We booked a trip to Rome and Tuscany early November and I need some reccommendations on food/wineries to visit.
We will be in Tuscany (staying in Pienza) for 5 days, Rome for 2 days/3nts. I have listed some wineries that we may want to visit, but as we are unfamiliar w/ most Italian wineries, we neeed some direction for the better places to visit. I have listed below what my research has shown me so far... please let me know if you have been to any of these...
Montalcino: (Altesino, Poggio Antico, Banfi, Fattoria Dei Barbi, Siro Pacenti, Poggio Di Sotto) Montalcino Restaurants: Ristorante Poggio Antico and Boccon Di Vino
Montepulciano: (Aviognesi, Polizano, Boscarelli)
Montepulciano Restaurant: La Grotta
Pienza: We are staying at a B&B called Le Traverse, so any food/wine reccs. in Pienza would be great
We are also hoping to visit Cortona and possibly San Gimignano.
In Rome, we are booked at Hotel Mozart's Residenza Vivaldi, near Spanish Steps. Any musts in Rome for lunch/dinner? (esp. for great Pizza)
Thanks!

We will be in Tuscany in November as well and are just planning our trip, although we will be visiting friends in Florence for a number of days as well. We are probably staying in Montalcino.

I would highly recommend Agata e Romeo for a dinner while you are in Rome.

jcocktosten-- Go to Il Ritrovo in Firenze for dinner some night while you are tthere. north a few blocks of the Duomo. You will not be sorry.

Thanks TJ. Will definitely keep it in mind, expecially coming from a real foodie like you. I have a feeling that we will largely simply go wherever our Florentine friends take us, although will suggest it.

We were reall dissappointed by Enoteca Pinchiori the last time we were in Firenze. The food was certainly great, and the wine list huge, but our service was not particularly good and it did not merit the prices. We had far better meals elsewhere and especially at Agata e Romeo once we moved on the Rome.

Jazin - let me know if you got my PM. My computer had a little issue, and I am not sure if it went out or not.

The Brunello cooperative in the fortezza in Montalcino has a nice wine bar to visit. You can taste five or six Brunellos from a large selection for less than $20. They also sell about 30 different Brunellos by the glass and have a very large selection of bottles to sell, although not at the absolute lowest prices.

In terms of wineries, I had a positive experience just about everywhere, but especially recommend four. Gagliole, just outside Castellina, does very nice Sangiovese-based Super Tuscans. They also make a nice Vin Santo sold only at the winery. For our free tasting and tour, they brought out local olives, bread, and cheese. The hospitality was wonderful and the setting is very attractive. If you go there, you also can stop at Castellare, which is one the same road about a mile away.

Terrabianca, just northeast of Siena, towards Gaiole, also was a nice stop. A modern facility, with sort of a California-esque feel. Very nice wines and friendly people.

Monsanto (near, you guessed it, Monsanto) was charming and interesting. They have very old caves they you can tour. They also sell library wines going all the way back to the fifties for very little premium.

Finally, Fonterutoli is right on the Chiantigiana, between Siena and Castellina. In addition to their very good wines, try to eat lunch or dinner in their Osteria, which is a very good country restaurant.

A last word of advice -- I don't know if I'd spend all my time in Tuscany staying in Montalcino. Although its definitely a wine mecca, its rather far removed from Florence, Siena, and most of the other places you'd want to visit in Tuscany. It would be akin to visiting Washington, DC but staying in Richmond, VA. To my mind, I'd spend a couple days in Montalcino and then move on to a more central location.

Thanks SFWine. We have been before and will again be spending most of our time with friends in Florence. We will only be in non-Florence Tuscany for probably 2 or at most 3 days. No need to go to Siena again this trip, although we really enjoyed it last time.

We appreciate will certainly look into your recommendations.

Your plan makes sense. With only 2 or 3 days in the countryside, there should be plenty in Montalcino and Montepulciano (not too far away, although I didn't make it there) to keep you busy. Have a great time!

Jazin-I would consider making a trip to Ciacci. It was my favorite of the 4 I went to which included Biondi-Santi(worth checking out for historical reasons), Costanti (recommend too-nice personalized tasting) and Banfi(I would not go back to as it is very commercial/industrialized)

A restaurant absolutely worth checking out is Il Falconierre (?sp) just outside Cortona-amazing meal and wine list.

In Rome a restaurant close to the Spanish steps is Gusto (outstanding wine list-mentioned in the Where Rome thread) and Enoteca Ferraro across the Tiber
I can't wait to go back.

I highly recomend Tullio's in Rome, great food, nice wine list

Just went to Tullio's again on Thursday still amazingly good, some of the best artichokes and porcini mushrooms I have ever had.. Good wine list.

Landshark, thanks for the recos- we will be in Rome Saturday morning. Gotta find a place to eat Saturday night.

We also ate at Moro, food is fine but attitude is so so

have a great time, we were only in town for a couple of nights this time even with rain Rome is still an amzing place.