Wine Tasting in Tuscany Should Be on Your Bucket List

The drive from Rome to Florence takes you through the beautiful landscape of Tuscany. This scenic drive along the Highway of the Sun takes you past the historic towns of Orte and Orvieto, perched atop volcanic rock, and into the height of the region’s famed vineyards. Find out why you should add wine tasting in Tuscany to your Italy bucket list.

Chianti Wine Tasting

Chianti is a region in Tuscany stretching between Florence and Siena that has been recognized as a wine-region since the 13th century. To be classified as a Chianti wine, it must be produced in the Chianti region, obviously, with at least 80% Sangiovese grapes.

Our bus tour of Italy rolled into the Chianti region at about 11 a.m., which is a pretty early start for wine tasting.

At the Tenuta Torciano Winery, the happiest woman in the world greeted us. She loves wine and she loves her job, and it showed as she called us “beautiful people” and bounced on her toes as she walked.

We took our seats under billowing canopies on an outdoor patio. Our hostess immediately introduced us to our first two wines, a white and a red.

She taught us how to hold our wine glasses (finger and thumb on the stem, the other fingers supporting under the bottom of the glass) and showed us how to taste the wine (a lot of swirling, a big sniff, a lot of swishing, some puckering of the lips, and other things that felt very silly, but in a good way).

Then came the “light” lunch, which was really about three courses of meat and cheese, soup, and lasagna. While we ate, our hostess brought out new bottles of wine for us to try.

But we had to empty our glasses before getting a new pour, which meant dumping it in the spittoon or chugging, so you know Kevin and I chugged! We aren’t huge red wine fans, but we won’t let a good wine go to waste.

At the end of our hour and a half or so there, we had tried eight different wines, a few different olive oils, and three delicious courses.

San Gimignano

What do you do after having eight glasses of wine? We climbed a tall tower!

After our Chianti wine tasting, our tour rushed us back onto the bus and to San Gimignano. Being rushed like this is not the most fun thing to do after a bunch of wine, but we survived.

San Gimignano is a small walled medieval town set high up on a hill. It is known as the Town of Fine Towers for its 14 preserved tower houses.

We didn’t have long in San Gimignano, so we climbed the winding streets of the town to the Palazzo Comunale and the Torre Grossa (the Great Tower).

Part of the Musei Civici of San Gimignano, the admission lets you explore a couple exhibits of paintings as well as climb to the top of the 54-meter bell tower. It’s 218 steps to the top, with the last few being a short ladder to climb. At the top, you get panoramic views of the walled city and the Tuscan countryside.

Top Wine Tasting Tours in Tuscany

Get a true taste of Italy’s Chianti region by booking a wine tasting tour of your own! Check out these great wine tasting tours in Tuscany:

• Small Group Experience Cheese & chianti Visit Dairy & 3 Wineries
• Siena, San Gimignano, Monteriggioni and Chianti Wine Tasting Tour from Florence
• Vespa Tour in Chianti with Lunch from Florence

Where to Stay in Tuscany

• Top Hotel: Agriturismo Poderi Arcangelo Farmhouse
• Great Value: Hotel L’Antico Pozzo
• Unique Stay: Castello delle Quattro Torra

More Things to Do in Italy

Make the most out of your vacation to Italy! Check out these other Italian travel guides to plan your perfect trip:

• How to Spend 3 Days in Rome, Italy
• What to Do With 1 Day in Florence, Italy
• 2 Days in Venice, Italy Travel Itinerary
• 5 Things You Have to See in Milan, Italy
• Top 5 Tourist Destinations in Italy

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Ready to visit Tuscany, Italy? Plan your trip with these tips.

• Book your flight to Italy: Find the cheapest flights using Skyscanner, my favorite flight search engine.
• Find Accommodation: You can find top hotels in Tuscany using Booking.com.
• Get a Guide Book: Check out the guide books from Fodor’s, Lonely Planet, or Rick Steves for in depth info about traveling to Italy.

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Cheers!

Paige

Have you done a wine tasting in Tuscany? Let me know in the comments!