Niccoloi was an excellent host, incredibly knowledgeable and passionate, about both the region and the wine. 5 Stars.
5 stars for this incredible tour. Matteo was such a nice guide! Very knowledgeable and kind. We learned many things about italian wines and the history of Florence and Tuscany. The wineries we visited were very welcoming and the wine and food was delicious! San Gimigniano is a must-see!
Great day that started with an hour to explore San Gimignano followed by an excellent meal and tasting at a small red-focused Tuscan winery. We then went to another that specializes in the little known Tuscan white - Vernacchia. The whole day was augmented by our knowledgeable and very personable guide Matteo. Would highly recommend this tour.
We took the San Gimignano tour with Andrea. Take home message - everything was wonderful. The pick up was easy and immediately we could tell it was going to be a good day. We were three with two others. Andrea introduced himself and then everyone said a bit about themselves - not lame - it broke the ice and we all got on for the rest of the day. The first winery visit included lunch and meeting the winemaker/owner. Superb service and a great lesson in wine tasting from Andrea. The second winery visit was equally interesting. All in all we agreed it was a great day. Happy to recommend to anyone. Kudos to Andrea - he made the day excellent.
This tour was so amazing and special. Our tour guide, Andrea, was very knowledgeable on wine and the region. He really made it an authentic Italian experience and we felt like we were his friends. My fiancé and I (from SK, Canada) booked a group tour but only ended up having one additional person, making it feel even more private and intimate. Our first stop after San Gimignano was a small family owned vineyard where we got to have an amazing lunch and tried 8 types of wine. Overall the experience was so great, worth the money for sure!! You won’t be disappointed.
We absolutely loved the San Gimignano wine tour with our lovely guide Shiva. From the first moment we stepped inside our van, she engaged us with interesting facts of Florence, wine country,San Gimignano, and the basics of Italian wine. We had such a fabulous time and would recommend this tour to anyone visiting Italy. Shiva,our guide, and the wine made our day.
Our tour with Shiva was beyond words. Her knowledge and personality combined with the scenery and delicious wines made for an absolutely perfect day. I highly recommend a tour with a stop in San Gimignano. The medieval town was refreshingly less crowded than Florence and Napoli. Both wineries were outstanding and Shiva taught my wife and I quite a bit about how to properly taste the wine. We both learned so much. The drive was incredibly scenic and comfortable as well. 5 stars!
We had an excellent day on our San Gimignano full day Wine Tour, our first real taste of Tuscany. We signed up as a family of 4 for a tour that was available for up to 8 people, as we wanted to keep it small. We met Matteo at the pickup point, and it turns out we were the only 4 booked for that time. It was early April, so still early in the season, but the weather that day was perfect. Matteo picked us up and drove us through the Tuscan countryside, answering all our questions and telling us about the region as we went. Our first stop was the wonderful hilltop town of San Gimignano. Matteo left us on our own there for an hour (we really could have stayed there a lot longer!) directing us to the best gelato place in the square. We found amazing views of the Tuscany landscape which our girls were delighted to use a backdrop for many pictures. The shops were very nice as well. (We controlled ourselves and only bought two small olive oil dishes). Matteo then picked us up and drove us to the first winery (of two) on the tour. This was the Corbucci winery, where we were greeted by the owner Francesco. Francesco was very passionate about this wine, and we had a wonderful tasting of 9 of his wines, while being served a delicious lunch of meats, cheeses, bread, olive oil and a pasta dish. Each wine had a story, and most were delicious. (Not sure I can use that word for wine, but I did). We chose this tour specifically because it had white wine, and it did not disappoint. The whole family enjoyed the Vernaccia white wine, and for those of us that enjoy the red, it was wonderful as well. We purchased a variety of wines from Francesco, which we had shipped home to us, before moving on to a second winery. At the second winery we were greeted by the owner and given a nice tour of the facility and told how the wine was made and stored. We then sat down to another tasting. It was very good, but at that point some of us had more than several glasses of wine already. We did enjoy the white wine there as well and purchased a bottle to take with us. Matteo then drove us back to Florence. Matteo was great. Extremely knowledgeable about the wines and the region, and just one of the friendliest people we have met. He even stopped on the ride home just outside Florence at Piazzale Michelangelo for us to snap some pictures overlooking all of Florence. All in all, a great day in Tuscany!!!!
This was the perfect experience! Andrea was so personable and fun. Everyone was very friendly and gave great information at each location. It was the perfect day!
We had a wonderful experience, our tour guide Andrea was so professional and knowledgable!
Thank you Matteo for a truly artful and skillful wine tour in San Gimignano! I learned so much from you about Italian history, Italian wines, and food-wine pairings. You were the consummate host and guide for our small group. The experiences we had at both wineries felt very intimate and as though it was a ‘family experience.’ I’m from California and there are no wine tours that are as personal and intimate as the ones you curated for us! I enjoyed all the wines we tasted at both wineries, and really appreciated learning about the wines from the people who made them. It was an incredible experience, and my favorite wine tour (I’ve done others on previous visits). I also appreciate that you limit the group size to 8 people and take a your out as long as there are two people signed up. Our group had just three and it was lovely to meet and bond with other wine lovers from around the globe! One reason I chose this particular wine tour was the opportunity to taste both the red wines from the region as well as the lesser known Vernaccia (white) wine which we sampled in multiple expressions from light to much fuller bodied. This made the experience unique compared to the multitude of tours focusing only on the red varietals! Last, our lunch prepared by Suzanne was outstanding, as was the food we had with the wines at our first Tuscan winery. Sampling wine alongside food transforms the taste and mouthfeel of the wines! If you’re debating which wine tour to go with, I can’t say enough good things about Italy and Wine, and our superlative host, Matteo! Next time I visit Tuscany I will definitely seek out another tour with this your company! Thanks again for a beautiful day sampling beautiful Tuscan food, wine, and traditions in the stunning hills of Tuscany! Salut ???? Mindy
Andrea was a fantastic guide for the San Gimignano winery tour. We were so impressed with his depth of knowledge of wines as he is a sommelier and he even taught us how to properly taste and to articulate why we liked certain wines. Andrea made the day unforgettable. The tour itself was incredible and we had a blast at Corbucci with Francesco and friends and at Cappella Sant’Andrea with the entire staff. One of the best parts of our trip so far. Thank you!
Worth every penny & getting stuck in traffic on the way back to Florence! The wineries were lovely, everyone was super helpful and kind and the wine was amazing! My only complaint is the van didn't have vents in the back and especially when we got stuck in traffic, the air kept shutting off with the car so those in the very back were struggling with the warmth in the car. My suggestion is, to keep the air conditioning on. I know it's not a thing in Italy but there wasn't a person in the car that wasn't struggling with the warmth.
We had the best day ever in San Gimignano. Visited 2 awesome wineries and walked around the old town. Matteo our guide was so awesome, so full of Tuscan knowledge he made the experience one of the best wine tours I have done. Thanks, Matteo
Filippo shared that we will learn a lot about wine today and stressed that he wanted the memories we will make today is what we remember. Filippo delivered. Filippo was knowledgeable about the wines and the fantastic Tuscany country side. He was personable and allowed us to melt away into the experience. We laughed, learned and experience the best in Italian wine. It was the best memory of our time in Italy. My wife and I highly recommend this tour.
My sister and I went on a small group tour mid-April and lucked out and with other 4 attendees. Matteo was a great tour guide. He was extremely knowledgeable while keeping an inviting, fun, and open experience. The tour takes you to two wineries of which you each lunch at the second of locations and then you are dropped off at a beautiful castle town for a while. There was plenty of food for lunch to stuff you so try to remember to save room for dessert! We were given enough time after the tastings to purchase products at the wineries. We also learned some fun historical stories of Tuscany relating to the area and how the black rooster label came about. Cannot reiterate enough how great this tour was. 110% worth it.
My husband and I went on this wine tour on September 4th - our second day in Florence and it was the highlight of our whole Italy trip! Our guide Matteo was fantastic, so knowledgeable and went above and beyond - even making us reservations at a delicious restaurant. The small group was perfect and the best way to see the Tuscan countryside. The food at lunch was one of our best meals and the wine was incredible! I highly recommend this tour and we will do this again when we come back with family.
Our travel agent booked this tour for us and we couldn’t have had a better experience for our Tuscan wine tour! We met our tour guide, Matteo, in the square outside of the national library at 9:30. We had 7 people in our group and we embarked in a small van out to wine country. Matteo was so knowledgeable about the area and the wines (he is a sommelier as well). Our first stop was the Cesani winery in the San Gimignano region. We were welcomed by our friendly host, Melania, and accompanied by a table set specifically for our group. We sampled several white wines made from the Vernaccia grape, which is indigenous to this region. We also sampled several reds, including Chianti and “super Tuscan.” The wines were paired with bread (drizzled in olive oil also made at the winery) and cheeses. Melania and Matteo both provided tips tasting wine properly, as well as the different labels used to identify the wines. We drove to our next location, Casa Alle Vacche, where we had the most-amazing, freshly prepared lunch. The food was paired with wines poured and explained by the owner’s son. Lunch consisted of a beautiful appetizer platter (meats, cheeses, eggplant, onion jam, etc.), gnocchi made with saffron, drunken bolognese and homemade biscotti. After lunch, we toured the vineyard (also led by the owner’s son). We learned about the grapes, the growing and harvesting process and even had the opportunity to taste a couple of grapes! After we departed, we headed to San Gimignano, an ancient town with beautiful architecture. On our drive there, Matteo described the history of the town and we had about 45 minutes to explore on our own upon arrival. We arrived back at the square in Florence around 5 pm. What really made the tour great was the group of people we were with (couldn’t have asked for better day-drinking partners) and our guide, Matteo. He was so personable and you could tell he takes pride in his work and his knowledge of wine. He also made dinner recommendations for our time in Florence (and even made a reservation for one couple in our group!). Don’t miss this opportunity!
My husband and went on the tour to two Vineyards and the town of San Gimignano. Our Tour Guide Matteo was very nice and knowledgeable - we had a great time with him. We had a low level of knowledge of wines and vineyards, but that did not matter as Matteo and the Vineyards we visited were more than willing to spend personal time with us explaining all aspects of the vineyards and winemaking process they used. Lunch at the second vineyard was exceptional!!!
This was the highlight of my trip and such an amazing experience. It had been raining the morning of, so everyone had canceled and we ended up having a private tour. (Everyone's loss because the rain stopped and the day was perfect) Vittorio was super charming and taught us a lot about the region on the way to the first Vineyard. Both Vineyards had great selections and very friendly staff that gave us tours around each place. We had an amazing homemade lunch at the second vineyard and when I mentioned I mainly drank red they brought me a variety of reds that I ended up shipping home! San Gimignano was breathtaking and a perfect way to end the trip. Overall Vittorio was great and the trip was amazing! I will definitely be using this service next time I am back in Italy!
There are many red wine tours but this white wine tour gives you the best of both worlds. You get both whites and reds. On top of that, you get an amazing homemade lunch from the family owning the vineyard. This is the best part of our trip!
Wow! What a day! My husband and I knew that we wanted to visit a few wineries during our 2 night stay in Florence and narrowed down our choice to Wine Tours with Italy and Wine. The day started with a trip to San Gimignano where the highlight were the views and the delicious gelato! It was extra special for me, since I last visited as a young child. Vittorio, gave us a few quick tips on where to go and what to see (which included the best place to take a panorama and where to get the best gelato). Next we visited a small family owned winery that specialized in white wines. There, the owners daughter/host served us a fantastic Tuscan 3 course meal (best meal we have had so far) and delicious wines to go with each course. She was a wonderful host and gave us a full history of the winery and the wine making process. Overall, it was an intimate experience and we were able to ask all the "stupid questions" that no one feels comfortable asking and had a bonafide wine expert (Vittorio) to tell us the truth! Next, as a great contrast we visited a larger winery that specialized in Chianti wines. Both were phenomenal and we had a case of wine shipped home. This is a MUST DO and worth every penny!!
We were desperate to do a wine tour when we visited Florence and the decision to book on this tour was a great decision! When we arrived in the morning, due to certain circumstances we were lucky enough to get a private tour (the two of us) all to ourselves despite planning a shared tour. Vittorio took us for the day and we were lucky to have a such a great host and someone so knowledgeable about wine. Started by driving for about 50 minutes to visit the town of San Girmignano which was a lovely medieval town with stunning views over Tuscany. We then headed to our first winery where we were given a tour of the vineyard and cellar and given some insight into how they produce their wines. The host at this particular wine yard was brilliant and we were treated to a delicious three course lunch based on the saffron they grow at the vineyard. We tasted a different white wine with each course which were great and event converted me as a red wine drinker. Hearing that I preferred drinking red wine, they also brought out a taster of the red wine they produce which was a nice touch. We then headed off for another wine tasting at the second winery where we tasted around 8 wines in total, a variety of white and red. Again, the quality of the wine was great and the host was very knowledgeable. All in all, this was one of the highlights of our trip. Thanks to Vittorio and the hosts at both wineries!