A wonderful day spent at Castello di Verrazzano with a vino tour and lunch. I highly recommend a visit when you are next in Chianti.

We went there in the evening and were greeted by at the entrance by a band and a marvelous singer, after which our delightfully funny host told us the story of the castle and the Italian explorateur who has a bridge in NYC named after him.... over a glass of their white wine. After that he tooks a tour of the winery during which we saw how the vino santo grapes were hung and got to know more about the Chianti wine and the different controlled denominations.
We moved on to a nice light dinner accompanied by several Chianti wines to sample and at the end the traditional Tuscan biscotti dipped in vino santo... I can assure you I had more than one of those.
We had one of those nice light evenings that you wish went on a little longer than they did. I would strongly recommend it.

Another highlight we experiences while in Tuscany was wine tasting in Chianti.

I made reservations online (which I highly recommend) to tour and taste at the oldest winery in Italy, Castello di Verrazzano. The grounds and views are spectacular. The tour was both educational and entertaining. You can also opt to do lunch there but we were more than satisfied with our exquisite charcuterie / cheese plates. Don't forget to try their "liquid gold" and plan on bringing a bottle or two back with you.

My wife and I visited the Castello di Verrazzano in connection with a group tour. We were told about the castle’s history and were given a nice tour of the hilltop castle, its impeccably-manicured grounds, and its wine cellars. The website of Castello di Verrazzano explains that the castle was an Etruscan then a Roman settlement before becoming the property of the Verrazzano family in the seventh century. We have been to several wineries and tasting rooms in Napa and Sonoma Counties in California that have been modeled on an old European castle; however, Castello di Verrazzano is the real thing. It’s located in probably the world’s most famous wine-producing regions – Greve in Chianti.

As part of our tour of the Castello, we were served a “light dinner of local specialties” including bread, prosciuto, salami, pecorino cheese, and pasta in a tomato sauce. We tasted a 2010 “Rosso di Verrazzano” Minituscan, a 2009 Chianti Classico, a 2008 Chianti Classico “Il Navigatore,” and a 2008 Chianti Classico Riserva. They were all superb. Of course, they were selling wines produced at the Castello. As is true at the wineries and tasting rooms in Napa and Sonoma Counties in California, the prices for wines are probably not a good deal; but since you’ve just tasted the wine, theoretically anyway, you know what you’re getting. I bought a 2007 Chianti Classico Riserva Sassello for 36,00€. My wife also bought a small bag (100 grams) of “Verrazzano le ricette della fattoria” spices; a 100 ml. bottle of Balsamic vinegar; and a 250 ml. bottle of “Castello Verrazzano Olio Extra Vergne di Oliva Del Chianti Classico” (extra virgin olive oil) for a total of 63,50€ – not cheap by any means. We had tasted each of these items in connection with our “light dinner of local specialties,” enjoyed them immensely, and buying the small portions of each seemed like a good idea at the time.

We very much enjoyed our visit to Verrazzano Castle, but aside from the “genuineness” of it all, it’s not very far removed from some of the wineries and tasting rooms in Napa and Sonoma Counties in California. The major difference, though, was the views – the views of Tuscany were incomparable, spectacular, stunning.