Montepulciano Wine Tours: Vino Nobile Tastings
Montepulciano’s wine is tasted underground: the cellars of Vino Nobile run beneath the Renaissance palazzi of the main street, some of them Etruscan at the bottom, all of them full of Sangiovese in oak. This page compares the top-rated Montepulciano wine tours and tastings, from a walk through the town cellars to estate visits in the vineyards below, and the day trips from Florence and Siena that pair Montepulciano with Pienza and the Val d’Orcia.
What you’ll taste: Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, Sangiovese aged at least two years, plus Rosso di Montepulciano and usually a Riserva and a Vin Santo.
Town or countryside: historic cellars in town need no transport; estate visits in the Valdichiana below add vineyards and lunch.
Combine it: Pienza is 15 minutes away, Montalcino 40, Cortona 30. Most day trips do Montepulciano with at least one of them.
Montepulciano and Vino Nobile: what to expect
Vino Nobile di Montepulciano was, with Brunello, one of Italy’s first DOCG wines in 1980. It is made from Prugnolo Gentile, the local name for Sangiovese, at least 70 percent of the blend, and aged two years, three for Riserva. It sits between Chianti and Brunello in weight and price, which makes it the Tuscan red most people can afford to drink young and cellar old. Rosso di Montepulciano is the one-year version. The town itself, on a ridge above the Valdichiana, is one of Tuscany’s best preserved, and its wine cellars are built into it.
The historic cellars
Along Via di Gracciano nel Corso and around Piazza Grande, several producers keep their barrels in cellars that descend through Renaissance foundations to medieval and even Etruscan levels. Visits are short, walkable and dramatic, and most end with a tasting upstairs. They are the reason to do at least part of your tasting in town rather than only at estates.
Estate visits in the Valdichiana
The vineyards lie on the slopes below the town toward Lake Trasimeno and Cortona. Estate tours add what the town cellars lack: the vines, the view, and usually lunch. Combined tours do one of each.
Getting there
Montepulciano is about an hour from Siena and 1 hour 45 to two hours from Florence by road. By train, Chiusi-Chianciano on the Florence to Rome line is 20 kilometres away with a bus connection; most visitors come on a tour. Tours from Florence and Siena usually combine Montepulciano with Pienza and the Val d’Orcia, sometimes Montalcino too. See Val d’Orcia and Montalcino.
When to go
Late August brings the Bravio delle Botti, a barrel-rolling race up the main street between the town’s districts, on the last Sunday of the month. Harvest is late September. Spring and autumn are best for the estates; summer for the cellars, which stay cool.
Food in Montepulciano
Pici with aglione, the Valdichiana’s garlic-and-tomato sauce, is the local pasta; Chianina beef comes from the valley below; pecorino from Pienza next door. Several tours add a cooking class or a lunch built around them.
Read next: A Tuscan wine route: Chianti, Montalcino & Montepulciano
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FAQ about Montepulciano Wine Tours: Vino Nobile Tastings
Frequently asked questions
Why book a Montepulciano wine tour?
Because the town is one long street of palazzi with cellars underneath, and the best way to see it is to go down: barrel halls, an Etruscan tomb or two, and Vino Nobile at the end of it.
Is Vino Nobile the same as Montepulciano d’Abruzzo?
No. Vino Nobile is Sangiovese from the town of Montepulciano in Tuscany; Montepulciano d’Abruzzo is a different grape, called Montepulciano, from the Abruzzo region.
How much does a Montepulciano wine tour cost?
Cellar tours with tasting in town from about 20 to 40 euros; estate tours with lunch 90 to 160; full-day trips from Florence or Siena including Pienza 100 to 180.
Can I taste wine in Montepulciano without a tour?
Yes: the town cellars take walk-ins and the enoteche on the main street pour by the glass. For the estates, a tour or a car is needed.
Montepulciano or Montalcino?
Montepulciano for the town and its cellars and a more approachable wine; Montalcino for Brunello. They are 40 minutes apart and often combined.
When is the Bravio delle Botti?
The last Sunday of August.