If you are following along throughout our Italian Adventure, Tuscany was our second destination in Italy, immediately after Rome. If you are curious what we did in Rome, check out this blog post linked here.
In this post, I cover the first two days in Tuscany, which were mostly spent in Montepulciano. We did a couple other things outside the town, but everything we did was within 30 minutes (or less) of Montepulciano. There are over 50 photos in this blog post, so if you like pictures, this one’s for you!
Day 1
We picked up a rental car at the Rome Airport and drove straight to Tuscany. Our first stop in Tuscany was a smaller town called Monticchiello. It’s only 20 minutes or so from Montepulciano, so it’s a great place to visit if you are in the area. The charm of this town is unlike anything I have ever seen. I was fascinated with every square inch of this little town, so much so that I probably took several hundred photos here.
After walking around Monticchiello for a little bit, we grabbed lunch at Osteria La Porta. This restaurant is pretty well known and has been recognized by the Michelin Guide.
I was very happy with our choice to dine here because everything was fantastic. We had an incredible bottle of wine in addition to some amazing pastas and charcuterie. Everything tastes so much fresher in Italy! My favorite part of the meal was the fact that I had fresh shaved truffle on my pasta. What a treat that was!
After stuffing our faces at lunch, we made the drive over to our next activity: wine tasting! If you’re new here, we are kind of obsessed with wine, wine tasting, buying wine, or really anything that involves wine. Needless to say, Tuscany was the perfect destination for us.
Our first winery stop in Tuscany was Tenuta Valdipiatta. We were the only ones visiting that day, so it was nice to have a private experience. Our host guided us through several different wines and we fell in love with each one. Our favorite was probably the Vino Nobile de Montepulciano. This is really what the area is is known for. They also served some olive oil, breads and cheeses with the wine tasting, so come hungry!
In addition to the wine tasting, we also got a guided tour of the facilities and the barrel room. Everything seemed pretty similar to what you find out in California, but there were a few key differences. For example, the barrels they use to age the wine are much larger than the barrels you see in Napa. There is way less contact with the oak for most of these Italian wines, and it gives it a completely different flavor profile.
After an amazing wine tasting experience and tour, we made our way into Montepulciano to check in to our hotel. We stayed at the Locanda San Francesco and it was an amazing hotel with a great location. First things first, they had the best check-in process out of any hotel I’ve ever been to. They have a wine bar and restaurant on the first floor, so they brought us prosecco and snacks while we checked in. It was so relaxing and a great way to kick off our time in Montepulciano.
Our room was absolutely stunning and had wonderful views of the Tuscan countryside. Seriously, I cannot recommend this place enough! You must stay here if you are visiting Montepulciano.
After getting settled into our room, we decided to head out and explore the town of Montepulciano. The town is extremely walkable and you could probably see the entire city in a few hours. Note: There are some steep hills in this town, so make sure you plan your footwear accordingly.
Even though Montepulciano isn’t very big, there is a lot to see and do. There are several shops, restaurants, wineries and bars throughout town. You could spend an entire day shopping, wine tasting and dining at some fabulous restaurants!
Since we were so full from lunch and all the snacks, we didn’t want dinner, so we spent most of the evening just strolling around. We did pop into a couple of wine bars to look around, and we eventually sat down for a glass of wine. What’s better than a glass of wine for dinner?!
Looking back, it seems like we didn’t do much on our first night in Montepulciano, but I think we were both still tired from all the travel. However, it was really nice to have a slower evening and relax a little bit.
Day 2
Since we went to bed so early the previous night, we were rested and ready to explore Montepulciano all morning! We didn’t have to be anywhere until noon, so we made use of the morning and explored more of what we had missed the day before.
First things first, we stopped at a local café for some coffee. The coffee in Italy is so much better than anything we have in the states, so we made it a point to drink it every morning. The coffee shop was really small and there were a TON of locals grabbing their morning espresso. It was nice to sit there for a few minutes and observe some of the locals.
After getting our morning caffeine fix, we strolled around town and took pictures. It’s one of those places where it’s hard to get a bad photo. The buildings are so old, and there is so much character in everything you see.
After exploring Montepulciano for a few hours , we made our way over to Avignonesi Winery for a tasting, tour and lunch. This winery was highly rated from other travelers, so I was excited to see what they had to offer.
There were about 20-25 people on our wine tour and we started out by touring some of their vineyards. We got a really nice overview of the land, how many vines they plant per acre, and what kind of farming they do. The vineyards are biodynamic and they are very particular about where each vine gets planted.
After touring the vineyards, we were taken all over the property to explore some of their production facilities and barrel rooms. They have one barrel room that is dedicated to aging their Vin Santo, a dessert wine. When we visited, the 2007 vintage was aging in the barrels.
Our next stop on the tour was exploring the caves. This is where they age most of their red wine. It was also interesting to see some of the “antique” wine production tools. It was almost like a historic wine museum.
All in all, the property was gorgeous and there were flowers everywhere. The buildings were very charming and the views were incredible. The Tuscan countryside is nothing short of amazing.
The best part of the experience at Avignonesi was the wine tasting paired with an amazing Tuscan lunch. If you have the opportunity to do a wine and food pairing, you should absolutely take advantage. I think it’s a great way to learn about the wine and see how it changes with different foods.
It was such a gorgeous setting for a lunch. I could not get over the views! We lucked out with really nice weather, too.
Before trying any of the dishes, we were served bread with some of their fancy balsamic vinegar and olive oil. The balsamic vinegar was incredible and had so much flavor. We wanted to take a bottle home, but it was over $100!
We tried about 5-6 different wines in total and they were very generous with their pours. We definitely had enough wine to be able to try it with and without food. They also came back a couple times throughout the lunch to ask if we wanted more wine. I was so impressed with the hospitality!
Every dish we tried was absolutely amazing and it was by far, some of the best food we had on the trip. My favorite dish was the pasta. It was so fresh and it felt like it was melting in your mouth.
One of the most unique things about the lunch was the dessert. We ordered a sampler of several different desserts, and it was presented beautifully. I almost felt like we were dining at a 3-Star Michelin restaurant! Of course, we paired the dessert with the dessert wine, otherwise known as Vin Santo. I didn’t think we were going to like the Vin Santo, but it actually wasn’t too bad. It was a really nice ending to a wonderful Tuscan lunch.
This wine tasting and lunch was one of the best experiences of the trip, so I would highly recommend a visit to Avignonesi if you are in Tuscany. Also, make sure to do the full tour and lunch versus a regular wine tasting. It is 100% worth the extra time and money.
After the wine tasting, we made our way back into Montepulciano. Unfortunately, it started pouring down rain, so we needed to find something to do inside. We actually made our way into another winery called Cantina de’ Ricci. We knew this would be a good stop because it was inside a historic cave, several meters underground.
I’m glad we stopped here because the caves were so historic and unlike anything I had ever seen. I couldn’t believe all of this was hiding under the city of Montepulciano! You would never know that something like this exists when you are walking around the town.
Once we made our way through the caves, we ended up in their tasting room. Surprisingly enough, they offer a free wine tasting, so we decided to sample a few different varietals. Honestly, we weren’t super impressed with the wine, and it wasn’t anything like the wine we had at Avignonesi. They did have another wine tasting option (for purchase), so I’m thinking that wine might have been better than the free tasting. Either way, it was still a really cool experience seeing the caves and learning a bit about the history.
Since it was still raining, we decided to walk over to a wine bar and relax a bit before dinner. We had discovered Enoteca La Dolce Vita while walking around Montepulciano the previous day, so we decided to give it a try. I thought it would be a good stop because they had hundreds, possibly thousands of bottles of wine to choose from. They also do wine by the glass if you don’t want to commit to a full bottle.
We ordered a delicious bottle of Brunello, one of our favorite Italian red wines from Tuscany. The wine bar also served us a few complimentary snacks to go with our wine. If you ever go out to grab a glass of wine or cocktail in Italy, you will almost always get free snacks. It’s kind of nice, but sometimes I accidentally fill up on the snacks versus eating a real meal!
We finished off the day with a lovely Italian dinner at Ristorante Degli Archi. Even though we didn’t have a reservation, we were seated immediately. If you don’t have a reservation for dinner, I would recommend getting to the restaurant by 7:30 PM. Most people start to arrive around 8/8:30 PM, so you should be okay if you can beat the rush.
We ordered a bottle of wine from Avignonesi since we loved the wine tasting so much earlier that day. It was the perfect pairing with our pasta dishes. Overall, we really enjoyed this restaurant and the owner was quite the character. He made the experience really fun and the whole thing felt extremely authentic. I would dine here again if we go back to Montepulciano!
We completely fell in love with Montepulciano and the surrounding area, and we plan to return again someday. Everything about this place was magical and the people were so hospitable. 10/10 would recommend visiting this area if you are planning a trip to Tuscany.
If you are looking for more information on our time in Italy, check out my other blog posts linked below.
- Two Weeks in Italy – An Itinerary
- Italy – What I Wore
- Rome in a Day
- Tuscany – San Gimignano, Volterra, Borgo Pignano
- Two Days in Florence
Please send me an e-mail or leave a question in the comments below if you are wanting more information on Montepulciano (or Tuscany in general). Cheers!
Leave a Reply