Italy · 1 tour
Lampredotto at a Florence market kiosk, a bistecca in Panzano, Chianti Classico and Brunello in the cellars where they age, and pici rolled by hand near Pienza. Seven days from the city to the Val d’Orcia.
Chianti vineyards in autumn
Overview
Tuscan food is country food: unsalted bread, beans, green olive oil, grilled beef, sheep’s cheese and pasta rolled by hand. The wine is mostly Sangiovese, and it changes character from the hills of Chianti to the warmer slopes of Montalcino. Nothing about it is complicated, which is why the quality of each ingredient matters so much.
Our tour starts in the markets of Florence, then moves to Panzano, a hill village in the heart of Chianti Classico, and south to Montalcino and Pienza in the Val d’Orcia. Chiara Bertini, a Florentine who trained as a cook and worked harvests in both wine zones, hosts.
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1 tour · prices per person
Florence · Panzano · Montalcino · Pienza
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From$4,190per person, double room, most meals
View tour4 places
01
Florence eats at its markets. The Mercato Centrale in San Lorenzo, a cast-iron hall from 1874, has butchers, tripe sellers and cheese stalls on the ground floor, and Sant’Ambrogio across town is where Florentines buy their vegetables. The city’s street food is lampredotto, the fourth stomach of the cow, simmered with herbs and served in a roll with green sauce from a kiosk. Bakeries sell schiacciata, flat, oily bread, filled with finocchiona salami. Look for the small wine windows in old palazzo walls, once used to sell wine by the flask. Our tour spends two nights here, near Santa Croce.
Best monthsApril to June, September to November
Tours that visit Florence
02
Chianti is the hill country between Florence and Siena, with woods, olive groves and vineyards on the slopes, and stone villages along the Chiantigiana road. Chianti Classico, with the black rooster on the neck, must be at least 80 percent Sangiovese and comes only from this zone. Greve has an arcaded market square, and Panzano sits above the Conca d’Oro, a bowl of vineyards facing south. The village is also known for its butchers, and a bistecca alla fiorentina, cut thick and cooked rare over coals, is the classic lunch here. Our tour spends two nights in Chianti, with an olive oil farm and two estates.
Best monthsMay, June, September and October
Tours that visit Chianti and Panzano
03
Montalcino is a walled hilltop town south of Siena, with a fortress at the top and vineyards on every side. Brunello di Montalcino is made from Sangiovese alone and released no sooner than five years after the harvest, with at least two of those years in wood. Rosso di Montalcino, from the same grape, is younger and easier to drink with lunch. The estates range from large houses to small family cellars, and we visit one of each. Nearby is the Romanesque abbey of Sant’Antimo, where monks still sing the offices. Harvest is usually late September to mid-October.
Best monthsMay, June, September and October
Tours that visit Montalcino
04
The Val d’Orcia is the Tuscany of postcards: bare rolling hills, cypress lines and farmhouses on the ridges, protected as a UNESCO World Heritage landscape. Pienza was rebuilt in the 1460s by Pope Pius II as an ideal Renaissance town, and today its streets smell of pecorino. The sheep’s cheese is sold fresh, semi-aged or aged under walnut leaves or ash. This is also pici country: thick, hand-rolled spaghetti made from flour and water, served with a garlicky tomato sauce or ragù. Our tour spends two nights in the valley, with a sheep farm visit and a pici class.
Best monthsMay, June, September and October
Tours that visit Pienza and the Val d’Orcia
Ways to go
01
Tuscany: Florence, Chianti and Brunello Country spends two nights each in Florence, Chianti and the Val d’Orcia, with the markets, a butcher’s lunch in Panzano, four estate tastings, a pecorino farm and a pici class.
02
Bologna is under forty minutes from Florence by fast train. Arrive a day early or stay a day longer and join the Bologna Pasta Class and Market Walk, or follow the Tuscany tour with six days in Emilia-Romagna.
03
Groups of six or more can run the tour on their own dates, add a night in Siena or a truffle day in November, or stay longer in one farmhouse. Grant Mosley plans private groups.
What’s included
The seven-day tour includes hotels in Florence, Chianti and the Val d’Orcia with breakfast, the lunches and dinners listed, the Florence market walk, four wine estate visits and wine with included meals for guests 18 and over, olive oil and pecorino farms, the pici class, the van and airport transfers at group times, and Chiara or another host.
Not included: flights to the start city, travel insurance, the meals not listed, tips. Alcohol only for guests 18 and over, the legal drinking age in Italy. Full list
When to go
Spring and autumn are the best times for Tuscany. May and June bring green hills, poppies in the Val d’Orcia and long evenings for dinner outside. September and October are harvest months in Chianti and Montalcino, with grapes on the vines and cellars at work. November is quieter and cooler, with the olive harvest, new oil on every table and truffles in the Crete Senesi. July and August are hot and Florence is crowded, so we do not run then, and winter is cold in the hills.
Before you book
Ask Lena directly
Lena Ortiz in reservations replies within one working day, Monday to Friday.
Tuscany: Florence, Chianti and Brunello Country, seven days with two nights each in Florence, Chianti and the Val d’Orcia.
Yes. Day 6 is a hands-on pici class in a farmhouse near Pienza, and dinner that night is what you made.
Easily. Take a fast train to Bologna for the Bologna Pasta Class and Market Walk the day before or after the tour.
Day 2 has a free afternoon, and the Uffizi and the Accademia are a short walk from the hotel. Book museum tickets online before you travel.
Yes. Tuscan food has bean soups, pecorino, pici and vegetable dishes, and we plan a separate plate at the butcher’s lunch.
Four estate tastings and wine with included meals, for guests 18 and over, always with a non-alcoholic option.
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Dates and seats
Tell us which tour, roughly when and how many of you. Lena Ortiz in reservations replies within one working day with dates, seats, the price and how we can handle any dietary needs.
Lena, Grant and Priya, Charleston
SubjectTuscany: Florence, Chianti and Brunello Country: dates and seats
Please include
Lena Ortiz in reservations replies within one working day. No payment now. A $300 deposit per person holds seats on a multi-day tour; day tours are paid when you book.
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