Here is a quick update to this thread to which you both provided info: Florence Wine Tour

The trip changed greatly after I posted the original thread since we ended up having more family join the vacation. So, the wine stuff mostly got scrapped. However, we did the Rooster Day tour with Dario Castagno. While it wasn't cheap, it was worth every penny and more. We were picked up in a Mercedes van in Florence, driven to Tregole winery, were educated, and were fed more wine and food than we could consume. On the way back, the driver, Stefano, asked if we wanted to stop by the Penecoste a Castellina in Chianti festival. I said "sure, we are easy." Turns out that the Penecoste festival is a wine tasting hosted by 100 local wineries. God must like us. Anyhow, for 20EUR each, we were given a large Bordeaux-style glass and drank as much wine as we could handle. Walking though a medieval village sampling wine (lots of Chianti Classico but others, as well) was quite the way to spend an afternoon/evening.

Thanks to both of you for the suggestions. I didn't get to spend nearly enough time in the wineries in Tuscany but we still had the vacation of a lifetime. Grazie mille.

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Posted by geauxpurple

New Orleans

Member since Jul 2014

17347 posts

Posted on 6/13/23 at 10:35 pm to Grillades

You're welcome.
Glad you had a great time.

Yes, Tregole is a beautiful place, and the wines were delicious, as was our lunch there.

Tregole means Three Gullies and as you stand on top of the hill and look down on the vineyards, you can see the three gullies. They have courthouse records showing that the place was contracted out for grape growing and wine making under the name of Tregole 1,000 years ago. The scene looks the same as it did back then because the only structure in sight is an old, abandoned convent that has been around for about that long.

The next day we took Dario's Florence/Palio tour and (jokingly) became honorary members of the Caterpillar Contrada whose clubhouse we had the pleasure of touring. We have a couple of their scarfs. We cheer for them every summer although they haven't won since our visit.

The Dario tours were not cheap but they were probably a lot less expensive for us because we drove to him.

We are on his e-mail list and get his e-mails on a regular basis. He is quite a character.

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Posted by VABuckeye

NOVA

Member since Dec 2007

38283 posts

Posted on 6/14/23 at 7:25 am to Grillades

I'm so glad you enjoyed the trip to Tuscany. We've scrapped vineyard tours at times ourselves as I tended to book too many tours for one day. Now I only schedule one or two a day to leave time to explore as well. That wine festival sounds wonderful. I know there's a second harvest festival in September where a ton of wineries are also present.

We'll be staying in Greve in Chianti in September for a few days and I can't wait to get there.