From Siena: Brunello di Montalcino Guided Wine Tour W/ Lunch

Paulo was a fantastic leader on our trip to Montalcino and beyond. He was very eloquent in giving us historical notes and insights into the areas we visited. We went in a minivan first to the fortress in Montalcino, and then to our first tasting and tour at Fanti Vineyards, which was very professionally done. Then we drove to a family vineyard, Molino di Sant’Antimo, for not only a tasting but also for a beautiful lunch prepared by the matriarch, including pasta, veggie meatballs, pepper and olives, plus quince cake. All delicious!! We avoided the aggressive ducks to reboard the van and travel to the Abbey of Sant’Antimo, which proved to be a very peaceful and moving experience. Our final tasting was at Podere di Ripi, which unfortunately was not a good experience. Highly tannic and sulfuric wines in a space with lots of gnats flying around. We drove back to Siena, highly entertained by Paulo. Despite the poor third tasting, we felt this was still an excellent excursion. Bravo Paulo!

Enjoyable day out, and Georgia was a fantastic, knowledgeable guide. The vineyards were all the kind of postcard settings we imagined and the lunch was excellent! The wines - and winemakers - were interesting but not to our taste - which is a very subjective assessment! We would happily have spent a little more at each vineyard instead of the stop in Montalcino. An enjoyable day out and highly recommended