I highly recommend starting your day at the Enoteca Consorzio Del Vino Nobile in centro (historic center) Montepulciano.  The Consorzio is located on the lower level of the Palazzo del Capitano in the renown Piazza Grande, across from the duomo (church).

There you can taste the wines from all 230 members of Montepulciano’s  Consorzio and with any luck, plan a same day cellar tour and private tasting at a local vintner.

Appointments to tour the cellars must be made in advance as most wineries in Tuscany do not accept “drop-ins” and some wineries are closed to visitors.

It is standard practice to tour the cellars and grounds before wine tasting, (oftentimes the winemaker will actually lead the tour).

Tours are routinely conducted in English, Italian or French, followed by a semi-private wine tasting in a small reception room.  Tour prices vary according to the number and types of wines sampled.

Of course, Montepulciano is best known for its Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, but the Rosso di Montepulciano and the Vin Santo are also widely cultivated and promoted and can be sampled at many of the local wineries and enotecas. [Read more…]