Tuscany Private Wine Tour

Your private chauffeur will meet you at the airport and transfer you to your boutique hotel in the beautiful heart of Florence within walking distance of Piazza Santa Croce, the Duomo, and Piazza Santa Maria Novella. It’s just a few steps from the Renaissance church bearing the same name. Check into your luxurious hotel; Palazzo Portinari Salviati is an exclusive luxury hotel in a historical palace. This prestigious 15th-century Renaissance palazzo was home of Beatrice Portinari, Dante’s muse, and Cosimo I de’ Medici, the Grand Duke of Tuscany. In 2022, following an extensive and meticulous restoration, the Palace reopened its doors as a 5-star luxury hotel. Welcome to Florence!

The hotel boasts elegant suites with frescoes from the 1700s and luxurious apartments with breathtaking views of the Duomo and 1-star-Michelin restaurant ATTO di Vito Mollica Restaurant. Head Chef Vito Mollica promotes the cultural richness of Florentine gastronomy with a creative spin on traditional recipes using local ingredients and produce.

After you freshen up, your private art guide will pick you up, and you will discover the best highlights of Florence. Your charming guide will lead you on a  walking tour of Florence’s “Centro Storico,” including the Mercato Centrale (the mind-boggling food market), the Ponte Vecchio, the Uffizi gallery, the Piazza Della Signoria (the gorgeous square where Neptune’s fountain, Loggia Dei Lanzi and the Palazzo Vecchio are all located), and plenty of hidden gourmet gems en route. This city has captivated numerous writers and artists, including Henry James, Henry David Thoreau, Albert Camus, and Mark Twain. The city’s cobblestone streets, lively atmosphere, and stunning artistic history contribute to its enchanting ambiance.

In the afternoon, sip a glass of wine on a stylish terrace or go shopping or sightseeing.

Tonight’s dinner is a special treat- dinner at Cibreo. This restaurant is one of the favorite gourmet haunts in Italy. The New York Times aptly described Fabio, Cibreo’s chef-owner, saying, ‘He talks like a poet and cooks like a wizard. Fabio is one of the best chefs in Florence, and indeed Italy, a true culinary maestro.

Enjoy a full breakfast at your sophisticated hotel, as today will be a wine-tasting extravaganza! Your charming chauffeur guide will pick you up from your boutique hotel and transfer you by Mercedes through the enchanting Chiantigiana route to the renowned Chianti Classico wine region. This is the land of the Sangiovese grape, and you will taste different expressions of this noble grape.

Begin with the Antinori’s Badia a Passignano estate, our absolute favorite in Chianti. Your exuberant host will take you on a memorable tour of the property, and you will taste some of Antinori’s mythical wines, such as Tignanello, Cervaro Della Sala, Chianti Classico Riserva Badia a Passignano, Brunello di Montalcino, and Solaia. After the cellar visit, enjoy an Extra Virgin Olive Oil tasting, followed by an outstanding lunch at the Michelin-starred Osteria, where dishes are paired with the aforementioned wines. Top class.

After lunch, carry on with a visit to a historic estate such as the beautiful Castello di Ama property, with its art collection and manicured gardens. On a private tour, explore the grounds and finish with a tasting of their best wines, including single-vineyard crus Bellavista, La Casuccia, and Super Tuscan L’Apparita, and even their precious Extra Virgin Olive oil, produced with handpicked Correggiolo, Moraiolo, Leccino, and Frantoio olives, pressed the same day at their on-site mill.

Next is the spectacular town of Siena. Your expert, English-speaking art guide will meet you for an ‘insider’s tour’ of Siena. Discover some beautiful hidden corners of this charming town. After your tour of Siena, you will travel to your hotel for the next two nights- a hill-topped castle; Castello di Velona Resort, Thermal Spa & Winery, a renovated fortress dating back from the 11th century, with amazing views of the Val d’Orcia.

Free evening to enjoy the hotel restaurant on your own.

Full breakfast in the castle. Today, you will taste incredible Brunello di Montalcino and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano wines! Your chauffeur guide will pick you up and take you first to Montalcino. This ancient village is best known for its elixir red Brunello di Montalcino wines, made with the Sangiovese Grosso grape varietal. Enjoy a VIP private visit to a Brunello producer, such as the prestigious Casanova di Neri estate. On the way to the winery, you can quickly visit the stunning ruins of the 9th-century Abbazia di Sant’Antimo.

At the winery, you will tour the barrel caves and vineyards, take in the gorgeous views, and taste Rosso di Montalcino Giovanni Neri, Brunello di Montalcino White Label, Brunello di Montalcino Tenuta Nuova, Brunello di Montalcino Cerretalto and Pietradonice.

Lunch will be at one of our favorite traditional restaurants in Tuscany, intimate and exclusive, with breathtaking views. After a delicious lunch, carry on to Montepulciano.

Montepulciano, a town of Etruscan origin, stands as one of Tuscany’s most picturesque hill towns. This fortified hamlet is architecturally remarkable; its unique positioning and historical significance make it a quintessential example of Tuscan beauty and heritage. Of course, it is an absolute treat and a mythical name for wine lovers. Perfectly preserved and historical, there are darling enotecas (wine bars), gourmet shops, and historic palaces, fabulous. The Vino Nobile wines of Montepulciano were the first to be given the ultimate quality level of DOCG certification, which is why you are here! You will visit a top estate such as Bindella, Boscarelli, or Avignonesi and enjoy tasting their excellent Vino Nobile wines.

Enjoy free time in Montepulciano in the late afternoon and transfer back to your hotel.

Start your day with a full breakfast at your castle hotel. After breakfast, your chauffeur will drive you southwest from Montalcino to the mythical Maremma Wine Region. The drive takes you from the cypress-covered hills of Montalcino into the beautiful and wild Maremma region. The Maremma, one of Tuscany’s most exciting areas, remains curiously ‘undiscovered’ by non-Italians. It is more famous locally for its glamorous beaches on the Tyrrhenian Sea and millionaires’ yachts in Porto Argentario. It is also, interestingly, famous for its cowboys. The ‘butteri’ (cowboys) notoriously beat Buffalo Bill in 1911 when he challenged them to a contest of breaking in the colts.

For wine lovers, it is also home to some of the world’s most significant wine names, like Ornellaia and Sassicaia. The wine tasting is scheduled for tomorrow, allowing you today to soak up the local culture thoroughly. You will visit Montemerano, Pitigliano, and other little villages before checking in to your beautiful villa hotel.

Enjoy lunch in this gorgeous town, known as Italy’s ‘Little Jerusalem’ for its Jewish heritage and ancient synagogue. After lunch, you will spend the afternoon sightseeing in the region’s most beautiful little villages.

You will arrive at your country villa-style hotel in the evening, L’Andana a magnificent property. This superb five-star hotel was once an aristocratic hunting lodge. It is undoubtedly one of the most luxurious properties in Southern Tuscany, and you will love it! Enrico Bartolini, an Italian chef with a total of 8 Michelin stars, created a Tuscan-inspired creative menu, delicious! This evening is free to enjoy the restaurant at the hotel.

Today is all about Super Tuscans! The region’s wineries have flourished over the last three decades, producing some of the world’s best and most expensive wines. “Super Tuscan” refers to high-quality, high-priced red wines originating in the 1970s and created using unconventional grape varieties or blends (mainly Bordeaux-style blends), defying local Italian wine appellation rules (DOCs and DOCGs). Currently, some wines from Maremma can fetch prices of up to $750 a bottle!

You will enjoy a wonderful wine-tasting day, visiting two superb cellars such as Guado al Tasso and Ornellaia, located in the castle-crowned village of Bolgheri, home to some of Italy’s finest cellars.

Lunch will be at lovely Enoteca San Guido, simple yet elegant. Your incredibly charming hosts will guide you through a vertical tasting of Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia during your Tuscan-style lunch.

In the afternoon, with your chauffeur guide on hand, you can visit the Maremma beaches, explore medieval villages, or relax at your ultra-luxury hotel.

Today, you will travel along the Tuscan coast on your way back to Florence, visiting and tasting at stellar wineries such as Petra (a stunning contemporary structure designed by the famed Swiss architect Mario Botta (who also designed the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art) and Tenuta Prima Pietra, the latest wine adventure by Ferragamo in Riparbella is a stunning estate on 200 hectares surrounded by lush forest and 11 hectares of vineyards overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea. breathtaking

Between these visits, you will enjoy one of the best meals on the tour: an unforgettable seafood lunch at our favorite restaurant in this region, the Michelin-starred La Pineta. You will be seated at the restaurant’s best table with fantastic sea views. Your tasting menu will be paired with an exquisite selection of local and national wines handpicked by the house sommelier. Dishes may include perfectly prepared monkfish; homemade Bavette Pasta with squid, cuttlefish, and aromatic sage; Linguini with red mullet; and for dessert, a decadent Mille-feuille (Napoleon) featuring layers of flaky pastry and silky smooth cream, all topped with a luscious caramel drizzle.

In the late afternoon, you have the option to explore Pisa or head back to Florence. Upon arrival in Florence, you will stay in the same lovely boutique hotel as your first night, Palazzo Portinari Salviati. The evening is yours to relax and sip a glass of wine in a beautiful Florentine piazza.

Enjoy a full breakfast at an elegant hotel. Today, you will enjoy an excursion to San Gimignano, about 1-hour drive from Florence. San Gimignano is a gorgeous medieval village called “the Manhattan of Tuscany” because of its many towers (medieval, of course!).

Stop in San Gimignano with your driver-guide for a few hours. Take in the lovely cobblestoned streets lined with ‘ristoranti,’ wine shops, ceramic shops. Visit the medieval palaces and art museums. Sit on a terrace before you leave, tasting the local white tipple, Vernaccia di San Gimignano.

Next, your chauffeur will whisk you away to the serene hills of Fiesole and a private visit and tasting at an olive oil farm overlooking Florence. Enjoy a walk through the olive trees (magnificent in late autumn) and learn about Tuscany’s olive varietals and the process of making extra virgin oils. Finish the visit by tasting the full range of their premium olive oils and indulge in a delicious picnic lunch with cured hams, local cheeses, salads, sandwiches, dips, wine, and olives. Be sure to save room, as tonight’s dinner promises to be an extraordinary experience.

Your chauffeur will ensure a timely return to Florence in the late evening, just in time for a quick Aperol spritz Aperitivo. Your last supper in Florence this evening will be a memorable affair at Gucci Osteria. So, dress to impress.

This incredible restaurant “a workshop of culture” is decorated in fifty shades of lush and plush green. The restaurant is a fusion of style and gastronomy. It is the brainchild of two childhood friends: Marco Bizzarri, Gucci C.E.O., and Chef Massimo Bottura of Modena’s three Michelin-starred Osteria Francescana, combining food and fashion in a fantastic setting. Mexican chef Karime López brings a distinctly Mexican flare to the restaurant, reflecting Florence’s historical reputation as a cultural melting pot. Karime’s contemporary menu is an interpretation of traditional dishes with multi-cultural influences such as Chawanmushi, Eel & Mussels; Crispy cod & Mediterranean flavors; steamed bun & pork belly from the Cinta Senese breed; Pumpkin, eel & horseradish; Ibiscus (flower petal), Cinnamon & Casciana apple. Each dish is paired with a local or national wine. Buon appetito!

Full breakfast at an elegant hotel. This concludes your wine tour of Tuscany, with wine tasting in Chianti, Montalcino, Montepulciano and the Maremma. You will leave with many gourmet goodies and gifts, and above all with a deeper appreciation of Tuscan wines, art, and architecture. We can arrange extra days in Rome or Venice; please contact us for details.