Tuscany for Wine Lovers - Wineries, Restaurants & Wine Routes
A wine holiday in Tuscany: 8 wineries to visit in Chianti, Montalcino and Montepulciano, restaurants, wine bars, day routes and the ZTL warning for rental cars.
Why Tuscany for wine lovers?
There are wine regions you visit because the wine is good. And then there is Tuscany, where landscape, food, art and wine are so tightly interwoven that it becomes hard to say what you actually came for. Between Florence and Siena lies Chianti Classico, one of Europe's densest wine landscapes: cypress avenues, holm oak woods, medieval castles - and among them estates that have been making wine since the 11th century.
For a holiday that is a stroke of luck, because the distances are short. Stay a week in an agriturismo in Chianti and you have a dozen leading estates within 30 minutes. And because many of them have restaurants, art collections or spectacular architecture, a winery visit here also works for travelling companions who could not care less about wine.
This guide is cut for the holiday: which estates receive visitors, where wine lovers eat well, what route you can drive in a day. If you want to know what defines Sangiovese and how the DOCG system works, you'll find that in our Tuscany region profile and in the Chianti article.
Best time to travel for wine experiences
| Period | What to expect |
|---|---|
| May - June | The best balance: green vineyards, pleasant temperatures, estates not yet overrun; cellars open nationwide for "Cantine Aperte" in late May |
| July - August | Hot and busy; but evening events under the "Calici di Stelle" banner around the meteor shower night of 10 August |
| September | The densest window: Expo Chianti Classico in Greve on the second weekend, the wine festival in Panzano, the start of harvest - but book tours early, the estates are picking |
| October | Autumn colour, quieter, harvest sometimes still under way - our insider tip |
| November - March | Many estates on reduced hours, some weekdays only; always check first |
The Sangiovese harvest usually begins in mid-September and stretches into October depending on site and vintage. In Montalcino it typically runs about three weeks.
Wineries you can visit
Our selection is curated for accessibility and spread geographically - from Chianti Classico via Montalcino to Montepulciano. The basic rule: book in advance, usually several days ahead. The prices below are a guide; check them when booking on the estate's website.
Antinori nel Chianti Classico (Bargino)
The most spectacular introduction to the region - and the easiest to reach. The Antinori family's winery is built into the hillside, its roof planted with vines, and a sculptural spiral staircase leads down into the barrel cellar. Architecture you will photograph even if wine leaves you cold. Tours come in several versions, from the standard visit with three wines to an extensive tasting across the Antinori estates. On the roof sits the restaurant Rinuccio 1180 with a panoramic view, which turns the visit comfortably into half a day. Booking strongly recommended; entry is not guaranteed without it.
Info: Website · Google Maps
Castello di Brolio - Barone Ricasoli (Gaiole in Chianti)
The cradle of Chianti: this is where Baron Bettino Ricasoli set down the formula in 1872 that made the wine world-famous, and the family has owned the estate since 1141. What makes it particularly practical for visitors is the tiered offering - the castle park with its gardens and views can be visited without booking, and a glass of wine in the shop is included in the entry fee. If you want more, book the classic tour with tasting (around 30 euros) or the vineyard tour (around 45). The gardens are open daily from mid-March to the end of December.
Info: Website · Book a visit · Google Maps
Castello di Ama (Gaiole in Chianti)
Our tip for anyone who wants to combine wine and art. Around 14 site-specific works by contemporary artists are scattered across the estate - among them Louise Bourgeois, Anish Kapoor and Daniel Buren; a new piece has been added every year since 1999. The tour links the medieval hamlet, the winery and the artworks and ends with a tasting. Booking is compulsory. The last few kilometres are partly gravel track - no problem, but worth knowing.
Info: Website · Google Maps
Badia a Coltibuono (Gaiole in Chianti)
An abbey founded in 1050 where wine has been made since 1051 - the quietest and perhaps the loveliest visit on this list. Cloister, frescoed refectory, historic cellar and baroque garden, with tours in two versions: short with two wines, or extended with four wines and home-made schiacciata. The restaurant in the monastery complex has been running since 1968 and serves, among other things, a tasting menu with five wines by the glass. If you like it, stay the night.
Info: Website · Google Maps
Castello di Verrazzano (Greve in Chianti)
The classic Chianti excursion, and one of the most straightforward: castle, historic cellar, garden and a great deal of food, all easily bookable online, barely half an hour from Florence. There is a tour with tasting and local specialities (around 30 euros) and a longer version with four organic wines, Vin Santo and a full lunch (around 60 euros, about three hours). Not the place for silent contemplation over the glass - but a very good first winery visit, particularly with family or a group of friends.
Info: Website · Google Maps
Fattoria di Montemaggio (Radda in Chianti)
The counterweight to the big names: a small certified organic family operation at 600 metres near Radda. Visits by appointment only, but very personal - either a short version with a vineyard walk and three wines, or an extensive two-hour visit taking in vineyard, cellar and up to seven glasses. Alongside Sangiovese you'll also find rare varieties such as Pugnitello and Ciliegiolo. Cooking and art courses are offered too.
Info: Website · Google Maps
Castello Banfi (Montalcino)
The most comfortable all-in-one package in Montalcino: castle, modern winery, glass museum, wine shop, restaurant and a Relais & Châteaux hotel on a single estate. The tour of vineyards and cellars takes around two and a half hours, optionally with lunch. The meeting point is the wine shop - where you can also try Brunello with pecorino and prosciutto on the spot without a tour. Important for planning: the estate is not in Montalcino itself but about 20 minutes' drive south-west at Poggio alle Mura.
Info: Website · Google Maps
Salcheto (Montepulciano)
Our recommendation for Montepulciano - and the estate with the most thoroughly organised visitor service in the area. Salcheto is organic and energy self-sufficient: a cellar that runs off-grid, a vertical garden on the facade, water recycling, its own vegetable plot. The shop and tours are open daily from 10 to 17, including public holidays - which makes Salcheto one of the most reliable addresses in the region. On site are the zero-waste restaurant Indigeno and guest rooms.
Info: Website · Google Maps
For wine enthusiasts: in Montalcino you can visit Biondi-Santi, the estate where Brunello began - appointments and prices strictly on request, and the tour goes deep. If you head for the coast, Bolgheri (Sassicaia, Ornellaia, Le Macchiole) offers the most expensive tasting level in Tuscany and, in its five-kilometre dead-straight cypress avenue, one of Italy's most famous photo stops. In Suvereto, Petra is worth it for Mario Botta's architecture alone: a cylindrical building sliced open on the diagonal, with cellars cut into the rock.
Suggested driving routes
Route 1 - Chianti Classico in a day: Antinori nel Chianti Classico near Bargino in the morning (architecture and tasting), lunch upstairs on the roof at Rinuccio 1180, then on to Greve in Chianti in the afternoon - either Castello di Verrazzano or a relaxed stop at Enoteca Falorni. If you still have time, take the panoramic road to Panzano.
Route 2 - upper Chianti around Gaiole: Badia a Coltibuono in the morning (abbey and cellar), lunch at the abbey restaurant, then Castello di Brolio in the afternoon with the castle park and a tasting. If you prefer art, swap Brolio for Castello di Ama. All three are 15 to 25 minutes apart.
Route 3 - a Brunello day from Siena: drive to Montalcino in the morning for a tasting at Castello Banfi or a comparative flight at Enoteca La Fortezza up in the fortress, lunch at Taverna del Grappolo Blu, then a stop at the abbey of Sant'Antimo on the way back. Allow about an hour each way from Siena.
Important - driving and wine: Italy's blood alcohol limit is 0.5. Anyone who has held their licence for less than three years may not drink at all - 0.0, and the same applies to professional drivers. Fines start in the hundreds and come with licence suspension. Spitting at tastings is entirely normal, or agree beforehand who drives. It is more relaxed with a guided tour from Florence or Siena: usually small groups in a minivan, a full day with two or three estates and lunch.
Restaurants for wine lovers
Fine dining
Osteria di Passignano (Badia a Passignano) - our favourite for the combination of kitchen and cellar: one Michelin star, right beside the abbey of Passignano and co-founded by the Antinori family. The restaurant houses the Antinori wine shop, from which you can taste and buy by the glass or the bottle - an unusually deep selection across all the family's estates. Info: Michelin Guide · Google Maps
Enoteca Pinchiorri (Florence) - if it has to be the one great wine list: three Michelin stars and a cellar of over 60,000 bottles, built up across more than five decades by Giorgio Pinchiorri and Annie Féolde. A pilgrimage site for collectors of old vintages - book far ahead and budget generously. Info: Michelin Guide · Google Maps
Osteria Le Logge (Siena) - right by the Piazza del Campo, in a former grocery from 1977 with the original counter and glass cabinets still in place. The cellar sits in a tunnel of Etruscan origin and can be visited on request. The restaurant grew out of the wine passion of Gianni Brunelli, whose family produces Brunello in Montalcino - the wines are on the list. Info: Website · Google Maps
Relaxed
Trattoria Il Leccio (Sant'Angelo in Colle) - the loveliest contrast in the region: an unassuming family trattoria in a tiny hamlet south of Montalcino, with a wine list that can take on any starred restaurant - from cult vintages to minuscule producers you will find nowhere else. Plus pici with ragù and a very good bistecca. This is exactly where you eat before buying one bottle too many in the evening. Info: Website · Google Maps
Taverna del Grappolo Blu (Montalcino) - a rustic tavern in the centre of town, awarded a Bib Gourmand by the Michelin Guide for good cooking at a fair price. The ideal affordable counterweight when the morning has already cost you a Brunello. Info: Michelin Guide · Google Maps
Restaurants at the wineries - three addresses that bundle the visit, the meal and the shopping in one place, which makes them ideal for driving days: Rinuccio 1180 on the roof of the Antinori winery (lunch only), the restaurant at Badia a Coltibuono in the abbey complex, and Indigeno at Salcheto in Montepulciano.
Wine bars and wine shops
- Enoteca Falorni (Greve in Chianti) - the largest enoteca in Tuscany and our number one practical tip: over 1,000 wines, more than 100 of them available from self-service dispensers. You load a card and taste at your own pace, with the smallest pour at 25 millilitres. That lets you sample expensive bottles without wrecking the budget - and the driver can stick to mini pours. Google Maps
- Le Volpi e l'Uva (Florence) - a tiny wine bar in the Oltrarno, a few steps from the Ponte Vecchio, open since 1992. Around 350 wines on the shelf and about 45 by the glass, deliberately from small, terroir-driven producers rather than the big names. Crostini, cheese and salumi alongside. Website · Google Maps
- Enoteca La Fortezza (Montalcino) - inside the fortress high above Montalcino, one of the town's first wine bars. Wine comes by the glass, the half glass or as a straight taste - perfect for comparing several Brunello producers in an afternoon. Website · Google Maps
- Enoteca I Terzi (Siena) - near the Piazza del Campo, built around a 12th-century stone tower, with brick vaulting. An extensive list of Tuscan and international wines including mature vintages, with ribollita, salumi and pecorino. Website · Google Maps
Wine experiences and festivals
- Expo Chianti Classico (September, Greve in Chianti): the biggest festival of Chianti Classico, traditionally on the second September weekend on the historic market square. It is the only event that brings together producers from every municipality in the appellation - each estate with its own stand, plus guided tastings and concerts.
- Vino al Vino (September, Panzano in Chianti): smaller and more personal, on Panzano's main square: around 20 estates from the local growers' association, usually on the third September weekend.
- Calici di Stelle (late July to mid-August, across Tuscany): evening events at wineries around the night of Saint Lawrence's meteor shower on 10 August - open-air tastings, often with music and sunset walks. The most elegant way to experience wine in high summer without standing around in the midday heat.
- Cantine Aperte (late May, across Italy): open cellar day - many estates open without prior booking.
- Benvenuto Brunello (February, Montalcino): the presentation of the new Brunello vintage in the fortress. Strongly geared to the trade, but a special experience for interested amateurs.
- Wine Museum Greve in Chianti: in a centuries-old cellar in the town centre, with historic winegrowing equipment and multilingual audio guides - a good bad-weather option.
Practical tip, the Chianti Classico Card: the appellation's official card gives access to over 200 experiences at more than 100 wine and olive oil producers - tastings, cellar tours, picnics between the rows. It works on a points system and costs around 37 or 52 euros depending on scope, plus ten per cent off wine purchases. If you plan to visit several estates it usually works out cheaper. To the card
Practical tips
The ZTL - the most expensive beginner's mistake: the historic centres of Florence, Siena, Lucca, San Gimignano, Montepulciano and many other towns are covered by camera-enforced restricted traffic zones (Zona a Traffico Limitato). Enter without authorisation and you will usually pay between 80 and 335 euros, plus the rental company's admin fee - and the notice often turns up six months later, when nobody remembers where they took a wrong turn. In Florence the zone is active on weekdays during the day and usually suspended on Sundays. The simple rule: leave the car in a car park outside the old town. If your hotel is inside the zone, email them your number plate at least two days before arrival - they can have it temporarily cleared.
Taking wine home: within the EU there is no fixed quantity limit on wine for personal use; what matters is that the amount is plausibly private. Wine travels fine in checked baggage, while the 100 ml rule still applies to hand luggage. For larger purchases, shipping directly through the estate is almost always worth it - cheaper than excess baggage and considerably safer. And never leave bottles standing in a hot car; that ruins a good Brunello too.
What to buy: a Chianti Classico Riserva or Gran Selezione shows what Sangiovese can do without wrecking the budget. For the serious bottle to lay down, Brunello di Montalcino is the obvious choice - and it will age for decades if you store it properly. The underrated tip is Vino Nobile di Montepulciano: same grape, often a little more approachable, and less commonly seen on shelves abroad.
And while you're there: Tuscan wine lists run to 300 entries in no time, many from estates you have never heard of. That is exactly what the Grape Guru app scanner is for - photograph the list or the label and place immediately what is about to land in the glass. It's how you find, even in a trattoria, the bottle that carries the evening.
Frequently asked questions
Can you visit Tuscan wineries without booking?
Generally not. Almost every estate in Chianti, Montalcino and Montepulciano gives tours and tastings by appointment only, often with several days' notice. Exceptions include the freely accessible castle park at Castello di Brolio and the shops of some estates. If you want to taste on the spur of the moment, head for a wine bar such as Enoteca Falorni in Greve in Chianti.
What does a wine tasting cost in Tuscany?
A tasting without a tour usually costs 15 to 25 euros, a guided tour with a cellar visit and tasting around 25 to 45 euros per person. Add lunch and 45 to 60 euros is normal. In Bolgheri on the coast the level is noticeably higher. Prices change seasonally - check the estate's website before booking.
When is the harvest in Tuscany?
The Sangiovese for Chianti, Chianti Classico and Brunello is usually picked between mid-September and October, depending on site, altitude and vintage. Harvest is the most atmospheric time at the estates - and also the busiest, so request tours especially early.
What is the ZTL and why does it matter for rental cars?
ZTL stands for Zona a Traffico Limitato, a camera-enforced restricted traffic zone in Italian historic centres - including Florence, Siena, Lucca, San Gimignano and Montepulciano. Drive in without authorisation and you will usually pay between 80 and 335 euros plus the rental company's admin fee. The notice often arrives months after the trip. Park consistently outside the zone; if your hotel is inside the ZTL, send them your number plate in advance.
Do you need a car for a wine trip to Tuscany?
For Chianti, yes - the estates are scattered across the countryside and barely reachable by public transport. Since Italy's limit is 0.5 (and 0.0 for anyone with less than three years of driving experience), a guided tour with a driver from Florence or Siena is a good alternative, usually a half or full day taking in two or three wineries.
Which Tuscan wine should you take home?
A Chianti Classico Riserva or Gran Selezione if you want Sangiovese in its classic form - or a Brunello di Montalcino as the serious bottle to lay down. Interesting and less widely exported: Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. Within the EU you can take wine home for personal use without a fixed quantity limit, and many estates will ship directly on request.
Your sommelier for your vacation
Unfamiliar wine list, unknown labels? Simply scan the list or bottle at a restaurant or wine shop – the Grape Guru app instantly tells you which wine is worth it. Free for iOS and Android.
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