We are leaving for Italy next week - hooray! We will spend several days driving around Tuscany, including the Chianti region and Montepulciano and Montalcino. We enjoy wine, and will hopefully book a wine tour and lunch in Chianti (looks like there are some lovely options near Greve or Castellina in Chianti), and do some wine tasting as we travel around. We will have our teenage girls with us - are kids generally welcome on wine tours? I'd love suggestions as to wineries that are especially interesting for the younger set. I think they would enjoy seeing how the local products are made, and of course they would love seeing farm animals. Thanks in advance for your suggestions!
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
16240 posts
They can visit the wineries at any age, but they cannot be served or sold alcohol unless they are over 18 (at least not legally, but you are in Italy....).
Posted by
Tampa, FL, USA
1054 posts
Where are you going after Tuscany? If you are going south towards Rome, there is a nice vineyard just outside Orvieto called Custodi. A local told us about it, and after our visit I saw it was listed in Rick's book. http://www.cantinacustodi.com/index_eng.htm It's run by 2 young girls and their dad. one of the girls is a few years out of college. Your teenage girls might enjoy that. Both Chiara and her sister Laura were nice, and took us all over the property. We brought back some of their wine and bottle of olive oil.
In Montepulciano stop by the Contucci house and see Adamo the winemaker. Rick has a great write up in his guidebook.
For a nice farm we vistied Il Casale just outside Pienza. http://www.podereilcasale.it/ We learned about cheesemaking and pecorino, milking the goats they have. And enjoyed a nice lunch where everything but the balasmic vinegar was made on the property. The family that runs it was nice. This was the best lunch I had on my trip.
Posted by
OP
Houston, TX
81 posts
Thank you both for your replies. I should clarify that my daughters won't be drinking any wine - I just didn't want them to be bored while my husband and I are tasting.
Robert, thanks for the links. We will be dropping our car off in Orvieto before heading on to Rome, so we could possible visit Custodi. And the farm near Montepulciano looks especially interesting.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
16240 posts
If you let them drink, they won't be bored.
Posted by
OP
Houston, TX
81 posts
Good point ;)