We first visited Andrea in his Enoteca in early May 2011. We were there two or three time during our stay in Florence as the shop was just down Borgo Pinti from our room. Andrea was so cordial and generous with both his time and knowledge. We returned again in 2013 and are looking forward to another visit this October. His lovely new (to us) website shows that his shop is thriving and we plan to reserve our spots in his wine tasting sessions. We would not consider our trips to Florence complete without visiting his shop.

I stayed in Florence for a month this past Spring. One of the highlights was that my apartment was just around the corner from Andrea's great enoteca. Andrea is extremely cordial, extremely knowledgable, and his selections and recommendations are spot on. I am not a wine connoisseur - but I do have a good palate and enjoy a bottle with my meal. In other words, I usually stick with wines in the $15-25 range US because I don't indulge enough to have developed an appreciation of the subtleties that top-shelf might bring me. Although Andrea had a large selection at those higher levels, he also had fine mid-range recommendations. (I.e. 15-20 Euros]. More importantly, even though I would come in to buy just one or two bottles for an evening, I was always given his full attention and treated as if I were buying case lots for a cellar. I had the pleasure of attending a wine tasting event while in Florence that was mostly open to the trade. Andrea spotted me and took me in tow for a while so I was not only able to appreciate how he treated me as a customer, but also observe the honor and respect he received from producers and distributors who valued his opinion on their latest wares. My only regret is that I didn't take greater advantage of his services -- but we were on the go quite a bit and most of our wine consumption was in restaurants away from the apartment. But now that I am back in California I am looking forward to continuing our conversation and have him ship me a case now and then. Taking advantage of Andrea's nose and palate is worth the added cost of shipping.