The Best Tuscan Wine Tour For Study Abroad Students

If you’re visiting Florence or perhaps studying abroad as I am, then going on a Tuscan wine tour should be at the top of your bucket list! As you know, wine is a huge staple in the Italian diet—these tours teach you how Italians are able to produce so much wine while experiencing some amazing views of the countryside. Not to mention, you get to drink your fair share too!

There are numerous daily wine tours on the internet, but I ended up booking ours through Bus2Alps. Bus2Alps is a widely known travel agency among Florence’s study abroad students. They design discounted student trips to all kinds of destinations—Greece, Amalfi Coast, Morroco, and more.

Each tour comes with roundtrip transportation from the Florence bus station, Piazzale Montelungo, and is led by a few twenty-something travel guides who speak English. Most people on your tour will be fellow study abroad students so this is an amazing way to meet new people from other programs; however, anyone aged 18-29 is welcome to join.

If you’re interested in booking a Bus2Alps tour, you can use my discount code STYLEDBYMCKENZ to save! 

My roommate Lauren and I had a free Saturday so we booked the Florence 2 Taste Of Tuscany Wine Tour and had a blast together. I got so much love from the Instagram posts I shared from our day, that I wanted to sit down and share all of the details here on my website too!

Stop #1: Fattoria Poggioallorro Winery 

Our bus picked us up from the station at 9:30 am. Roughly one hour later we arrived at our first stop of the day, the Fattoria Poggioallorro Winery. This winery was at the top of a hill, with an incredible view of the Tuscan Hills. On a normal day, you would take a mini walking tour through the fields to hear about how the grapes are grown and harvested. Unfortuantely, it was raining on our tour day, so we skipped that portion and went straight inside.

For our first wine tasting we were provided with four different wines to try— two white and two red (one aged, one not). In addition, they gave us each a plate of cheese, tuscan bread, and other traditional Italain appetizers to help cleanse our palettes between each tasting. To finish off the meal we were given a glass of Rose which admittedly, was my favorite!

Stop #2: Exploring San Gimignano

From the winery we drove another 15 minutes to the quaint town of San Gimignano. This town center is lined with medieval houses, looking out to the beautiful hills of Tuscany. We had about two hours to explore this area, spending much of our time enjoying the views!

There is a small strip of shops with local artisans, cafes, and places to buy wine. This is also where the “world’s best gelato” is located. I’m a sweet treat lover at heart so I had to try Gelataria Del Dondi for myself. I got their waffle cone with a mix of lemon and strawberry gelato and it was amazing. Defintiely one of the best I’ve had here (and trust me, I’ve been eating it almost daily.) They had over 30 flavors to choose from too!

If we had longer here, I would have loved to explore some of the art exhibits and museums in this area. Definitely a cute little town to visit—some tourists but truly lots of locals living here too!

Stop #3: Torciano Winery

Our last stop was the Torciano Winery. This one was family owned and had been passed down for over ten generations. Everyone working was related somehow and it was really special getting to experience all of their traditions, recipes, and wine.

We began this tasting by getting a wine connoisseur lesson, learning how to properly hold our glass, swirl our wine, and distinguish each smell. We also learned which flavors pair best with certain meals. Lauren and I loved getting to hear “the science” behind what makes certain wines so good!

We were given six different glasses here—three white and three red. I ended up enjoying the year-old red that pairs best with meats and cheeses!

A three-course meal was also provided here, beginning with a plate of appetizers. We got to try different meats, cheeses, and bread followed by a homemade veggie soup. This was full of different vegetables and had traditional Tuscan bread mixed in. Our main course was “grandmama’s” truffle lasagna which was unlike anything I’ve ever tried before. I’m not usually a lasagne girl but the flavors were amazing! One of my favorite meals I’ve had so far in Italy.

We were able to enjoy a glass of Rose and then our tour guides set us free to explore this beautiful property + take some photos if we so desired. You know I can never say no to that!

At this point it was around 5:30 pm so we began our bus ride back to Florence, making it home just before 7.

If you’re looking to spend some time in Florence, I highly recommend booking a wine tour. It’s such a fun way to spend the day and really immerses you into such a huge part of the Italian culture. We had an amazing day and I’m so happy we decided to follow through with this last-minute plan. I hope to go again before my semester is up!

With love, McKenz

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