This 3-day Tuscany wine tasting trip was very different to my typical travels around the globe. I and my colleague among others from transportation business were invited by a truck manufacturer to experience real Tuscany wine tastings in two very famous and amazing wineries.
Barone Ricasoli winery
First to visit was the oldest winery in Italy and the second oldest in the world. Barone Ricasoli has 32 generations and was established in 1141. It spreads over 1200 hectares from which 250 hectares are vineyards. Castello di Brolio is a beautiful residence of Ricasoli family which clearly drags attention.
After a walk around beautiful Castello di Brolio and taking some amazing pictures of breathtaking views it was time to sit down and start our Tuscany wine tastings. We were offered 1 white wine and 3 red ones. Definitely the best and the most valued wine was called Castello di Brolio, Chianti Classico which is the type invented by Barone Ricasoli winery. This wine is only produced if the grape quality is 100% and costs 34 Euro per bottle.
Majority of traditional Tuscany wines are red wines. Just after tasting 3 of them my stomach felt a bit heavy and during lunch I needed to swap it for a beer. Some people from the group did the same and we got really surprised when we got the beer. It totally looked like a bottle of wine made by Barone Ricasoli. I have never seen such a beer bottle which was a bit confusing but pretty cool as well.
Antinori winery
Our second stop was a very different story. When we arrived I couldn’t believe we are in winery. Antinori winery is set into the hills covered by vineyards and was constructed in 2012 with costs over 100 million Euro. This extremely modern winery made an amazing first impression. It is a connection between art and tradition. From outside it doesn’t interfere with nature, although it looks a bit like office building rather than a winery. But once you enter everything changes. I myself am bigger fan of traditional wine cellars or typical wineries. But also have to admit that by far Antinori winery was definitely one of the coolest buildings I have ever seen. After winery tour it was time to sit down in one of 2 cool looking wine tasting rooms overlooking the warehouse full of wine barrels. Again we were given mostly red wines to try.
San Gimignano
The last stop was in very beautiful and charming town of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage of UNESCO called San Gimignano. First interesting and funny fact is that on the same square there are 2 ice cream shops selling the world’s best ice cream. Unfortunately, there is just one which really has the title of world’s best ice cream and I visited that one. First of all I had to wait in the long line but after few minutes I could enjoy the best ice cream in the world.
The town itself though was really charming. San Gimignano is standing on the hill and offers amazing views of surrounding landscape of Tuscany. Very specific thing in the town were very high tower houses which in many other similar cities were brought down due to wars, but in San Gimignano are very well preserved. It is a very touristy town but definitely worth visiting while in Tuscany. I am really glad that for my first time I could visit some of the best wineries in the world and enjoy such great Tuscany wine tastings.
