We stayed at Fonte Bertusi for five nights. It was a perfect location in Tuscany. Out hosts were…read moreamazing! Manuela made us feel right at home. Our apartment was very comfortable and spotless. Breakfast was a delight. Every morning she had a variety of wonderful treats waiting for us. I would recommend Fonte Bertusi to anyone who wants to have an amazing vacation in Tuscany.

The location of Fonte Bertusi is breathtaking -- the views from the back of the property (where…read morethere is a pool and chairs to relax upon) is amazing, especially at sunset. We really debated on whether to stay in one of the hill towns or in an agriturismo, and we're really glad we made the decision to stay here. It's centrally located within Tuscany and it was fairly easy to get around to all of the hill towns (whereas if you stay in the hill towns, there are parking issues and it can take a while to get in/out of the congestion). The hospitality at Fonte Bertusi can't be beat -- everyone is extremely nice, helpful and prompt in addressing any questions or concerns. The breakfast is great, but would advise that you come on the earlier side, as we were the last ones in a few times and some of the items were gone. Also be sure to try the cappuccino with the egg foam -- my husband is now an addict. The apartments also come with enough kitchen supplies to be able to make light meals. We made pici three out of our four nights at home without a problem of missing any key utensils or dinnerware. The only downside is that it was raining a lot while we were there and it was somewhat chilly (not the fault of the hosts, obviously), so we weren't able to enjoy the outside areas as much as we were hoping to. It would be heavenly to be there during warmer weather and read in the back area and share a bottle of wine during a sunset. And with the rain, there was a bit of a damp smell in the apartment sometimes, but fortunately opening the windows usually aired it out.

What a perfect day in Tuscany. Our guide Keko was the best. His knowledge of Tuscan wine making and…read moreolive oil was very impressive. Was one of the best tours we've been on in the world. Highly recommend. Ask for Keko on your tour. We'll worth it.

This review is for the full-day Pienza & Montepulciana small group tour with Guillermo ("William")…read more The tour is well-designed and provided the Tuscan experience I was hoping to have. There was just the right amount of time to pause on the road to take photos of the beautiful landscape and a stop in the tiny, peaceful, charming village of Chiusure. Then on to Pienza, where we had free time to roam the lovely hilltop town with wonderful views and shops (the smell of cheese luring people in to taste). The highlight of the day was lunch at an organic dairy farm - Podere I'll Casale. We had a prime table at the edge of the terrace with an uninterrupted view of the valley and hills. Stunning. The cheese plate was amazing - every single cheese (all produced on the farm) was delicious. The rest of the meal (featuring ingredients grown or made on the farm) was tasty and the portions were just right so that I left feeling satisfied, not stuffed. The final stop was another hilltop town, Montepulciano. We visited a wine shop and while the historic wine cellar and cave were interesting, I could have done without the tasting and spent more time wandering the shops and stopping somewhere of my choosing for a treat. Overall, a magnificent day. Guillermo/William is a natural-born tour guide and the group benefited from his knowledge and enthusiasm. There was a hiccup in the morning when a couple left with the wrong tour, but William handled it with professionalism and just the right amount of humor to keep the mood happy while he worked to fix the situation. He was accommodating, thoughtful, and clearly loves giving people a wonderful experience in Tuscany.

Nicollo was a joy as our driver and very knowledgeable of the wines and surrounding area. Our first…read morestop was Capanna vineyard and the wine and Sommelier were superb at this location. Our 2nd stop was Poggio Rubbino and the view was amazing, the location beautiful however the wine and food were average in our opinion. But it didn't effect our day in the least as any day in the Tuscany region is a beautiful day.

Nicollo was an amazing guide. The winery tours and lunch he set up made it a perfect day. Tons of…read moreknowledge and super friendly. Couldn't have asked for more and highly recommend!!

We had the best meal of our entire honeymoon at this humble little agriturismo. We were staying at…read moreAgriturismo il Macchione down the road and decided to drive down for dinner, as they don't have a restaurant of their own. We were greeted by a beautiful farmhouse with an elegant restaurant patio overlooking the hills. The menu is simple but effective, full of classic dishes made with fresh ingredients from their own farm. We ordered the pici with zucchini and smoked pecorino, stuffed onions, eggplant Parmesan, and wild boar stew. The pici was wonderful, more subtle than other preparations we had, but still possessing that wonderful bite that we love about pici. The stuffed onions were also excellent. I've never seen this dish anywhere else, but it's so darn tasty and makes me want to stuff all my vegetables from now on. Unfortunately, we had an emergency at this point and had to cut our meal short. We got our remaining two dishes packed up to go and didn't get to eat them until a couple hours later. Even cold, however, the eggplant Parmesan and wild boar stew were nothing short of extraordinary. The former was more like a ratatouille with layered roasted vegetables bound together by thin layers of Parmesan. All the vegetables were so fresh, and it was nothing like the breaded fried eggplant you see in the US. The wild boar stew was incredibly flavorful and tender. We were astounded. If you're anywhere near Pienza, you MUST eat here!!

Everything here was okay, except for the fact that smokers sitting next to me were smoking in the…read moreoutdoor area of the restaurant and I could no longer breathe. Also, my wife did not finish her dessert, which is rare for her. The best thing about this place is the view. The dinner is somewhat romantic, it has the farm raised appearance. They speak adequate English. Service was excellent, the value was good for getting what we paid for, and the food was okay. That being said, I don't think I will returning. The sunset was the best part, as was seen a cute dog chasing a rabbit across the field.

My spouse and I reserved a car on-line several months in advance, and had zero problems when we…read morewent to pick it up. The rental office is located a convenient five minute walk from the Orvieto train station and the funicular. One does have to cross a narrow 2-lane street to get to the office, but we had no problems doing so. We were able to upgrade (to automatic) and pick up the car quickly. The young woman who did our paperwork and brought us the car was efficient, and spoke good English.

TASTING ROOM: There is a beautiful showroom with marble that…read moreis between the vineyards and the cellar. They are open from Monday to Friday, from 10 am to 6 pm. The wines are encased in upscale lit cases which displays it in a very high end way. We had an opportunity to try one of their 100 point Brunellos for free and I was not impressed. Most of their wines are over 90 point and extremely pricey and after tasting 3 additional wines, we left. We didn't bother to do the wine tour since we didn't enjoy the tasting. It was worth a visit because this was by far the most lavish tasting room we encountered in our 3 days in Tuscany.

As a white wine drinker, I have to say that Casanova di Neri offered exceptional quality of wine…read morewith thorough details provided by the staff. We were lucky to have Simona as our tasting expert. She was kind, clever, and even helped us navigate resturant options for the next few days. My husband purchased a case of a variety of Brunello blends. He's the red drinker. Thank you Simona for your courtesy and hospitality!!

Very dissatisfied. We were recommended this place and left hungry and disappointed after a 2 hour…read moreexperience with 5 others. All the food came out randomly. The last 2 meals were served 30 and the last was 40 minutes after everyone else. So disorganized!!! No one came back to ask if we were happy with our meals. The owner took our order and when I told him I wanted a glass of Nobile de Montepulciano, he said "that's your problem" meaning he didn't approve of my choice. Ironically, that and the side salad were the only good things of the meal. You'll be wasting your money and precious time, if you eat here.

Starting with primi we ordered the guinea hen terrine and baccala with potatoes. Both are a cold…read moredish, beautifully plated/prepared. For secondi we shared pork tortellini in an asparagus sauce. I've never had such a light pasta that just melted in my mouth. For the main course we shared the Chianina steak. It was a massive 1.1 kg. It is a lot of meat but it's a must try. The t bone is best served rare and is a locally raised meat. The owner, a little Italian man named Mario was the perfect host. He added to this special connection we now have with this restaurant. If our travels bring us back to Montalcino, we will absolutely return to this quaint Tuscan restaurant.

Wonderful experience tasting the regional vintage Brunello wines…read more The wine tasting included nicely prepared lasagna that paired well with the various wines. Our host was very pleasant and explained the history of this vineyard and what goes into developing world-class wine.

I did a lot of research on selecting vineyards that were unique and what I loved about this was…read morethat they are biodynamic, have a bonsai vineyard and have olive oil. The owner is also Francesco Illy if you are familiar with Illy coffee. Biodynamic: Uncontaminated soil and the wine processes happen in a 100% ecological wine cellar, built to have zero impact on the environment. Bonsai: It is the densest vineyard in the world meaning the vines are planted very close together which produce a very unique tasting wine. Tour & Tasting: We did a tour of the vineyard, pagoda, cellar and did the actual tasting inside the tasting room by the terrace. We went to about 9 wineries while in Tuscany and Podere le Ripi had one of the most memorable tours. We tasted: 2015 Toscana Rosso IGT 2014 Toscana Rosso IGT 2012 Brunello di Montalcino DOCG 2011 Brunello di Montalcino DOCG Riserva 2005 Brunello di Montalcino DOCG 2016 Bonsai with delicious Parmesan cheese, bread and olive oil. Our guide was very knowledgeable and made us feel right at home. We ended up buying 2 bottles plus a bottle of olive oil.