Wine Tasting in Tuscany

Tuscany is a remarkable and well known tourist region of Italy. A trip to this shoe shaped country is definitely incomplete without a trip to Tuscany.

Chianti

I visited the Chianti vineyards of Tuscany with Tuscany Bike tours (www.tuscany-biketours.com/) The office, located in the heart of Florence, was east of Piazza del Duomo and easy to reach. The tour started at 10 a.m. We were a group of 15 people who were provided safety supplies such as helmets (for those who wanted to bike), water bottles, a map of the best places to eat in Florence, and a good enough tour safety talk. Our tour guide, Keith, drove us down to the Chianti region from Florence. 

Chianti was a beautiful 40 minutes drive from Florence. It was also very peaceful. We reached Castello di Poppiano, an ancient medieval castle in a picturesque location of Tuscany. A tour of wine cellars and the olive oil production facility was waiting for us, followed by some wine tasting. 

The wines were yummy! I had not tasted such delicious and fresh wines ever :-)

 Castello di Poppiano      

      

The wine added a good buzz and I opted to stay in the van and not drive the bike. A brilliant drive, beautiful shots, and fresh fruit, that was my day in Chianti. We drove for a while around the vineyards and stopped at a cafe for pause. The hills of Chianti were lush green. I couldnt stop myself from gawking outside and paying less attention to the talks in the car. 

It was around 2 when we stopped for a nice quiet albeit lavish lunch at a family owned 'trattoria' (included in the cost). A choice of pasta/spaghetti and wine followed by a delicious dessert and a small cup of cappuccino ended my very Italian lunch!  

The entire tour lasted about 7-8 hours and cost about 80 euros. It was totally worth the experience and highly recommended. Thank you Keith and Lorenzo!:-)