Vernaccia di San Gimignano Wine Tour

Filippo shared that we will learn a lot about wine today and stressed that he wanted the memories we will make today is what we remember. Filippo delivered. Filippo was knowledgeable about the wines and the fantastic Tuscany country side. He was personable and allowed us to melt away into the experience. We laughed, learned and experience the best in Italian wine. It was the best memory of our time in Italy. My wife and I highly recommend this tour.

My sister and I went on a small group tour mid-April and lucked out and with other 4 attendees. Matteo was a great tour guide. He was extremely knowledgeable while keeping an inviting, fun, and open experience. The tour takes you to two wineries of which you each lunch at the second of locations and then you are dropped off at a beautiful castle town for a while. There was plenty of food for lunch to stuff you so try to remember to save room for dessert! We were given enough time after the tastings to purchase products at the wineries. We also learned some fun historical stories of Tuscany relating to the area and how the black rooster label came about. Cannot reiterate enough how great this tour was. 110% worth it.

My husband and I went on this wine tour on September 4th - our second day in Florence and it was the highlight of our whole Italy trip! Our guide Matteo was fantastic, so knowledgeable and went above and beyond - even making us reservations at a delicious restaurant. The small group was perfect and the best way to see the Tuscan countryside. The food at lunch was one of our best meals and the wine was incredible! I highly recommend this tour and we will do this again when we come back with family.

Our travel agent booked this tour for us and we couldn’t have had a better experience for our Tuscan wine tour! We met our tour guide, Matteo, in the square outside of the national library at 9:30. We had 7 people in our group and we embarked in a small van out to wine country. Matteo was so knowledgeable about the area and the wines (he is a sommelier as well). Our first stop was the Cesani winery in the San Gimignano region. We were welcomed by our friendly host, Melania, and accompanied by a table set specifically for our group. We sampled several white wines made from the Vernaccia grape, which is indigenous to this region. We also sampled several reds, including Chianti and “super Tuscan.” The wines were paired with bread (drizzled in olive oil also made at the winery) and cheeses. Melania and Matteo both provided tips tasting wine properly, as well as the different labels used to identify the wines. We drove to our next location, Casa Alle Vacche, where we had the most-amazing, freshly prepared lunch. The food was paired with wines poured and explained by the owner’s son. Lunch consisted of a beautiful appetizer platter (meats, cheeses, eggplant, onion jam, etc.), gnocchi made with saffron, drunken bolognese and homemade biscotti. After lunch, we toured the vineyard (also led by the owner’s son). We learned about the grapes, the growing and harvesting process and even had the opportunity to taste a couple of grapes! After we departed, we headed to San Gimignano, an ancient town with beautiful architecture. On our drive there, Matteo described the history of the town and we had about 45 minutes to explore on our own upon arrival. We arrived back at the square in Florence around 5 pm. What really made the tour great was the group of people we were with (couldn’t have asked for better day-drinking partners) and our guide, Matteo. He was so personable and you could tell he takes pride in his work and his knowledge of wine. He also made dinner recommendations for our time in Florence (and even made a reservation for one couple in our group!). Don’t miss this opportunity!

My husband and went on the tour to two Vineyards and the town of San Gimignano. Our Tour Guide Matteo was very nice and knowledgeable - we had a great time with him. We had a low level of knowledge of wines and vineyards, but that did not matter as Matteo and the Vineyards we visited were more than willing to spend personal time with us explaining all aspects of the vineyards and winemaking process they used. Lunch at the second vineyard was exceptional!!!

This was the highlight of my trip and such an amazing experience. It had been raining the morning of, so everyone had canceled and we ended up having a private tour. (Everyone's loss because the rain stopped and the day was perfect) Vittorio was super charming and taught us a lot about the region on the way to the first Vineyard. Both Vineyards had great selections and very friendly staff that gave us tours around each place. We had an amazing homemade lunch at the second vineyard and when I mentioned I mainly drank red they brought me a variety of reds that I ended up shipping home! San Gimignano was breathtaking and a perfect way to end the trip. Overall Vittorio was great and the trip was amazing! I will definitely be using this service next time I am back in Italy!

There are many red wine tours but this white wine tour gives you the best of both worlds. You get both whites and reds. On top of that, you get an amazing homemade lunch from the family owning the vineyard. This is the best part of our trip!

Wow! What a day! My husband and I knew that we wanted to visit a few wineries during our 2 night stay in Florence and narrowed down our choice to Wine Tours with Italy and Wine. The day started with a trip to San Gimignano where the highlight were the views and the delicious gelato! It was extra special for me, since I last visited as a young child. Vittorio, gave us a few quick tips on where to go and what to see (which included the best place to take a panorama and where to get the best gelato). Next we visited a small family owned winery that specialized in white wines. There, the owners daughter/host served us a fantastic Tuscan 3 course meal (best meal we have had so far) and delicious wines to go with each course. She was a wonderful host and gave us a full history of the winery and the wine making process. Overall, it was an intimate experience and we were able to ask all the "stupid questions" that no one feels comfortable asking and had a bonafide wine expert (Vittorio) to tell us the truth! Next, as a great contrast we visited a larger winery that specialized in Chianti wines. Both were phenomenal and we had a case of wine shipped home. This is a MUST DO and worth every penny!!

We were desperate to do a wine tour when we visited Florence and the decision to book on this tour was a great decision! When we arrived in the morning, due to certain circumstances we were lucky enough to get a private tour (the two of us) all to ourselves despite planning a shared tour. Vittorio took us for the day and we were lucky to have a such a great host and someone so knowledgeable about wine. Started by driving for about 50 minutes to visit the town of San Girmignano which was a lovely medieval town with stunning views over Tuscany. We then headed to our first winery where we were given a tour of the vineyard and cellar and given some insight into how they produce their wines. The host at this particular wine yard was brilliant and we were treated to a delicious three course lunch based on the saffron they grow at the vineyard. We tasted a different white wine with each course which were great and event converted me as a red wine drinker. Hearing that I preferred drinking red wine, they also brought out a taster of the red wine they produce which was a nice touch. We then headed off for another wine tasting at the second winery where we tasted around 8 wines in total, a variety of white and red. Again, the quality of the wine was great and the host was very knowledgeable. All in all, this was one of the highlights of our trip. Thanks to Vittorio and the hosts at both wineries!

We had a lovely time with Vittorio! The food was great. It was a small group which made the experience a lot more personal. There was ample food and wine to taste and we came away having learnt a lot about wine production in Italy. The hills surrounding Florence are just sensational and this tour is a must!