Hi- I am going to be visiting Certaldo, Siena, Orvieto and Civita and wanted to know if there was any wine estate or wineries that I can get to by either train or bus. I will not have money to rent a car, so don't bother telling me that is the easiest way, it's not an option. I can walk about 3 miles from train/bus stations. I am interested in free wine tastings or ones for a small fee and am interesting in buying 1-2 bottles of what I taste. Thanks!
Posted by
Washington
29 posts
Hi Melissa,
I spent a few days in Tuscany and from what I personally saw, no. The few wineries I went to were small and really out far. Is booking a wine tour an option?
A great wine tour company (well, she is only one person, but great) is Rebecca who runs "Tuscan Wine Tour". I believe she picks up in Siena and Florence in the a.m.
Posted by
Petaluma, Northern California
345 posts
Hi Melissa,
It depends what part of the experience you're after, but there is another option, enotecas. I'm from wine country so it's not so necessary for me to see the operations of a winery. I am much more interested in tasting wines from multiple vintners in one location, I prefer to sample at an enoteca or wine shop.
I haven't been to any in the towns you mention, but I'm sure they have them. Of course, this is not always free. A shop owned by a single winery may have free samples of their own brand, but usually there is a small fee for enotecas in town.
Posted by
Warwick, RI, formerly San Diego, CA, USA
66 posts
There is a wine train "tour" that departs Siena Saturday mornings. It's not cheap (89 Euros), but it includes round-trip train, wine tasting onboard, visit to a winery (two?), tastings, lunch, possible live music. I haven't actually done this, but it sounds fun and I hope to try it out when I visit Italy next year.
Posted by
Ramona, CA
63 posts
Want to experience the wine country on a bike? Go to tuscany-biketours.com. It's run by anglos. They pick you up from downtown Florence (an easy walk from the main train station) and whisk you out to the country for wine and olive oil tasting at an old castle. I don't remember the name of the winery but they make whites, reds, a nice Supertuscan a sweet dessert wine, and olive oil. After you make your purchases they fit you with a bicycle for an easy pedal to a farmhouse restaurant for lunch. You only visit one winery, but so what? A van is with you all the way so if it gets too hot or too hard to pedal just pull over and they'll scoop you up.