We are going to book a tour with Roberto originating from Siena and cannot decide on two options. Could anyone give an opinion of which would be best? It's our firt trip to the Tuscany area: #1 Wine tasting and touring the Chianti region; #2 Wine tasting in Montalcino and drive through Clay ills and Lucignano d'Asso. Thanks for the help.
Must be another Roberto. Both are nice areas. Tough choice. I'd choose #1 for the landscape and #2 for the Brunello wine.
Ask them if you can tour #1 and have a couple of glasses from #2.
Where did you get the information for Roberto Tour? That #1 sounds awesome with wine tasting in the chianti region. I'll be in the Siena area in 2013 for sevearl days and want to do wine tours and stuff. Thanks for the info.
Robert:
You need no Roberto from Siena to do a wine tasting tour. Just rent a car and follow the directions to the Via Chiantigiana (Strada Statale 222) toward Radda and Greve in Chianti. There are plenty of wineries along the way where you can stop and taste. Just look for the grey road signs indicating the driveway to some Fattoria or Tenuta or Casa Vinicola or Castello (Fattoria=Farm or Winery, Tenuta=Estate, Casa Vinicola=Winery, Wine firm, Castello=Castle). When you reach Strada in Chianti, just outside Florence, it's time to U turn and do the wineries on the other side of the road. Just watch out for the Carabinieri when you drive.
We did a tour with Roberto two years ago and loved it. At the time he offered a wine only (your #1?) and a wine-history-scenery option (your #2?). We did the wine-history-scenery option. Only stopped at one winery, but it was a very worthwhile stop. We also had a terrific lunch with plenty of wine at a little restaurant in the countryside. Going with Roberto, rather than on your own, has some real advantages: no worry about drinking and driving, no need to navigate or possibility of getting lost, and a running narrative of history and geopgraphy without having your nose in a book!
Just watch out for the Carabinieri when you drive. Perhaps instead of encouraging that, with the implication of encouraging tourists to drive drunk (and as an Italian, Roberto, you will know better than most readers of this Helpline how low the Italian blood alcohol tolerance is) perhaps it would be better to encourage them to go with a designated driver. To encourage them to drive, taste, drive, taste, drive, taste; and then go back the other side doing the same is perhaps irresponsible. Yes, I know that the idea is to spit it out. So none is absorbed. None? Nah. And always spit it out? Not everybody does.