Straight talk
Wine tour from Florence: is it worth it?
Yes. For a lot of visitors, it’s the best day of the whole trip.
You can see the Duomo, the Uffizi and Ponte Vecchio in a couple of days. But many people who come home from Florence talk most about one day outside the city: the day at a winery in the Tuscan hills.
We did it, and we get why.
What the day looks like
Our tour picked us up in Florence, drove us out into the hills and brought us back in the evening. Rolling vineyards, old stone farm buildings, and a winemaker showing us around.
The tasting itself happened in the cellar, among the steel fermentation tanks, around an old barrel lid used as a table. On it: the estate’s own extra virgin olive oil with focaccia to dip, a white, a red with a handwritten label straight from the cellar, and an organic Chianti.
Lunch that never ended
Everyone assumed the cheese and cold cuts were lunch. They weren’t. The food just kept coming, and so did the wine. That’s what made the day: plenty of both, not five tiny pours and a piece of cheese.
The rosé
Before lunch, we sat out on the terrace with a glass of the estate’s rosé. It was a warm day, everyone was a little hot, and the rosé was cold and crisp. It was exactly the right wine at exactly the right moment, and the whole group fell for it.
We managed to buy the last bottle. Then everyone else wanted one too, and there were none left. For the rest of the day, people kept making us offers for it. The best one was probably Super Bowl tickets. We held firm, and kept the bottle.
You won’t be the only American
We left from central Florence with two minibuses full of Americans. It makes sense: it’s an easy, relaxed day, nobody has to drive, and it feels like the Tuscany everyone imagines before the trip.
What it costs
We paid about $95 (€85) per person, with transport and lunch included. That was a few years ago.
Prices today vary a lot by tour and time of day. On a booking platform for the coming weeks, we found tours from about $45 to $135 (€40 to €120) per person for around four hours. Tours with a full lunch or dinner cost more than a short morning tasting.
How to pick a tour
- Transport both ways. The most important thing. Then everyone can taste, and nobody deals with Tuscan back roads or the traffic zones in Florence
- A small group. Ten to fifteen people is plenty, so you get to talk to the winemaker
- A working family estate, not just a tasting room. You want to see the vineyard and the cellar
- Food included. At least bread and olive oil, ideally a proper lunch on the terrace
- Check what’s included before you book: number of wines, food and the pickup point
When to go
Spring and early fall are best. In September and early October you may see the grape harvest, though the estates are busy then. Midsummer afternoons in the vineyard get hot, which, as we learned, is when a cold rosé tastes best.
Can you ship the wine home?
Many estates ship abroad, so ask about shipping to the US or Canada before you buy a case. The rules and costs vary, so get the price in writing.
The verdict: if you have three or more days in Florence, give one of them to a winery. Book a tour with transport, go hungry, and leave room in your suitcase for a few bottles. Or buy the last bottle of rosé before anyone else does.
More on the area: our Florence guide and Chianti.
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