Wine Tours in Tuscany by ITALY AND WINE — Local services in Florence

My wife and I are in Italy for our honeymoon. When we were planning it, my sister-in-law highly recommended that we take a castle winery tour. She had taken one when she studied abroad in Europe and had enjoyed it. We don't know which tour company she used, but after some research we discovered 'Italy and Wine' and thought that their 'Castle & Chianti' wine tour sounded amazing.

We were told that a vehicle would meet us at the Florence library in the morning. It was only a short walk from our hotel. We were greeted by our friendly tour guide Pierpaolo. We had booked a public tour, but he informed us that due to cancellations and other circumstances that our tour would be private. We felt like celebrities all day! At the start of the day, Pierpaolo was simply our tour guide. By the end of the day, we felt like he was a member of our family. He was so knowledgeable about the subject matter and he was so passionate about wine.

Our first stop was Castello del Trebbio: an authentic medieval castle that had been converted into an estate winery. The castle was the historical home of the Pazzi family, who planned the infamous 'Pazzi Conspiracy' to overthrow the Medici Family. This story is a subplot featured in the novel/movie "Hannibal". The grounds of the estate were absolutely breathtaking. The history of the castle was so interesting and the facilities were very impressive. We had a private tasting room where we tried delicious wine paired with cheese, olive oil-soaked crostini and bites of dark chocolate. The winery also makes its own olive oil, which was some of the very best we ever tasted. We picked out 11 bottles of wine and 1 bottle of olive oil to ship back home. We also purchased a bottle of grappa, which we took with us.

Our lunch stop was at a quiet little place in the Tuscan countryside called Osteria La Casellina. It seemed that only the locals knew about it. There were only two other couples eating there. Most people on the tour receive pasta with a bolognese sauce, but the chef (a good friend of Pierpaolo) said that he had fresh porcini mushrooms available and wanted to know if we preferred mushroom ravioli. Was that even a question? It was out-of-this-world!

Our second winery stop was at Marchese Gondi: a Renaissance-era villa. We were met by Donatella, who was very friendly and informative. We had the entire estate winery to ourselves! Once again, we had a private tasting room with delicious wine and olive oil paired with cheese, salami, and crackers. We picked out 5 bottles of wine and 1 bottle of olive oil to ship back home. Like with the first winery, we also purchased a bottle of grappa to take with us.

We honestly couldn't decide which winery we liked better. They were both different but both excellent. All in all, the tour was filled with outstanding wine, beautiful Tuscan landscapes and very friendly people. We couldn't have asked for a better guide than Pierpaolo. The experience was far better than we could have ever imagined and it is definitely one of the top highlights of our honeymoon. Although we can't guarantee that everyone will have the same experience as us, we highly recommend booking a food and/or wine tour with...

Italy and Wine's truffle hunt and winery tour was easily the most unique and interesting excursion we took during our trip to Italy. Everything from the incredibly easy online reservation process to being dropped off at San Miniato al Monte at the end of the day makes me want to recommend this experience to anyone who is traveling to Florence.

Throughout the day, our guide Matteo was a fantastic host, sharing his expertise about wine (he's a French-trained sommelier) and Italian food as well as interesting anecdotes about the history of Florence and Pisa and what it's like living in Italy today. I'm sure all of the guides are wonderful, but Matteo really made our day easy and enjoyable.

The drive out to San Miniato was breathtaking as we were able to enjoy views of the beautiful Tuscan landscape. Once we arrived at the villa for our truffle hunt, Francesca and her family were kind and welcoming. My husband is a hobby mycologist, so this part of our trip was especially for him, and it was really fun to see him get the opportunity to dig a truffle out of the ground himself! After we returned to Francesca's place, we were able to relax with a four-course meal featuring black and white truffles with wine pairings. Everything was delicious.

If that wasn't enough, we next headed to Fattoria San Michele a Torri for a winery tour and more food and wine tasting! One of the most interesting things we learned while at the winery is that their cellar served as a shelter for locals during WWII. Hearing Gianna tell that story while standing in the cellar was very powerful. Of course, we also learned the basics of how wine is made, wine tasting, and how to pair wines with food. Since I wanted to bring wine home but didn't want to fool with customs on the trip home, Gianna and Matteo helped me to pick out some wine and olive oil to ship home. It only took five days for it to arrive, and I can't wait to share it with family and friends!

Overall, I would highly recommend the truffle hunt and wine tour. It's an amazing value for everything the price includes. You will...

I can not overstate what a unique and valuable experience this was. This day was the highlight for our 10-day Italy trip and worth every penny. It was a truly unique experience and we would recommend it to friends in a heartbeat.

We started the day at a rural villa/farm in San Miniato. The farm produces Chianti wine, pecorino cheese (from sheep), olive oil, honey, and truffle products. ALL from the land of the farm.

We spent time outside with a truffle hunting dog “Choco” and the truffle hunter Francesca - who is also an incredible host and chef. Francesca owns the villa where we had our lunch.

After truffle hunting, we had a home-cooked meal of fresh truffle-based appetizers, truffle pasta, a side dish, and a dessert. The courses were paired with different wines direct from the vineyard/distillery onsite. This is not the wine tasting though! We were embarrassed to ask for more wine, but our guide, Victorio, advised us that in Italy “wine is like water” and we began pouring our own glasses, and finished off a bottle of truly amazing wine.

We really enjoyed our lunch and speaking to Victorio about Italian history and politics. It was a very insightful conversation for two Americans.

After lunch, we headed to another winery for a wine tour and tasting. We stopped at the city center of San Miniato. San Miniato is a small Italian town with an interesting medieval history. There are no major landmarks here and it is not a tourist destination. It was a great experience to walk through this town. We felt a little bit like intruders being tourists in this town; but it was beautiful and we loved being there.

The winery was another great experience. Great tasting wine, great tasting olive oil, and great hosts/company. Victorio was very knowledgeable and explained to us all about the different types of Chianti regions and wines, as well as some tips for getting the most flavor from the wines while sipping.

This is a one-of-a-kind experience that I highly recommend. Thank you to our wonderful guides, Victorio...