Home > Florence > Chianti Half-Day Wine Tour from Florence
USD $54.00
Chianti Half-Day Wine Tour from Florence
Florence, Italy
Combine Chianti wine with blissful Tuscan countryside on a half-day wine tour from Florence! With a tour escort, travel out of Florence and spend the afternoon at an enchanting castle winery in the Chianti Fiorentino region and in an ancient winery in the Chianti Senese, with local wine-expert guides. In both wineries tour the wine cellars, hear the secrets of Tuscan winemaking, and then sample prestigious Tuscan wine alongside some traditional Italian snacks.
Leave central Florence by air-conditioned coach, and travel into the lush Tuscan countryside that surrounds the city. An area of unrivaled beauty, Tuscany also holds a reputation as one of Italy’s most esteemed winemaking regions and acres of picturesque vineyards blanket its sun-drenched hills.
Revel in the scenery as you travel, passing traditional travertine villages clinging to hilltops, overlooking swathes of vine-clad fields and olive groves. Your route continues into the Chianti Fiorentino where some of Italy’s most prized red wine is produced. Stop for the visit to a renowned wine estate at a castle for your tour and tasting session.
After a friendly Tuscan welcome at the venue, start your visit with a tour of the castle’s historical wine cellars. See where the grapes are crushed, and where the wine is matured and later bottled while hearing some secrets of Tuscan winemaking.
Then, take a seat at a wine glass–laden table, and sip on different glasses of wine made by the estate. The varietals are subject to change, but typically a glass of Chianti Classico, Chianti Reserve, the eponymous Tuscan vinsanto (dessert wine) or a prestigious white wine are served. Savor the complex and fruity flavors that are prevalent in Tuscan wine, and hear tasting tips to help you understand the characteristics of different grapes that are used.
The Tour continues then to the picturesque medieval village of Greve, birthplace of the famous navigator Giovanni da Verrazzano, where every year takes place the most important wine fair of the Chianti region. Here you will have free time to admire the famous main square of the ancient "market" with its characteristic arcades and to browse through the local artisan shops. Moving along the ancient "Via Chiantigiana", we cross the heart of the Chianti Classico, admiring the breathtaking views of the rolling hills that made so famous this part of Tuscany. We reach then a family-run Winery located in the Sienese area of the Chianti Classico, which stands out for the excellent quality of its wines. Here we will be warmly welcomed by its passionate winemaker and after the guided tour of the cellars and the lovely aromatic garden, a delicious tasting of four different wines and local products will be waiting for us. The last stop of the tour is Castellina, a fortified hilltop village of Etruscan origin, among the most lively and picturesque of Chianti, characterized by an imposing fortress: here, walking through the picturesque medieval covered street "Via delle Volte", the tour leader will guide us to discover the charming historical center and its picturesque houses, squares and shops.
This was one of our favorite experiences while staying in Florence! The tour was excellent and the sights were amazing! Definitely recommend this!
Review by: Clau, June 2018
My husband and I were very happy with the tour company. The driver and guide was fantastic. We never felt rushed and yet we got to see a lot more than we expected.
Review by: santhic, June 2018
Pretty fun tour. The guide was funny, and we definitely got to explore Tuscany. We went to two wineries, both were super fun, and we saw two charming towns. Great taste of Tuscany.
Review by: Michael B, June 2018
Overall a good tour, and good value for the cost as some of the other tours can be very expensive. Our tour guide was good though it was difficult to understand her much of the time. She spent a lot of time rambling and trying to tell jokes but it was hard to understand. The first winery was nice, we sampled three wines, some olive oil and balsamic. The second stop was a small town, Greve in Chianti. This is a very quaint and cute town filled with tons of shops, restaurants and cafes. However, the tour only stops here for about 30 minutes. This is a shame as we didnt get to see ANYTHING. It was just enough time to order a small appetizer and guzzle down a glass of wine. The wine tasting bar is a very awesome concept, but the tour doesnt allow for enough time to enjoy it to its fullest. They should make this stop at least 1 hour. The third stop is a second winery, Poggio Amorelli. This was the highlight for my group. The guide at this winery was FANTASTIC. We got to really enjoy and learn about wine tasting, the methods behind it and enjoy really good wine. Overall this stop was the best part about this trip, hats off to the Poggio Amorelli winery and to the gentleman who ran the tour there I forgot his name but he is spectacular. There is a fourth stop at a small town where we got out, took a few photos and walked around. To me this was a big waste of time and would have much rather skipped this and spent more time in Greve many of the other travels on the trip agreed. Overall the tour is a good bargain for what you pay. Do note that it is about 6.5 hours long, and just about half of that is actually spent driving. There is a great sense of being rushed in this tour and could be improved by skipping the last stop.
Review by: wendyrwerner, June 2018
Kind of late by 2 years, but this was a wonderful tour of a few wineries.... the view is amazing once you leave Florence.. it was more then a half of day.. almost an entire day.. had alot of fun tasting and purchasing wine...
Review by: Sandy, May 2018
Great day. Our first wine tour was at Poggio Amorelli, it was awesome. The second tour was at Risecolli. Villages of Castellina in Chianti and Greve in Chianti were visited. You only have a short time for visiting these villages._br/_ Please be aware if you are thinking of shipping wines to Ontario... Firstly, to Canada, we had to purchase 6 bottles of wine. We knew there would be some duty to pay. For personal reasons, we were unable to carry bottles that would be exempt of duty or only approximately 40 customs duty when declared upon entering Canada. Upon receiving notifications of shipping and customs information, we were surprised in the extra to be paid. The LCBO charge is 102.2 of the receipt which you have to send to the brokerage company, plus 50 brokerage fee, plus HST.
Review by: Sandra D, May 2018
We had a great trip, even though our bus got stuck at the second winery. We were safe and happy, enjoying the wine._br/_ My only complaint was the lack of communication about the meeting point of the tour. Central Florence left much to be desired. Thankfully my daughter was able to sort through things and figure it out.
Review by: Kyle N, May 2018
Tour had way too many people on it. We were traveling with 2 coach buses full of people, 50 people in total. Some people in the group had different stickers indicating that they were entitled to a special dinner afterwards - not sure how we could have even signed up for that option if we wanted to. First vineyard we went to didn't give a tour of their barrel aging room, we were told to simply walk down one staircase and follow the leader back up through a different staircase. You passed the barrels during this follow the leader walk, that was it. It was hard to heard anything the local host was saying due to the large number of people gathered in one space. The food that was passed around was extremely small - a 1 long rectangle of bread attached to a 1/4 square of cheese. That was it. The views around the location were beautiful at least. We did end up buying a bottle of their first white wine for 8 euro, but the actual Chianti wine didn't stand out to us. Took home a small variety pack of olive oils too as a gift which was reasonably priced.
Review by: Victoria S, May 2018
Great tour.
Review by: Deepika S, April 2018
This was one of the highlights of our whole trip to Florence. The tour was on time and was not as onerous as we thought it would be! The tour operator was really friendly and funny. She was able to deliver information clearly but also time for us to absorb the amazing views. The first part of the tour took approx an hour to reach. Where we were able to sample Chianti wine, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. We then continued to the higher altitude and thins took approx 30 mins. The speaker here was extremely passionate about the wine and process involved in making good quality wine. I would highly recommend this tour!
Review by: Robert M, April 2018
So much fun ! Both wineries were great and the two small towns we visited as well gave such a great glimpse into the both the Tuscan countryside and way of life
Review by: Rumaisa K, April 2018
Outstanding experience learning about different wines from the region! The tour was scenic. We had three stops in Chianti. Definitely recommend it!
Review by: jeansbecker, April 2018
Was nice to get out of the city and see the gorgeous sites of the wine region. We stopped at two wineries during the day with a break in the little town of Greve between the two. The first winery was good but a bit underwhelming and the break in between wineries felt a bit long. Make sure you grab food and water at the stop in Greve as there are only light snacks at the wineries. We really enjoyed our time at the second winery where a sommelier provided us with a lot of knowledge about the wine and the pours were generous. We then stopped at another town to see a castle which was nice but the day was starting to feel a bit long and we were ready to head back into the city. Was impressed with how smoothly the tour went overall considering the large number of people on it. Overall the tour was good and were glad we went on it.
Review by: thugschorr, April 2018
I loved this tour. The group was small enough that we were able to talk with the leaders. They say the best part of drinking wine is the memories that you have with the taste, and we have fantastic memories with Chianti wine out. I would absolutely recommend.
Review by: Louise M, March 2018
The guide was excellent, as were the wineries we visited, especially the second one! The group was far too big, there were too many people it just made the tour harder to follow. I was especially annoyed that people kept talking over the representatives from the wineries, this wasn't the tour guides fault, it was the rude people doing it, but I feel in a smaller group it would be managed far more easily. The group was three quarters American and I felt it was more tailored to that audience rather than being more inclusive of those European people on the tour too. It wasn't a bad tour just too many people and too much noise over the people who were trying to teach us about the region and the wine, the whole part of the tour! I've done several some tours in different countries and I had high hopes for this one but it was too large. Smaller groups is far better for a learning experience.
Review by: Peter L, March 2018
Brilliant half day tour. Weather was terrible but that could not be helped. Guide was excellant, very informative._br/_ VIneyards for the tastings were amazing._br/_ The only negative was that it would have been nice to have a bit more time in Greve.
Review by: Niamh W, March 2018
This tour was amazing, the wines were so delicious and the views so beautiful. We had a great tour guide who's knowledge and passion really made the trip.
Review by: Jason F., March 2018
Excellent tour all around!
Review by: samdl77, March 2018
This tour is a must if you like to sample wine and other products from the region. The staff at both wineries visited were very friendly and knowledgeable. The bus ride during the tour was comfortable and the scenery was picturesque. Our tour stopped at the small town of Greve in Chianti. Although small, the town has a lot of personality with shops for just about anybody.
Review by: Mary S, March 2018
It was okay. Drive was beautiful. Two wineries were okay. Maybe pick another tour that includes a meal and wine. The town we stoped at had very little going on.
Review by: Martin H, March 2018
I'll probably go again next time.
Review by: annmartere, March 2018
We had a great day!! Our tour guide Helena was very informative, and the Wine Experts at both Wineries taught us a few very interesting things about wine tasting and quality. We stopped midway in the little town of Greve that was just lovely. I wish we had more time there! The scenery along the way is breath taking, we couldn't stop taking pictures. The experience and the price were simply excellent!
Review by: kellynns, March 2018
Easy to find and fun bus tour. We all had fun. I felt bad the second vineyard had such nice folks and a great tasting presentation but their cheapest wine started out at 40 which was pricey to a lot of traveling students and others who had already spent money at an earlier stop and on their lunch.
Review by: Mark P, February 2018
Awesome!!
Review by: Maxim B, February 2018
Loved this wine tasting tour of Chianti. Helps us appreciate excellent Chianti wines. I highly recommend this tour.
Review by: Ellienne M, December 2017
Perfect trip out of the city. The landscape was stunning, the wine lesson both charming and interesting and the flavors were beautiful! It was definitely one of the highlights of our time in Florence.
Review by: Slydog, December 2017
Great time, enjoyed the wine and country
Review by: Rosemarie R, November 2017
Our guide was very funny, in my opinion. The town and the castle we visited during the tour were both really cool and nice, but the first vineyard Tenuta del Palagio was truly the very worst lecture about wine that Ive ever experienced, and it felt very cavalier and mechanical. The second vineyard Poggio Amorelli was much, much better, but I was expecting a wine tasting like I have had in Napa even with large groups, where we each get a splash and a talk about what to expect to taste in the wine, etc, and instead we were all seated like we were at school and shuffled between locations. Not my best experience. 2 stars.
Review by: Rosemarie R, November 2017
Our guide was very funny, in my opinion. The town and the castle we visited during the tour were both really cool and nice, but the first vineyard Tenuta del Palagio was truly the very worst lecture about wine that Ive ever experienced, and it felt very cavalier and mechanical. The second vineyard Poggio Amorelli was much, much better, but I was expecting a wine tasting like I have had in Napa even with large groups, where we each get a splash and a talk about what to expect to taste in the wine, etc, and instead we were all seated like we were at school and shuffled between locations. Not my best experience. 2 stars.
Review by: Elizabeth P, November 2017
Was a wonderful experience! Would go again! :
Review by: audrey, November 2017
Tour was pretty good but compared to the full day chianti tour with lunch we did last year, far less fun.
Review by: Shalini J, November 2017
This was a lovely experience and well worth the time. Having toured Rome and Florence, it was a lovely break to get out of the city, taste some wines, olive oil and balsamic vinegar and see some of the cute little towns in the Tuscan region. This was the last tour we did in Italy and was a beautiful end to a wonderful vacation!
Review by: HUI FEN NICOLE T, November 2017
The tour provide us good inspect on Chianti wine and provide generous amount of wine, bread, cheese and even ham. We had great fun during the tour.
Review by: Jay, November 2017
This was a really great tour, quite unlike Wine Country tours we've taken in the US. There were in depth visits at two wineries a short and scenic drive from Florence. At both, a history of the wines was given, there was ample wine for tasting, and a bonus was pairing the wine with local food. At one winery, Il Palagio, olives are grown and a special treat was olive oil tasting. Both wineries allow orders with shipment to the US and we took advantage of that. Il Palagio, by the way, is owned by Sting. The tour also included short visits to Greve in Chianti and Castellina in Chianti, two small towns that are well worth visits on their own. The tour is nicely paced and our guide Keiko was a delight. This was only a half day tour. An entire day, or more, could be spent in Chianti and on our next visit we plan just that. Take this tour if you enjoy beautiful scenery, local wines and olive oils and a relaxing trip out of bustling Florence.
Review by: Anna G, November 2017
This tour was amazing!
Review by: Rayna C, November 2017
This tour was great. We were able to sit in a comfortable a/c tour bus and were taken to at least 3 wineries. I wish we knew in advance which wineries we were visiting so we could do research in advance, because we ended up buying a lot of olive oil and wine from the first stop, when actually we enjoyed the wine and olive oil from the last winery of the tour. You get to stop by a small town area to do some souvenir shopping but there are not too many stores to shop from. At the end of the tour it was already getting late and dark and chilly but they still stopped by another town to shop around just because I think they wanted to cover all parts of the tour. Most of us were so sleepy from the wine and the long day and didn't care to walk around the last shopping area. Also, most of the shops were closed by the time we got there so it was pretty much a waste of time. Maybe they changed the tour since our last visit in October, but otherwise I would recommend it just for the experience. Just be flexible with your time as you may end up returning back late into the city.
Review by: hherzig7, November 2017
I am no expert, but the first winery's tasting selection was pretty poor. The second was much better, but we both agreed none were worth the price. You stop in 2 villages, the first is nice, but the second is really a waste of time nothing is open this time of year. Expected more for nearly 50 euros.
Review by: Kevin D, November 2017
This was a great trip! Both wineries were amazing and both tour guides were very entertaining-highly recommend it!
Review by: Megan H, October 2017
Went on this tour recently and just adored the scenery. I found the tour to a bit a little strange in parts, like it's advertised that you go to Greve and Castellina, but you don't get told how long these stops are in the information provided. The Greve stop was only about 30 minutes and the Castellina stop was maybe 15-20 minutes. I really liked both, Castellina especially, but found it weird that they're not advertised as being super short or that a time frame isn't provided. I was disappointed that they weren't longer. In Greve we basically only had enough time to visit the old butcher shop and then grab a gelato before we had to walk back to where the bus was.
Review by: Anne T, October 2017
The trip was fine but the departure time listed on the website was 2:45 PM and the time listed on the printed voucher was 1:15 PM. The tour I purchased was supposed to go to Montiriggioni but this tour did not. The real disappointment was that I. Ought some wine from a tasting and the quality of the wine I brought home was far inferior to what I tasted. I probably would not recommend this trip.
Review by: carolking8, October 2017
This is advertised as a half day tour, but it lasted from 1:15 until about 8:30 p.m. Very comfortable coach and good guide Barbara. We visited two wineries with tasting and information at each. The sommelier at the second winery was particularly informative and entertaining. We spent time in the town of Greve for some food and photos and on the way back we did a walk through Castellana, a lovely old town lit up at night. Being October it got dark early so enjoyed the scene of the church floodlit at 7p.m. It was an unexpectedly long day, but the ride through the gorgeous Tuscan countryside and the other experiences were worth every bit of it. Highly recommend it.
Review by: Nicole W, October 2017
My friends and I had such a great experience with this tour the price was very reasonable for two winery visits, eight wine tastings, snacks, and village visits. The wine we sampled was the best I ever had and the snacks olive oil, cheese with fig jam, balsamic vinegar were delicious as well. Highly recommend doing this tour with a group of friends or significant other if you have a day to spare in Florence great way to see Tuscany as well! We didn't do the dinner at the Tuscan Restaurant but I wish we did based on how fun the tour was. Highly recommended :
Review by: Judith A, October 2017
The tour itself is a good one for those with very little time. It gives a quick overview of the gorgeous Chianti region. The wineries were fun and interesting. The tour guide was knowledgeable but the sound on the bus was terrible. We complained to the guide so I hope it was fixed.
Review by: Andrea B, October 2017
This was one of my favorite parts of our two-week vacation! The Tuscan countryside is beautiful and the wineries that we visited were great. I would recommend starting the tour earlier in the day because we got back to Florence well after the sun went down. Both wineries were excellent even for my non-wine drinking husband and the olive oil and balsamic tastings were the icing on the cake! We also really enjoyed the stop in Greve and probably would have enjoyed the second stop in Castellina had the sun been up although we did pop into a nice cafe for a glass of wine which was really nice.
Review by: elliebelly_16, October 2017
Absolutely awful. Our tour guide, Kako sp?, was bad. We must've arrived early to the first vineyard b/c we all got off the bus and gathered outside the building while she was talking to someone there. Then all of a sudden she lead us down around the building to the cellar and was waving her arm ushering us through flippantly saying 'go see the beautiful barrels' and we literally all just gathered in there and stood, my husband and I were expecting someone to come in and talk to us about what we were looking at or the process, we all just stood there. Finally, we all turned around and stared walking back outside, Kako was out there talking on her mobile. Finally we were led to the tasting and while the wine and cheese were okay, the man speaking had such a thick accent, we couldn't understand him. We moved on to the next stop, a little village Greve, and she told us we were going to a meat shop, if we were interested but basically she didn't care if we were or not b/c she wanted to go get a sandwich there. She buzzed through town and crowds so fast, and didn't even wait for everyone to get off the bus. There happened to be a cute town festival going on, so my husband and I just watched that until it was time to leave. We were only there for 30 minutes. We went on to the second vineyard, Poggio Amorelli, this was fantastic. The tour was handed over to a vineyard employee who was awesome, he was the saving grace of this whole day! He was fun and energetic, knowledgeable and helpful, we loved this place! This tasting was really great and fun. After Poggio Amorelli, we traveled to Castellino, it was almost dark and Kako rushed us through, not saying anything about anything we looked at or walked by. One woman asked a question and Kako took her tour guide sign, that she was holding so we could see where she was, and pretended to swat the woman's behind for asking a question. I think she was trying to be funny, but I was thinking 'isn't it your job to be telling us what we are looking at?!' We made it back to the bus in about 20 minutes and headed back to Florence. One thing we noticed is that we were on an enclosed double decker bus and Kako never once counted us ... for all we know, someone from our tour could still be at one of the vineyards b/c she never made sure everyone made it back on the bus. Every person for themselves! The views of Tuscany were beautiful, but not worth spending the day with this tour company!
Review by: Ani R, October 2017
Highly recommend this tour. the wine tasting on both wineries were incredible, delicious! Our tour guide was excellent. I would definitely do it again.
Review by: Allison W, October 2017
Loved every minute!! So beautiful and interesting!
Review by: Michelle R, October 2017
We really enjoyed seeing the different wineries and the Italian countryside. Great wine and tour.
Review by: Amanda H, October 2017
The tour guides we had were amazing, but it was a very long time on a bus for only 2 wineries. The first one was a classroom style, and the guy droned on and on.... the second one was amazing and he was so knowledgeable about the wines as he was the owner! By the time we got to the final stop everything in the village was closed and it was dark, so that was a bummer.
Review by: Rachael W, October 2017
What a fun and relaxing day touring the Tuscan countryside! Our tour guide Barbara was amazing, the wineries were delightful, and the quaint medieval villages made for great places to stretch our legs. Would certainly recommend this trip - great value!
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