We took one day during the trip to do some wine tasting in Tuscany, including towns like Montepulciano, Pienza, and Montalcino.   We decided on a fabulous tour with a driver, and the reason we decided on this tour is because of it’s focus on the Brunello wines, as well as the Vino Nobile wines.  We booked through Under the Tuscan Sun Tours (how appropriate), and had our very own driver pick us up, in a Mercedes, and drove us to the various towns and took care of booking the wine tastings as well.

I can’t believe how stunning the Tuscan countryside was!!

MONTEPULCIANO

Montepulciano was beautiful, and happened to be where the second Twilight movie was filmed (you know, where Bella goes to Volterra to save Edward from revealing himself bla bla).  We arrived at the mouth of the town to our first wine tasting (here), and were given a quick tour of the subterranean cellars that used to be prisons and torture chambers!! They also gave us a taste of some of their delicious wines, and their fabulous spreads, cheeses (?), and prosciutto.

We had a chance to walk around Montepulciano after our tasting, and it is stunning.  You walk up and down narrow cobblestone streets, and then you all of a sudden come upon the most beautiful vistas. The main square is all the way at the top of the town, and The Palazzo Comunale is where the famous Edward/Bella scene was filmed (I’m such a Twi-hard dork).

PIENZA

We had a lovely stop in Pienza, where they make Pecorino cheese.  We had lunch at a great little restaurant called Ristorante Dal Falco, who is known for it’s picci pasta and of course, their pecorino cheese (so we had a cheese tasting during lunch).

After lunch we walked around for a few minutes to check out the view.

MONTALCINO

We finished off the day at Montalcino at one of the most beautiful vineyards I’ve ever been to, Poggio Antico.

The brunello wines were probably my favorite, and they were FANTASTIC at this vineyard.  We were able to taste the 6 that they make, and the Brunello Reserva was out of this world.  On the way back to Florence, our driver took us through Siena so we could see it, but I was so pooped from excellent food and drink that I fell asleep!! Overall doing a day tour like this was 100% worth it, if you have a chance to do this I would highly recommend it.