Why You Can’t Miss Wine Tasting in Tuscany
A trip to Tuscany without a wine tour of the region is simply a trip incomplete. Learn more about why Tuscany's wines can't be beat and our experience on a small-group wine tasting tour.
Tuscany is world-renowned for its wine, and for good reason. The climate and topography are perfect for wine-growing and the region’s dedication to strict quality-control standards mean that you can trust that you’re getting an excellent glass of wine, every single time. But if you’re flying all the way to Florence and only ordering a glass of Chianti with dinner, you’re missing out on a truly memorable experience – tasting the wines at the vineyards themselves. From small-batch wines you can only taste direct from the vineyards to the knowledge and passion shared by the vintners, paired with some of the world’s best olive oils and local cheeses, and set against one of nature’s most beautiful backdrops, we are positive that wine tasting in Tuscany will become the highlight of your trip.
To prep you for your wine tasting experience, we’ll give you a quick overview of some of the most important things to know about Tuscan wines, and then provide some recommendations to make the most of your tour. Check out our post 10 Amazing Places to Eat and Drink in Florence for a recommendation on where to get dinner afterwards!
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Why Tuscany is a Wine Mecca
It might surprise you to learn that Tuscany has been making wine for not just centuries, but millennia. Long before the Romans popularized it as a part of everyday life, the Etruscans were making wine in the Chianti region as far back as the 8th century BCE. Nestled in central Italy, Tuscany’s rolling hills and Mediterranean climate made it clear even to early settlers that it was a perfect region for grape growing. The hills provide excellent drainage (crucial for producing high-quality wines), and the combination of warm days and cool nights help to ripen the grapes while preserving their acidity and aromatic qualities.
Tuscan wines evolved over the centuries, gaining international acclaim, and in 1716, Chianti became one of the first legally defined wine regions in the world. This provided it with protected status and opened the door to further controls and regulations, which ensure the quality and authenticity of Tuscan wines we have come to expect today. Today, there are hundreds of defined wine regions in the world, with six in Tuscany alone.
The Star of the Show - Sangiovese
The star grape of the Tuscan wine region is the Sangiovese, and it will feature heavily in your wine tasting in Tuscany. While some white varieties are grown here, the rocky soil of the region is better suited to red varieties with stronger roots. Sangiovese grapes feature in all of Tuscany’s most famous wines, including Chianti, Brunello di Montalcino, and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, and often play a large role in Super Tuscans as well. Let’s break them down here:
Chiantis
By far the most famous wine from Tuscany, Chianti wines are actually divided into four groups of increasingly strict standards and higher quality – Chianti, Chianti Classico, Chianti Riserva, and Chianti Gran Selezione.
The basic Chianti must meet specific production standards set by Italy’s governing body overseeing wine production, such as a minimum Sangiovese content of 70%. However, these wines can also include white grapes, be produced in a larger geographical area, and have a minimum aging period of only four months, which leads to a larger variety in taste between bottles.Â
Chianti Classico, on the other hand, must be produced within the historical heart of the Chianti region (between Florence and Siena), contain at least 80% Sangiovese and no white grapes, and be aged for at least 12 months, leading to a more complex and consistent flavor.Â
Chianti Riserva is even more strict, with a minimum aging requirement of 24 months, while Chianti Gran Selezione goes even further with a minimum aging of 30 months, as well as a requirement that all of the grapes come from a single vineyard or estate. Gran Selezione bottles are only produced during the best years for a vineyard.Â
Chianti Classico, Riserva, and Gran Selezione can all be identified by the black rooster on their label – more on this below.
Super Tuscans
The wild west of Tuscan wines, Super Tuscans are a vintner’s “dealer’s choice.” The only rule? That the grapes are grown in Tuscany. In a region of heavily structured and regulated wine-making, the Super Tuscan category allows wine makers freedom to be creative and innovative. This has led to some of Tuscany’s favorite blends, like Tignanello and Sassicaia.
Other Titans of Tuscany
Brunello di Montalcino – While not likely to taste this one on your wine tours, this wine made from 100% Sangiovese grapes is one of Italy’s most prestigious wines. It hails from the town of Montalcino, and requires extensive aging (at least five years!), giving it a rich, full-bodied profile with incredible depth.
Vino Nobile di Montepulciano – Another prized gem of the region, this wine made from 70% Sangiovese and aged for at least two years was highly esteemed by Italian nobility and often referred to as the “wine of kings.” In fact, it was one of the first to receive the official DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita) status in 1980, highlighting its quality and importance in Italian wine heritage.
Understanding the Labels: Rules and Regulations
So, now that you know a little about how complex the rules and regulations are surrounding the production of Tuscan wines, how do you know which bottle to buy at the store? Here are a few tips to make shopping a breeze:
- Il Gallo Nero (the “Black Rooster”) – Chianti Classico and above, or wine grown within the tightly defined historical Chianti region, will include a graphic of a black rooster on the neck of the bottle.
- DOC (Denominazione di Origine Controllata)Â –Â
This classification denotes that the wine is produced in a specific region and meets specific quality standards, ensuring that it meets expectations regarding authenticity and adherence to traditional practices. - DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita) – A step above DOC, DOCG includes more stringent regulations, including lower yields, longer aging, and a final government tasting requirement (not a bad job!).
- IGT (Indicazione Geografica Tipica) – The identifier you’ll see on a quality Super Tuscan, this classification allows for broader geographical and production specifications while still denoting a wine of high quality. IGT wine is required to be produced within a specific geographical area, which is noted on the label.
This classification denotes that the wine is produced in a specific region and meets specific quality standards, ensuring that it meets expectations regarding authenticity and adherence to traditional practices.Liquid Gold
In addition to grapes, the climate and topography of Tuscany is ideal for growing olives. Often called “liquid gold,” the high-quality extra virgin olive oil produced here is made from only first press, cold-pressed olives and is known for its rich, peppery flavor – if it’s sweet, that actually means it’s lower quality. Many vineyards will also experiment with infused oils, and while wine tasting in Tuscany you’ll be lucky to try some infused with local white truffles. Look for DOP (Denominazione di Origine Protetta) designation to ensure you are getting a bottle made from olives grown, harvested, and processed in Tuscany using traditional methods.
Our Experience Wine Tasting in Tuscany
When visiting Florence, Colby and I went wine tasting in Tuscany on a small-group tour organized by Get Your Guide (here). We had an excellent time and highly recommend this tour to anyone visiting Tuscany, though there are many options you can choose from for this activity! A few general tips before I get into an overview of our experience:
- Dress appropriately – You will spend some time outdoors touring the vineyards, so make sure to bring sunglasses, hats, sunscreen, or umbrellas, if needed.
- Bring cash – Make sure to bring some cash to tip your driver and guide! The guide on our bus provided us with a wealth of information on wine-making in Tuscany and was well-deserving of a thank you tip.
- Think small – The smaller your tour group, the more fun you are likely to have. It’s well worth the extra money to have a more intimate experience, be able to visit smaller boutique vineyards, and have your questions answered directly by the vintners. Plus, you can get to know the people you’ll be drinking with!
- Meeting spot – Most bus tours leaving from Florence all depart from the same place, Piazzale Montelungo.  This is not the easiest spot to find, so make sure to give yourself plenty of extra time if you’re walking. If approaching from the city center, when you reach the train station do NOT enter it, but rather cross to the other side of the street (Via Valfonda) on the right/east of the station and follow that until you need to cross at Viale Filippo Strozzi.
Our tour departed at 09:00 and went to two wineries, Casa Emma and Fattoria Montecchio.
Casa Emma is a beautiful, boutique vineyard with a focus on balance – intensity and elegance, tradition and innovation, working the land and fostering sustainability. They have a small-to-medium production of 90,000 bottles a year and are fully organic, using biodynamic and organic viticulture principles to produce their wines. This means no pesticides or phytosanitary products, using bees for pollination, and leveraging free-range geese to help with pest control and fertilization. Their vineyard is comprised of 70% Sangiovese vines and also includes 1,500 olive trees. They grow and harvest other vegetables as well to keep the soil balanced, including fava beans, artichokes, and truffles, which they infuse into their olive oils.
We sampled five wines at this winery: 
one white (a blend of a local grape called Vermentino and Chardonnay), one rose (Sangiovese), two Chiantis (a Classico and a Gran Selezione), and one Super Tuscan (Sangiovese and Merlot). The white was crisp and not too fruity, and the rose was excellent, dry, but soft. Made with a red grape, the rose gets its color from maceration, a step in the wine-making process where the skins are left with the juice for only five to six hours.
Snack Time!
After these two wines, we were brough a sample of olive oils, cheeses, cured meats, and balsamic vinegar. We got to taste two olive oils produced by the winery, one classic and one infused with white truffles sourced from the nearby forests. They were both excellent and a great pairing with the wine.  The pecorino cheese in Tuscany is really something special, softer, creamier, and much more flavorful than what you get at the grocery store in the states.
 Drizzled with 10 and 20-year aged DOP (Denominazione di Origine Protetta) balsamics from Modena, it was truly a delectable treat. We even got a sample of a balsamic aged for 100 years! The sweetness of a DOP  instead of an IGP (Indicazione Geografica Protetta) balsamic was unlike anything I had tasted before, and completed changed my opinion on balsamics.
We followed our snacks with our Chiantis, which were delicious, complex, and utterly drinkable. These reds get better with age too – compared to the white and rose, which the vintner recommended to age for only up to five years and one year, respectively, the Chianti Classico and Gran Selezione we tasted can be aged for up to 25 years! Personally, we didn’t taste a huge difference between the two wines, but I lay that on our own amateur taste buds more than on the wine. We finished with the Super Tuscan, which was our favorite. A bit softer than the Chianti, this blend could be paired with chocolate as well as meat.
Located at what used to be the hunting villa of an old noble family, Fattoria Montecchio began producing wine in the 1800s. Larger than Casa Emma, though still not “large,” Fattoria Montecchio produces 120,000 bottles of wine annually, as well as olive oil from their 6,000 olive trees. The grounds were stunning, and can also be enjoyed by renting a room at the holiday farmhouse.
Here we tried four wines, all red: two Chiantis and two Super Tuscans. Our wines were again paired with the estate’s own olive oil, breads, meats, and cheeses, which we enjoyed throughout the tasting. Our first Chianti, a Chianti Classico, was 95% Sangiovese and 5% Alicante, allowing us even better insight into the flavor of Tuscany’s most precious grape. The Riserva was also 95% Sangiovese, but this time 5% Cabernet, which along with the longer aging period gave it a smoother, but still complex and rich flavor profile. The Super Tuscans were an experimentation in Sangiovese and Cabernet – the first 80% Cabernet and 20% Sangiovese and the second 60% Sangiovese and 40% Cabernet. We definitely noticed a difference in tannins between the two, but loved each blend on their own merits. We finished the tour with photos in front of the cellar and a short ride back to Florence to our Airbnb and a much needed nap!
Wine tasting in Tuscany is an unforgettable and unmissable experience – we hope you’ll make it part of your itinerary on your next visit! Let us know your favorite vineyards you visited or varietals you tasted in the comments below.
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