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The Vernaccia Tour
San Gimignano is a veritable museum town with its beautiful medieval towers; there were 72 in the 1300’s,
14 are left to give the town its fantastic, unique skyline. Taking advantage of its position on the
Via Francigena, in the Middle Ages San Gimignano became a trading point for wool, leather, textiles,
saffron, oil and wine. Produced in San Gimignano from the homonymous vines (90% minimum) and other
authorized vines (10% maximum), the Vernaccia reaches an average production of about 6,000,000 bottles yearly.
Of a straw yellow color, which fades towards a golden hue with ageing, it has a prominent, fine taste,
peculiarly sourish with a slightly bitter aftertaste. Vernaccia has an alcoholic strength of 11%,
although 11.5% and a one-year ageing give it the Reserve quality.
The departure for this tour for up to 8 people is at 9:30am directly from your hotel or villa in Siena or the province.
You will stop off at the medieval village of Monteriggione still surrounded by its original defensive walls
and towers. You will drive on to San Gimignano famous for its towers that symbolized its wealth in the past.
It was one of the first towns build along the Via Francigena (French Pilgrimage Road) that connected northern
Europe to Rome. You will visit a very small winery here where Vernaccia is produced. A visit to the cellar
and a private wine testing will be had here.
Next stop is lunch in the old historic center of town. Here you will eat in an excellent restaurant, one mentioned
in one of the most famous wine magazines. This exceptional lunch will be accompanied by a great local wine.
After lunch you will stroll through the quaint streets of this charming town with time to stop and shop or
simply rest at a local café and have a delicious ice cream. There are many shops in San Gimignano displaying
handcrafts and other typical Tuscan products such as pottery and alabaster items.
Afterwards there is a second wine tasting in a small winery nearby. You will enjoy a visit of the cellar and have
a private tasting of Vernaccia and Supertuscan wines. The return to your hotel or villa is at about 5:30pm.
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