience.
The only aspects that made our time there worth it were our stunning hotel, Relais Sant’Elena (can’t recommend enough), and a fantastic meal at Io Cucina in Bibbona last night. The little town of Bolgheri is actually pretty charming as well but it can fill one day max.
David- Am interested in further updates, especially Montalcino as I’ll be there in a few weeks. Hope you had a good trip!
David- did you make it to the Osteria/Enoteca at Sassicaia ? It looks terrific.
We are staying 2 nights in Bibbona. We were able to book La Pinetta and looking at the Enoteca for the other night.
Did you taste at Ornellaia ? My buddy really wants to go so we will give it a shot. We are also tasting at Tenuta Argentiera which was a reco from my local wine shop.