re: Last minute recs for Florence, Montepulciano, Siena (and kind of Rome)

Great trip. I did it last year. The aforementioned enoteca in Montalcino is a must. It is inside a 700 year old fortress and features some of the best Brunellos around. But it is only my second favorite wine store in Tuscany, the first being Enoteca Falorni a/k/a/Le Cantine in Greve..... In Montepulciano, the wineries and vineyards are out in the countryside, but many of them have wine shops and tasting bars just off the Cathedral Square on top of the hill. The tasting rooms are at street level and they have stairs you can climb down to see the wine cellars built in to the old Etruscan caves. Two such places are Talosa and Contucci. The Vino Nobile de Montepulciano is to this town what Brunello is to Montalcino. All are fantastic........ My favorite restaurant in Siena is La Taverna di San Gusippi. Two other good ones are Antica Osteria Da Divo, and Osteria Le Logge. In Florence we had very good dinners at Ristorante Saint Ambrogio, and Natalino.