We had the most unbelievable day with Morad in the Tuscan hills. We ended up bring the only people so had a private tour in air conditioned comfort for the day. Morad is the nicest person, an excellent communicator and incredible knowledge of the region and history. Guides in Italy have to study for 5 years so it is a highly respected profession. Our first stop was the quaint town of Montalcino where we enjoyed some free time before being driven to Innocenti winery in the hills. There, the sommelier Margarita was superb in showing us the cellar and explaining the process of making a Brunello wine, voted 2nd best in the world. We had 4 wines (each explained by Margarita) with matching food, which was all absolutely beautiful and hand made by their resident cook. Special mention to the tagliatelle with ox ragù- best ever. The Brunello is really something; as Morad says, it will be difficult to go bank to normal wine now! Needless to say we purchased some wine which Margarita arranged to ship home for us. The view from the cellar door is beautiful.
Next we drove to Montepulciano for another tasting, this time of the nobile wine, paired with pecorino cheese. On the way Morad stopped outside the gladiator house so we could grab some photos. The cheese is delicious and we purchased some of the yummy wine to take with us. We had time to wander around Montepulciano and enjoy the scenery from the piazza.
Morad drive us home and the time flew by due to his easy nature and interesting facts about the region. We also stopped for another panoramic view.
I cannot recommend this amazing tour more highly. It has been absolutely the best day of our whole trip.