Staying in Chianti

[ccoff]

A group of 4 of us are looking to stay for a few days in Chianti during our Italy trip. I would really love to stay somewhere in the wine country rather than in the city of Florence but still be near transportation in case we wanted to tour other wineries, dine out, etc. I have found several villas and farmhouses that look wonderful but pricing is listed and we don't want to spend a fortune on this one aspect of our trip.

I stumbled across Fattoria Viticcio during my searching and it seems like exactly what we were searching for as it offers its own winery tour, beautiful accommodations, and is close to Greve. I have sent a contact form to inquire about pricing but haven't received an answer.

I also looked into the idea of actually staying in Greve and making trips to various wineries in the area. Has anyone done this? Is it difficult to get wineries/castles in the area from here as most tours leave from Florence or Sienna?

I'm really just at a loss as to how to make the most of our 3 days in the Tuscany area and would love any advice.

[Leonardo]

Hello,

What most people fail to realise when they look at "farmhouse" accomodation is that we Italians have a slightly diferent meaning for the word. It usually refers to 4 to 5 star luxury resorts with built in farm-like activities.
The high prices are sort of justified by what you get and they also only operate during the busy months.

I know a small wine farm close to Montespertoli (where i live) that i've been told gives somewhat reasonable prices, altough the rooms are a bit on the "rustic" "old fashion" side, certainly not luxurious.
I sent you a message with contact information as i am not sure i am allowed to share it here. Otherwise my email should also be in the signature.

As far as visiting wineries/castles, while it is true that staying anywhere in the Chianti wine region, including places like Greve, you will be within a small distance from alot of them, actually getting to these places might not be as easy as it seems unless you are willing to bike or run ALOT.
While public transportation sort of exists, it will mostly take you beetween cities and you will have to actually get to the wineries from there. Some of these places can be quite out of the way.

I am inclined to say that a large group bus type tour might be harder to find unless you start of in a big city (like Florence or Siena), but i may be wrong.
I would advise either renting a car, hiring a private driver or booking private tours. Altough the big group option i mentioned earliar might be cheaper.

Hope this helped.

[DonnaDenise]

Buongiorno,

I have actually visited the property and the vineyards (read my review here) and by your description, I would say that it fits the bill perfectly.

And even though I was never a guest, I used to live about 15 minutes from the farmhouse and I know the area fairly well - it is a great place to base yourself !

Buon Viaggio,

Donna Denise