Chianti and Siena Tour with wine tasting is an amazing day trip that takes you from Florence into the super picturesque Chianti region.
This tour gives you the chance to explore the rolling hills of the marvelous Chianti Wine region. It’s a getaway from the noise and the crowds of the city.
During our drive through the famous Chianti region, you will be spoiled with spectacular views of this famous landscape. As we drive, admire the cypress trees, vineyards and olives groves.
Our first stop will be in Siena where we will explore Piazza del Campo and the Cathedral.
Once in the Piazza del Campo, you’ll see why it’s so well known and well loved. It’s a semi-circular piazza, in a bowl-like shape, surrounded by beautiful red-brick buildings. This is the heart and soul of Siena, not to mention one of its most distinct landmarks. It was built with the intention of all the locals being able to meet there for events, games and socializing. It’s still doing its job of bringing people together, as you’ll see from the amount of people sitting on its curved base, eating, drinking and chatting.
The piazza is also home to Siena’s famous bareback horse race, the Palio di Siena, which is held twice a year. They do put sand on the tiled flooring of the piazza, so the horses aren’t galloping directly on stone, but the turns are still incredibly tight.
Siena’s Gothic cathedral is considered one of the most beautiful in Europe. Even if you’re not into cathedrals, it’s worth seeing and is one of the highlights of the city. Its green-and-white-striped interior is even more impressive than Florence’s duomo, and the exterior is pretty snazzy too, with one of the most detailed facades you’lI’ve ever seen on all your travels.
Afterwards we will head to Panzano in Chianti to visit a winery where we will have a wine tasting.
The stop at winery is also an excuse to get know a little bit more about the winemaking process, we will explore the Estate, the vineyard and the cellar with one of the staff of winery who is very knowledgeable and passionate about the wine.
Harvesting by hand and rigorous quality selection of the grapes are the distinctive hallmarks of their harvest. Cutting-edge technology and the final, hands-on-touch of their winemaker are the secrets of the high quality of this winery’s wines.
Once we’ve covered every aspect of winemaking, we sit down to taste three Chianti wines accompanied by fresh olives and cheese. It is possible to have lunch too.
After the wine tasting we will head back to your lodging.
Tour length: 6 hours
Transportation: minivan with private driver
Which are the grapes of Chianti Classico?
Sangiovese, the region’s principal grape variety, is the exemplar of the unique characteristics of the land of the Black Rooster. Chianti Classico wine can be produced with Sangiovese grapes at a minimum of 80% or with the maximum addition of 20% of other red varieties.
Over time, thanks to the commitment to research in the field, the importance of Sangiovese in Chianti Classico wine and the use of red varieties has become increasingly important: since 1996 it has been possible to produce DOC wines using pure Sangiovese grapes, and since 2006 Chianti Classico can be produced exclusively with red grape varieties.
