Historic Dive Into Montepulciano: Day Trip

Morning in Montepulciano is often accompanied by the cockling sounds of roosters and a gorgeous glowing hue, waking up the valley. Today is potentially our most laid back as we don’t have an organized tasting until 3:00pm, but we want to show you around the area and town a little bit. We want to leave a lot of the morning up to you, because we know how addicting Montepulciano can be.

We will start the morning with some breakfast in the Agriturismo before heading out for some views and exploration of town. Just up the hill from our Agriturismo is Templo San Biagio, what many consider to be one of the most important pieces from the Renaissance. After a little walk around and inside of this masterpiece, we will make our way up the hill and into town for a day of walking, shopping, and exploring. 

We will start in town as a group, so that we can share some of our favorite spots with you. Montepulciano is an incredible spot for local artists. If you’re looking for uniquely hand made ceramics or true paintings/mosaics, you will find it here. If you’re into torture, then this town is right up your alley. Actually, so many towns in Tuscany have torture museums. Don’t ask us why, but they’re fun to visit! If you can’t get enough of local cafes, Montepulciano has one of the most beautiful in Caffe Poliziano. If you’re into ancient Etruscan ruins with a glass of wine in hand, then the Fortezza is the perfect place. We will take you on a walk to all of these places and more, but if you want some free time, we understand!

At 2:30, we will organize ourselves into Piazza Grande for our main event of the day. Andrea Contucci, one of the family members and owners of the historic Contucci winery will meet us at 3:00 to take us through one of the most memorable tastings and tours. 

Visiting Montepulciano and the Contucci cellar/home is always special. The history of winemaking in the Contucci family goes back 40 generations and a little bit over 1000 years. To this day, they are the last remaining, historic family of Vino Nobile di Montepulciano that continues the production of the wine within the walls of the stunning hilltop town. Spending a few hours with Andrea really puts the history of winemaking, especially Tuscan, in perspective.

Andrea will share stories and history of Montepulciano in the Piazza before he takes us inside his amazing home, Palazzo Contucci. Inside, you will be blown away by the art and history of the Sala de Feste, a family party room. This room was adorned in Frescoes in the early 1700’s by Andrea Pozzo. The ambience will leave you speechless.

Into the cellar we go where we will appreciate one of the more beautiful cellars of Italy. The entire cellar is built underneath of the Palazzo, into the walls of Montepulciano. The temperature always remains consistent, allowing for an incredible aging and evolution of wines. Andrea will guide us through the different rooms of the cellar, showing various barrel sizes and explaining how their different wines are produced. It is not often to visit a cellar as historic and extraordinarily beautiful like this one.

History and art aside, we need a drink. Andrea will take us into the tasting room where we will sample 6 different styles of wine. We will start from small and simple drinking, making our way to elegant, bold, and long aging potential. Each wine is different from the last, even though they go through similar winemaking techniques and blended grape varieties. Two of the wines, Mulinvecchio and Pietra Rossa, are cru’s, meaning they come from single vines. These wines go through the exact same production methods, grape blends, and aging times, but their soil composition and location is different. Their terroir is on full display with each sniff and sip. You will feel like a true pro during this tasting.

After an incredible and educational day in Montepulciano and Cantina Contucci, we will make our way back down the hill to allow for some time to rest and freshen up before dinner. At 7:30 pm, we will go back up the hill to meet up with Andrea for a traditional dinner at Osteria del Conte.

Montepulciano is known as the birth place of one of Tuscany’s most famous styles of pasta, Pici, and Osteria del Conte specializes in it. Their Pici is handmade everyday, with the sauces changing seasonally. A meal of local specialties and drinking house wine with the producer himself. A well deserved evening in Tuscany.

This day trip is part of our Grand Tour, and Nobile Wines, Organic Vines, and Val d'Orcia's Quintessential Taste adventures. To learn more about these tours, click below!

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