Tuscany Food Tours Guide 2026

Chianti Wine Tour

A guided tour through the Chianti Classico DOCG wine zone visiting 2-3 family wine estates. Includes cellar tours explaining the winemaking process from vineyard to bottle, tastings of Chianti Classico (Annata, Riserva, and Gran Selezione), and lunch at an estate using local ingredients. Key villages: Greve in Chianti, Radda in Chianti, Panzano.

Includes: Visit to 2-3 estates including cellar tours · Chianti Classico tasting with winemaker · Lunch pairing food with estate wines · Scenic drive through vine-covered hills

Brunello di Montalcino Wine Tour

An immersive experience in the Brunello wine zone, one of Italy's most prestigious wine appellations. Visit 2-3 estates producing Brunello di Montalcino DOCG (minimum 5 years aging), including the historic Biondi Santi estate (creators of Brunello) or Castello Banfi (largest estate with medieval castle). Includes vineyard walks, cellar tours, and tasting of multiple vintages.

Includes: Tasting Brunello di Montalcino from 2-3 producers · Understanding the Brunello aging process · Historic Biondi Santi estate visit · Lunch at Montalcino with Rosso di Montalcino pairing

Truffle Hunting Experience, San Miniato

San Miniato is the Tuscan capital of white truffles (tartufo bianco), which rank among the world's most expensive ingredients. Join a local trifolao (truffle hunter) and their trained dog through the oak and poplar woodland searching for the precious tubers. The experience concludes with a tasting of fresh truffle dishes - typically truffle pasta or eggs with truffle - and explanation of truffle varieties and markets.

Includes: Hunt with an experienced trifolao and trained truffle dog · Learning to identify truffle habitat · Tasting fresh truffle pasta made from your finds · Purchasing fresh truffle to take home

Florentine Cooking Class

Learn to prepare classic Florentine and Tuscan dishes in a professional kitchen or private home setting. Classes typically cover fresh pasta making (pappardelle, pici, or tagliatelle), a primo (ribollita or pasta al ragu), a secondo (bistecca or pollo), and a dessert (cantucci or panna cotta). Concludes with the meal you've cooked paired with wine.

Mercato Centrale Food Tour, Florence

The Mercato Centrale is Florence's magnificent 19th-century covered market with the best ground-floor food market in the city. A guided market tour covers the history of the market, introduces key vendors, explains seasonal Tuscan ingredients (porcini, truffles, pecorino, salumi), and includes tastings at multiple stalls. Conclude with lunch at the modern first-floor food hall.

Includes: Cheese tasting with aged Pecorino varieties · Salumi tasting including Finocchiona and lardo · Fresh pasta maker watching handmade pasta · Truffle product tasting · Seasonal produce overview

Mercato di Sant'Ambrogio Morning Tour, Florence

A more authentic and less touristy alternative to the Mercato Centrale, Sant'Ambrogio is where Florentine residents shop. The covered central hall has outstanding cheese and deli vendors, while the external market has seasonal produce, flowers, and clothing. Often combined with breakfast at one of the surrounding cafes.

Includes: Local shopping experience away from tourists · Excellent cheese vendors with Pecorino, Grana, and fresh ricotta · Seasonal Tuscan produce including porcini and seasonal vegetables

Pecorino and Wine Tasting, Pienza

Pienza is the UNESCO-listed 'city of cheese' - the capital of Pecorino Toscano DOP production. The main street (Corso Rossellino) is lined with shops where you can taste and buy multiple ages of Pecorino from fresh (fresco) to aged (stagionato) paired with local honey, jam, and Rosso di Montalcino or Vino Nobile wines.

Olive Oil Tasting and Harvest Tour

Tuscany produces world-class extra-virgin olive oil, particularly from the Lucca hills and the Chianti area. Harvest tours (October-November) include picking olives by hand, watching cold-pressing at the frantoio (mill), and tasting the intensely fresh new-harvest oil. Off-season tastings compare different estate oils and discuss varietals.

Includes: Hand-picking olives in the groves · Watching cold-pressing at the traditional stone mill · Tasting new-harvest oil (intensely peppery and green) · Understanding DOP quality marks

Vino Nobile Tasting Tour, Montepulciano

Montepulciano's elegant Renaissance streets are lined with cantinas (wine cellars) built in the tufa rock beneath the town. Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG is one of Italy's great red wines, made from Sangiovese (Prugnolo Gentile) grapes. Multiple cantinas offer self-guided tastings beneath the historic center.

Vin Santo and Cantucci Making Workshop

Learn the art of making cantucci (twice-baked almond biscotti from Prato) and taste them the traditional Tuscan way - dipped into Vin Santo, the amber-colored sweet wine made from dried Trebbiano and Malvasia grapes. The combination is one of Tuscany's great culinary traditions and the perfect ending to a Tuscan meal.

Includes: Making cantucci from scratch · Understanding Vin Santo production (grapes dried on straw mats for months) · Tasting different ages of Vin Santo from local producers