Chianti Classico Tour

Visit the world-famous Chianti Classico area in Tuscany, home to one of the most prestigious wines in the world. The towns of Badia a Passignano and the Greve town center are the keys to open the world of the Gallo Nero label. The tour includes wine cellar visits, wine tasting, and lunch or a Tuscan snack (“merenda”).

Your tour begins with a visit to the very heart of the Chianti region - the charming little town of Greve in Chianti, some 30km/18 miles south of Florence. You’ll visit the main square with its characteristic medieval buildings. The 11th century church of Santa Croce was rebuilt in 1325 after a fire destroyed it almost completely. It now faces the piazza with its neoclassical facade.

You’ll then be taken to the Villa S. Andrea winery for your first tasting. The villa sits on nearly 1,500 acres of land on a hill covered with olive trees and vineyards. Views dominate the Pesa Valley and the historic abbey Badia a Passignano. The sun-drenched hills around the farm higher than 820 feet are covered with vineyards—more than 125 acres, in fact! And about 100 of those acres are registered as Chianti Classico DOCG, or Denominazione Origine Controllata Garantita, the quality assurance label for Italian food and wines. On the farm itself, almost 200 acres are reserved for olive trees, while the valleys and flatlands are used to grow wheat. Everything that is grown on the farm is irrigated using water from two lakes on the farm’s property.

Time for lunch - at the family-run restaurant La Cantinetta di Rignana. Located in what was once an oil mill, Massimo Abbarchini and his sons Lorenzo and Cosimo will prepare a traditional Tuscan meal for you, with dishes that are full of the incomparable flavors of the Chianti region.

After this delicious meal, your adventure will continue with a small walk around one of the world-famous Antinori vineyards at Badia a Passignano. The 56 acres of vineyards which surround the abbey of Badia a Passignano have belonged to the Antinori family since 1987. Badia a Passignano also has 19 hectares (37 acres) of olive groves planted with the Frantoio, Leccino, and Moraiolo olive varieties.

Alternately, you may take an easy walk around the small castle of Montefioralle, once a stronghold during the wars between Siena and Florence.

Your final stop on this adventure through the Chianti will be at Casaloste, a winery in the hills just outside of Greve in Chianti. Here, you’ll have a chance to taste the famous Chianti wines which the owners, Giovanni Battista and Emilia d’Orsi, carefully grow on their 44 acres.

The Program:

9:00 am - Departure from Florence or your location

10:00 am - Arrival at Greve in Chianti and visit of the market square

11:00 am - Visit to the winery Villa S. Andrea and wine tasting

1:00 pm - Lunch at the La Cantinetta di Rignana

2:30 pm - A walk through the Antinori vineyards at Badia a Passignano or around the small castle of Montefioralle

4:00pm - Visit of the cellars of Casaloste and wine tasting

6:00pm - Return to Florence or your location

• 100% refund for cancellations at least 15 days before the tour
• 50% refund from 14 to 2 days before the tour
• No refund for further cancellations and no-shows