For lunch and some wine tasting, I would recommend Vignamaggio in Greve in Chianti. The Gherardini family - whose most famous member was the 'Mona Lisa', built the Vignamaggio Villa in the XIV century. It is both a winery and an agriturismo. We took a cooking class there in March 2017 (recommended by several posters on this Forum), and then ate the dishes we cooked, paired with several of their Chianti Classico wines. You can choose the 6 dishes you cook weeks beforehand from a menu, with a limit of no more than 2 per course. A chef provides recipes (and, honestly, did most of the work). We then enjoyed our dishes outside, seated at a table with an amazing view of the beautiful countryside. But, you can also just go there for lunch or dinner and a brief tour of their winery. On the way back to Florence, we stopped at the Florence American Cemetery. It is located about 11 miles south of Florence. About 4,400 American soldiers are buried there, and died during the Italian Campaign of WW2. There is a beautiful memorial building with mosaic maps of the Allied armies path up the Italian peninsula, and the American and Italian staff members at the Cemetery are eager to share their knowledge with you. That day was one of the absolute highlights of our trip.
