• The Wine Tours of Italia: My Private Services

    In addition to private transfers, and customized services throughout Italy, a listing of my more popular private wine tours. Salute!

  • The Best of Tuscany - 9-12 Hours [Tuscany]

    Today your English-speaking driver will meet you at your hotel and you will drive into Tuscany, and the heart of its wine regions. Experience the very best in regional Italian wines on this tasting tour. The day will be filled with wine-soaked views and delicious food in places steeped in natural beauty & history. Immerse yourself in the beauty of Tuscany and all its' regional splendor with a private wine tasting experiences. You’ll stop at two vineyards today where some the world’s most palatable wines are produced, known for their excellent production. These smaller producers & vineyards allow for a more enjoyable experience in Tuscany.

     

    If departing from Siena or Florence: You will stop to taste wines of Chianti Classico & Brunello. Stopping in Montepulciano during the day for a short visit of this beautiful Tuscan hill town for free time on own of approx. 1hr + a full 3 course light lunch will be included in your day.

    If departing from Rome: Chianti Classico will be replaced with Morellino di Scansano tasting, with hill town visit and lunch included as well.

    Length of activities varies according to your departing location.

     

    Inclusions: [Save 10% if booked 4 months prior to date (but not valid for May, June, Sept, Oct)

    Private English-speaking driver & all transportation

    Wine tastings (2) & light lunch (3 courses)

    Amarone - 7-11 Hours [Vicenza]

    This morning your English-speaking driver will meet you at your hotel for pickup at 9:00am. You’ll head towards Verona today, where in the region you will stop in beautiful Valpolicella, where the famed exquisite Amarone della Valpolicella wine is produced by the Corvina family. There are less than 12,000 acres in the world of these most important Amarone grapes–Corvina and Corvinone, and they only grow in Valpolicella. This is your first stop today at one of the biggest wineries in the area, here you’ll see it’s modern production facilities, be able to tour the cellars and enjoy the tasting experience. We will then continue our day by visiting a smaller intimate producer of the local wine, where things are done semi manually.

    Lastly today we visit the charming northern city of Verona, of course famed for Romeo & Juliet fiction by Shakespeare, and you can see the fictional balcony of Juliet just off the main piazza. Enjoy some free time in Verona on own where you could see its arena, which is used every summer for the world-famous outdoor Verona opera season. Time will be given for lunch today, but cost for lunch is not included in your program.

     

    Pickups in region include in: Venice’s Piazzale Roma, Milan and Verona (Water Taxi in Venice can be arranged to meet the driver in Piazzale Roma at additional cost, and on return)

     

    Optional Cost: Add an expert English local walking guide in Verona for 2 hours to discover the history of Verona, this once Imperial Roman city. Please enquirer for rates.

     

    Length of activities varies according to your departing location.

     

    Inclusions: [Save 10% if booked 4 months prior to date (but not valid for May, June, Sept, Oct)

    Private English-speaking driver & all transportation

    Wine tastings (2)

    Barolo - 7-11 Hours [Piedmonte]

    Your English-speaking driver will meet you for pickup at your hotel this morning and drive you to the Langhe region of Piedmont, which is famous worldwide for several good wines, the elitist of them Barolo

    Barolo from Piedmont, Italy is produced from the Nebbiolo grape. Nebbiolo wines of Piedmont are among the most highly rated wines in the world. There are no large wineries in the region, and the typical producer in the area has only one hector of land, very few are any larger than this.

    This is your first stop today at one of the biggest Barolo wineries in the area, here you’ll see it’s modern production facilities, be able to tour the cellars and enjoy the tasting experience. We will then continue our day by visiting a smaller intimate producer of the local wine, where things are done semi manually.

     

    Lastly today we visit the charming northern city of Verona, of course famed for Romeo & Juliet fiction by Shakespeare, and you can see the fictional balcony of Juliet just off the main piazza. Enjoy some free time in Verona on own where you could see its arena, which is used every summer for the world-famous outdoor Verona opera season. Time will be given for lunch today, but cost for lunch is not included in your program.

    Hotel Pickups in region include in: Milan, Como, Asti & Alba

     

    Optional Cost: Add an expert English local walking guide in Verona for 2 hours to discover the history of Verona, this once Imperial Roman city. Please enquirer for rates.

     

    Length of activities varies according to your departing location.

     

    Inclusions: [Save 10% if booked 4 months prior to date (but not valid for May, June, Sept, Oct)

    Private English-speaking driver & all transportation

    Wine tastings (2)

    Brunello - 7-11 Hours [Tuscany]

    Buongiorno! This morning at 9:00am your English-speaking driver for the day will meet & pick you up at your hotel in (Florence, Rome, or Tuscany [Siena/Arezzo region]) for your drive to the beautiful hill town of Montalcino, in the province of Siena. Wine in this region comes from only the Sangiovese grape, and these mines must age for four years before it is allowed to be sold, and it’s five years for the Riserva. This is the famed Brunello di Montelcino. Brunello is a complex, full-bodied wine. Medium in alcohol and full of fruit, it is a great accompaniment to dishes with Mediterranean and Mediterranean-style spices and flavors, such as rosemary and lemon zest. The best place to drink Brunello is on the sunny hillside vineyards of Montalcino!

     

    Here you will visit two producers of the Brunello. The first of which will be one of the larger wineries of the exquisite Brunello, you’ll see its production facilities tour its cellars and enjoy tastings in the Enoteca on property. Then you will visit a smaller producer, family owned and operated where processing is done semi manually. After which a visit to the village of Montalcino, where an nice light lunch will be included at a local trattoria (excludes drinks) before having time to explore on own. This evening you will return to hotel

     

    Hotel Pickups in region include in: Rome, Florence, Siena/Arezzo region of Tuscany

     

    Length of activities varies according to your departing location.

     

    Inclusions: [Save 10% if booked 4 months prior to date (but not valid for May, June, Sept, Oct)

    Private English-speaking driver & all transportation

    Wine tastings (2) & Lunch (Excluding Drinks)

    Chianti Classico - 7-11 Hours [Tuscany]

    The hills of Tuscany are green with the vineyards of the world-renowned wine, Chianti. Chianti visitors can catch a glimpse of its prosperity and tradition. With many centuries of winemaking in its past, Chianti boasts some of the most famous wines of all time were produced from this land, the beverage that has become a symbol of Italy, Chianti Classico.

     

    This morning at 9:00am your English-speaking driver will meet & pick you up for your drive into picturesque landscapes of the Chianti region of Tuscany. The DOCG pink label on the bottle necks of Chianti Classico with the black rooster certifies that the wine has been grown under the strict rules of the Chianti Classico zone of production. Today you will visit two wineries, tasting a total of 5 Chianti wines. As well a nice light lunch at a local trattoria in the region will be included, and then lastly a visit to one of Chianti’s famed little hill town villages for free time to explore on own, typically this is Greve in Chianti.

     

    Hotel Pickups in region include in: Rome, Florence, Siena/Arezzo region of Tuscany

     

    Length of activities varies according to your departing location.

     

    Inclusions: [Save 10% if booked 4 months prior to date (but not valid for May, June, Sept, Oct)

    Private English-speaking driver & all transportation

    Wine tastings (2) & Lunch

    The Montepulciano Southern Tuscan - 7-11 Hours [Tuscany]

    Montepulciano is a beautiful medieval & renaissance hill town in southern Tuscany, which known for its rolling hills. Montepulicano is also considered to be a gastronomic mecca of Tuscany. This is also where you’ll find the production vineyards of the world-renowned Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, from the local Prugnolo Gentile grape it among other grapes are blended to create sublime wines, of which the Nobile is considered by wine connoisseurs worldwide to be the best of Italy’s wines. The grape makes red wines that are fruity, spicy, and delicious. The local grape is often used to make wines that have been aged for 10 years or more. To be able to produce the best wines, it is very important to let the grapes hang longer than other varieties of wine grapes.

     

    Your Tuscan experience begins today with a 9:00am pickup at your hotel, where your English-speaking driver will meet you for your day in Tuscany. A great wine tasting experience awaits today, where overall you’ll taste 8 different wines between two different wineries of the region. You’ll have free time on own in the amazing town of Montepulciano for one hour, and nice lunch will be included in a local trattoria. Then is evening you’ll return to your hotel.

    Hotel Pickups in region include in: Rome, Florence, Siena/Arezzo region of Tuscany

    Length of activities varies according to your departing location.

     

    Inclusions: [Save 10% if booked 4 months prior to date (but not valid for May, June, Sept, Oct)

    Private English-speaking driver & all transportation

    Wine tastings (2) & Lunch

    Heart of Tuscany & Chianti Winery - 7 Hours [Tuscany] NEW!

     

    We’ll begin with a panoramic drive through the Val Di Chiana area, stopping for a visit to the hill town of Montepulciano. After walking through the city we will visit a historic wine cellar which lies beneath the palaces of Piazza Grande.

    We will then drive through Val D’Orcia, a landscape so unique it has been selected as a UNESCO World Heritage site. We’ll stop for a panoramic picture and a stroll through Pienza.

    APPROXIMATE LENGHT: 7 hrs

    Afterwards we continue on to the Madonna Bella Farm right outside Siena with views on the city and out over the countryside, where we will sit down to learn about food and wine pairing and enjoy an abundant tasting of all the products of the farm – fresh pasta, dishes graced with our olive oil, and 2 types of wine, in a friendly competition between the Madonna Bella Chianti vs a Nobile di Montepulciano from the winery visited in the morning. Finally, we’ll visit the olive groves and vineyards, and see how olive oil is made after which it’s back to the town where the tour originated.

    Farm & Chianti Wine Tour - 7 Hours [Tuscany] NEW!

     

    After the pick-up at your hotel, we begin with a scenic drive through the rolling, vineyard-covered hills of the Chianti region which stretches from Florence to Siena and beyond, and which set the stage in the 13th c. for the rise of city-states to power and the rivalries of the powerful medieval noble families.

    We’ll reach a small medieval village of immaculate alleys and flower-adorned stoops, after which we stop to tour the cellars of a small, exceptionally good vineyard where wines have been made for generations, where we will learn about the making of Chianti and Super Tuscan wines, and of course tour the 18th c. cellars.

    APPROXIMATE LENGHT: 7 hrs

    Afterwards we continue on to the Madonna Bella Farm, right outside Siena with views on the city and out over the countryside, where we will we’ll sit down to learn about food and wine pairing and enjoy an abundant tasting of all the products of the farm – fresh pasta, dishes graced with our olive oil, and 2 types of wine, a Super Tuscan from the winery we visited as well as the Madonna Bella Chianti.

    Finally, we’ll visit the olive groves and vineyards, and see how olive oil is pressed, after which it’s back to the town where the tour originated.

    Brunello & Chainti Tour - 8 Hours [Tuscany] NEW!

     This tour has a food and wine focus rather than a history focus. It includes panoramic drives with plenty of photostops, and learning about wines.

    We start with a drive through the Val D’Orcia, a landscape so unique it has been selected as a UNESCO World Heritage site, arriving in the lovely hilltown of Montalcino. We’ll stop for photographs and walk through the town.

    Then it’s on to a “boutique” family-owned organic wine operation for a tour, learning about Montalcino wines and sharing a glass of Rosso di Montalcino with the owners.

    APPROXIMATE LENGHT: 8 hrs

    The second winery on the tour is in the Chianti, our own Madonna Bella Farm, right
    outside Siena with views on the city and out over the countryside, where we will visit the olive
    groves and vineyards, and see how olive oil is made.

    Finally we’ll sit down to learn about food and wine pairing and enjoy an abundant tasting of all the products of the farm – fresh pasta, dishes graced with our olive oil, and 2 types of wine, in a friendly competition between the Madonna Bella Chianti vs the Brunello di Montalcino from the family winery we visited in the morning, after which it’s back to the town where the tour originated.

     

    Clay Hills & Winery Tour - 7 Hours [Tuscany] NEW!

     The Clay Hills, one of the most unique landscapes in Tuscany, display an ever-changing palette of color according to the seasons. Cultivated fields are dotted with “biancane”, mounds of pure clay which if fired takes on the warm hues of terracotta (literally “baked earth”).

    We first drive through the Clay Hills and then visit the 14th century monastery of Monte Oliveto Maggiore, home to masterpiece frescos by Sodoma and Signorelli. Then we move on to a tiny medieval village where we can wander the narrow streets and enjoy the view.

    APPROXIMATE LENGHT: 7 hrs

    Afterwards we continue on to the Madonna Bella Farm, right outside Siena with views on the city and out over the countryside, where we will we’ll sit down to learn about food and wine pairing and enjoy an abundant tasting of all the products of the farm – fresh pasta, dishes graced with our olive oil, and 3 types of wine paired with the food, after which it’s back to the town where the tour originated.

    Visit to Siena & Winery Tour - 7 Hours [Tuscany] NEW!

     The city + countryside tour includes a walking tour of the highlights of Siena including the Duomo cathedral, an example of Sienese Gothic architecture, which is also home to four precious masterpieces by Donatello, Michelangelo, Bernini and Nicola and Giovanni Pisano, as well as marble inlaid floors which are unique in Europe. We will walk through the streets of the contradas, learn about the Palio horse race, and visit the Campo square.

    APPROXIMATE LENGHT: 7 hrs

    Afterwards you’ll head out to Madonna Bella Farm, right outside Siena with views on the city and out over the countryside, where we will visit the olive groves and vineyards, and see how olive oil and fresh/dried pasta is processed.

    At last, we’ll sit down to learn about food and wine pairing and enjoy an abundant tasting of all the products of the farm – fresh pasta, dishes graced with our olive oil, and 2 types of wine, included in the tour price with this itinerary only, and then it’s back to the town where the tour originated.