Wine Tasting in Chianti Area

Fewer wineries are open to the public than is the practice in California. Some are, though, but you'll want a car.

The smaller towns have tasting rooms to represent local wines, so you could take the bus between Florence and Siena and stop at a few.

There is a "wine museum" in Greve where you can taste many wines. You buy a "debit card" (you can put as much money on it as you want) and wine is priced by the tasting sample. You taste wine until you use up your debit card. I think they had 120 wines that were available for tasting.

Montalcino and Montepulciano are also fun to visit for wine tastings, and cheese and olive oil tastings.

Another fun wine experience is to tour Assisi and Spello with Anne Robichaud. You end up at a wine tasting in Spello that is accompanied by food. We have done it twice and it is great fun especially if you hire Salvatore to play guitar while you do the tasting.

I took a Chianti tour. Our guide picked us up in Sienna. We were on a smaller size bus with about 4 other couples. I believe it was about 80E a person. I have seen on websites that if you want a private tour with no other people it can be 400-500E.

Anyway, our guide was Franco Fadda. He took us to two wineries for tastings, an olive oil tasting and we had a fabulous lunch in a great tiny little hill town. He was great guide. Very knowledable and passionate about his home.

I see that his website is currently under construction - but you can e-mail him. Here is the website:

http://www.francowinetourexperience.com/

One thing and this may just be an issue for me - I did get car sick that day. I wish I had taken dramamine. I seem to be a lot more prone to that than anyone else, so it probably wouldn't be an issue for anyone else.

I'm not to excited about the idea of renting a car in Italy :) I'm more interested in going on a tour where they drive you - especially since we will be drinking!