Apologies if this has been discussed before!
My husband and I are in Italy for almost 3 weeks in September (first time!) and will be in Florence for one of those weeks. We'd be very interested in visiting a winery outside of Florence and would prefer to take a cab as opposed to joining a tour. Would anyone have a recommendation for a great winery that a cab would take us to (and that we can get a cab back)? Thanks so much for the help, in advance!!
How far are you willing to travel with the taxi?
The ones below are good and not too far (less than 20 km=12 miles). There are hundreds more if you are willing to travel further. There are over 2000 in the province of Florence alone. But by taxi it will cost you more than a tour of the Chianti for 4 hours. Taxicabs in Florence are outrageously expensive (25 euro for the 3.5 miles from downtown Florence to the airport, for example).
Castello del Trebbio
Pggio Casciano
Castello di Nipozzano
Castel Ruggero
The owners of the Verrazzano estate near Greve (not so distant from Florence, but as all the wineries is in the middle of nowhere) have a wine bar in Florence (Cantinetta), via de' Tavolini. The cantinetta lacks the landscape, but the wines are all there, without the hassle of the travel.
The owners of the Verrazzano estate near Greve (not so distant from Florence, but as all the wineries is in the middle of nowhere) have a wine bar in Florence (Cantinetta), via de' Tavolini. The cantinetta lacks the landscape, but the wines are all there, without the hassle of the travel.
This is true, but seeing the wonderful castle and scenery is worth the visit IMO. We stayed at Castello di Verrazzano for an entire week. If you are adventurous, you could make it a day's adventure. There's a regular bus from Florence to Greve, with a bus stop near the entrance to Verrazzano. I'm sure you could contact them and they could drive you from the entrance to the castle.
There, you could take a tour of the winery and finish with their exquisite food and wine tasting for lunch. It's a true relaxed Italian dining experience where you have multiple dishes paired with their wines. After lunch, you could get a taxi into Greve and wander the charming village. Then you could catch the bus back to Florence.
It would take a little coordination, but it would be a memorable experience far beyond a mere wine tour and tasting.
Everything DougMac posted about Verrazzano is spot on. We have been to the winery twice and plan to return this September. This time without a car. I contacted Verrazzano about transportation from Florence and they recommended a local taxi driver, Sandra Talluri. I googled Sandra and then contacted her. Not inexpensive but less money than some of the transfer companies I contacted. She is going to pick us up from our hotel and return us after. It is a splurge to do it this way but the winery and lunch are such a fantastic experience.