Tuscany or Piedmont?

If you like wintertime activities, I would think Piemont would be a good choice. It is near the Alps with many places for great mountain sight-seeing, and easy to get to by train. I was in Turin and Milan in September 2015 and enjoyed the visit very much. Turin is underrated and relatively un-touristed. See my trip report :

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/turin-5-days-in-september

Ten nights could give you enough time to do both. In my mind, there is no place quite like Florence and if you have not been there, you must go!

Non basta una vita!

Good luck choosing, you really can't make a bad choice here.

Chuck

We visited Turin in mid November and it was very nice. Lots to do in the city and there's very good public transport. We also did some very nice excursions to places like Stupinigi, Superba and Sacra di San Michele.

Both areas would be wonderful, of course. It sort of depends on your interests. The food and wine in the Piemonte are fantastic, and in IMHO some of the best of all Italy's regional cuisine. It should be truffle season there, so if you like truffles, that's a factor. If you prefer Piedmont wines over Tuscan, or vice versa, use that to help you decide. When we went to the Piemonte, we stayed in one of the Barolo towns, as we love that wine, at a wonderful B&B in Montforte d'Alene. Turin just didn't click with me, which surprised me. I think it's because
the buildings in Turin are large and grand, as opposed to a city like. Bologna, which i preventive as more intimate. Obviously, that's a personal preference thing.

Both areas would be wonderful, of course. It sort of depends on your interests. The food and wine in the Piemonte are fantastic, and in IMHO some of the best of all Italy's regional cuisine. It should be truffle season there, so if you like truffles, that's a factor. If you prefer Piedmont wines over Tuscan, or vice versa, use that to help you decide. When we went to the Piemonte, we stayed in one of the Barolo towns, as we love that wine, at a wonderful B&B in Montforte d'Alene. Turin just didn't click with me, which surprised me. I think it's because
the buildings in Turin are large and grand, as opposed to a city like. Bologna, which i preventive as more intimate. Obviously, that's a personal preference thing.

In December I would stick to cities and towns, rather than countryside. A city has a lot to offer even if the weather is not ideal. I wouldn't bother with agriturismo accommodations. You can visit nearby cities and towns by train or bus. A rental car would be helpful for the short time necessary to visit small villages and countryside. Snow is a possibility in Piedmont at that time of the year, although rarely at low elevations in November. I know you are used to driving in snow, but if you can, avoid it. Both regions are good.

Thank you everyone for your wonderful insight! It is greatly appreciated! Lexma, we are considering Piemonte for every reason you mention. Do you recommend the B&B you stayed in? Are there specific areas you would recommend as a home base? Lastly, would we be better off finding a place to make our home base for 10 nights with the ability to drive around during the days/nights or should we look at staying at possibly two different locations? Thank you so much for your help!

First, sorry for my typos. The autocorrect on my phone ran away from me. Yes, I would VERY MUCH recommend the B&B we stayed at. It's a combination of modern and traditional, exposed stone walls. The owner is very nice and helpful. And since we've been there, he has finished the bar/cantina he was building on the lowest level, and now they serve breakfast there (we had to walk to the cafe in the center of town), and of course wine. It's called Le Case della Saracca, and the owner's name is Giulio (he's also the town pharmacist, as I recall). See my review on that other review site for more details.

As I noted in that review, Giulio helped us with restaurant reservations and arranged visits to wineries. My favorite was to Podere Ruggeri Corsini, which is a small winery owned by a woman. We did the wine-tasting part, after a tour, in basically their house.

We had fabulous meals, but the one I remember the most fondly was east of Alba, called La Ciau del Tornavento.

I would suggest at least two bases. You don't really want to drink and then drive, so you'll have a greater number of restaurants to go to if you stay at more than one place. You could stay further south, in Monforte d'Alba, and then more north, in the area of Alba, or Asti, and/or Turin.

I'm envious of your trip!!