Val d'Orcia Food & Wine Tours
The Val d’Orcia is the Tuscany of the postcards, cypress roads, bare clay hills, a chapel on a ridge, and it happens to sit between Brunello and Vino Nobile with the best pecorino in Italy in the middle. This page compares the top-rated Val d’Orcia tours that put food and wine first: Montalcino and Montepulciano tastings, Pienza cheese, lunch in the hills, from Florence or Siena in a day.
Pienza and pecorino: the sheep’s cheese of Pienza comes fresh, semi-aged and aged, some wrapped in walnut leaves; every tour stops for it.
The wines: Brunello on the western edge, Vino Nobile on the eastern, and the small Orcia DOC in between.
The rest: Bagno Vignoni’s thermal pool in the piazza, San Quirico’s gardens, the cypress groups everyone photographs.
The Val d’Orcia in a day: wine, cheese and the road between
The Val d’Orcia was listed by UNESCO in 2004 for its Renaissance farming landscape, and the landscape is still farmed: sheep for pecorino, Sangiovese on the edges, wheat and sunflowers in the middle. It runs from Montalcino in the west to Montepulciano in the east, with Pienza, San Quirico d’Orcia and Bagno Vignoni along the way. Tours from Florence and Siena cover it in a long day; the food and wine versions are the ones listed here.
Pienza and its pecorino
Pienza is a small Renaissance town built by Pope Pius II, and its cheese is the reason food tours stop. Pecorino di Pienza comes fresco, semi-stagionato and stagionato, and in versions aged in walnut leaves, straw or ash. Dairy visits show the sheep and the ageing rooms; in-town tastings pair three or four ages with honey and pear. The town’s cheese fair is the first Sunday of September.
Montalcino and Montepulciano
Brunello at the western end and Vino Nobile at the eastern give the valley its wine. Combined tours visit one estate in each, or one estate and one town cellar. If either wine is the priority, the dedicated pages go deeper: Montalcino and Montepulciano.
The landscape stops
Bagno Vignoni’s main square is a Renaissance thermal pool; San Quirico has the Horti Leonini gardens and the cypress groups outside town; the Vitaleta chapel and the Gladiator road near Pienza are the photographs. Food-first tours keep these short; sightseeing tours make them the day.
From Florence or Siena
Siena is about an hour from Pienza and the calmer start; Florence tours add 45 minutes each way and make a long day. Both usually include lunch at an estate or agriturismo. There is no useful public transport in the valley.
When to go
May and June for green hills and poppies, late September for the harvest and the light, October for colour. July is hot and the wheat has gone; the hills turn to bare clay by August, which some photographers prefer.
Read next: A Tuscan wine route: Chianti, Montalcino & Montepulciano · 5 days in Tuscany for food & wine
How we choose
We list only experiences with a strong rating over a meaningful number of reviews and free cancellation where available, and we favour small-group and family-run hosts. FindEatLocal earns a commission when you book through GetYourGuide or Viator links on this page; it doesn’t change the price you pay. More about how we choose.
FAQ about Val d'Orcia Food & Wine Tours
Frequently asked questions
Why book a Val d’Orcia food and wine tour?
Because the valley is small enough to taste in a day and too spread out to do without a driver: a Brunello estate in Montalcino, pecorino in Pienza, a Vino Nobile cellar in Montepulciano, and the road between them is the point.
What is Pecorino di Pienza and where can I taste it?
Sheep’s milk cheese from the pastures around Pienza, sold fresh to aged. Taste it at a dairy outside town on a tour, or in the cheese shops along Pienza’s main street.
Can I do the Val d’Orcia in one day from Florence?
Yes, on a tour, and it is a full day: about 1 hour 45 each way with Montalcino or Montepulciano, Pienza and a lunch in between.
Is the Val d’Orcia possible without a car?
Not practically. Buses are sparse; a tour is the way to see it without driving.
Which wine is the Val d’Orcia known for?
Brunello di Montalcino and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano at its edges; the small Orcia DOC within.
Brunello tour or Val d’Orcia tour?
A Brunello tour if wine leads; a Val d’Orcia tour if you want the landscape, the cheese and one estate.