Wine Tour leaving Florence

I did a day long tour in October with Tuscan Wine Tours by Grape Tours. There were 8 people plus the driver and it originated in Florence. We visited one winery in the morning, had lunch then another winery after lunch. There was lots of wine and great education about Tuscan wines. It was one of the highlights of my two week trip and I highly recommend them..

I recommend this company. Pick up point in Florence - van holding 8 people, knowledgeable guide/driver - no dumb jokes, just good information about wine.

http://www.tuscan-wine-tours.com/index.htm

For something not as expensive, an alternative would be to take the bus from Florence to Siena, and attend the Tuscan Wine School in a little storefront in central Siena.

[http://www.tuscanwineschool.com/siena.htm]

For 40 Euro you can either have a wine class, or do the 'Savor Siena' portion, which is a walking guided food & wine tour around different shops in town. We will be in Florence in March & are considering this--the reviews have been very good. And it's within walking distance of the bus station.

Four years ago, for our first trip abroad, we did take a private wine tour in Chianti and a cooking class as well. Pricey, but memories to last a lifetime.

We spent a week around Florence doing our own wine tours with a car. The one thing I noticed was little vans and big buses. Many of the wines are location on tops of hills with windy, narrow, roads leading to the winery. Sometimes it was a challenge for our car so a big bus is out of the question. Some of the more popular winery had huge lots for buses so I would avoid any tour that used buses. I am sure bus tours are cheaper but stay with the vans.

I did a Chianti tour from Florence last year with Caf tours and it was great. It was limited to 8, and we had only 5 plus the driver. It was a long day -- we did 3 tastings with one of them at lunch and went to Greve, Castellina, Montalcino, and Montepulciano town centers. Driver was a history teacher so had a lot of stories to tell

Thanks for the good choices!