GUIDO ROCKS!
Let me elaborate..... we just returned from a 7 day on NCL Gem. Our 3rd port in Italy was Livorno and after having spent full day tours seeing Pompeii/Amalfi Coast and Rome, we just didn't want another full "crazy" day in Florence. So I decided to book a wine tour instead. I actually found Guido through Paolo of Unforgettable Tuscany (he was already booked, and comes highly recommended himself). Guido was an amazing guide, truly a wine connisseour and expert on Tuscany. We focused our day on just enjoying a scenic drive through the Chianti Classico region. Beautiful scenery. Our tour included a stop in the lovely town of Greve in Chianti, a quaint little town with a square with some very good shopping... and the best little meat and cheese shop I've ever had the priviledge of setting foot inside.
Our tour continued on to some other small towns, including a fully walled town where we spent a half hour exploring and taking photos. Our main stop was for a wine taste/tour as well as olive oil tasting all at Fattoria Le Corti. We toured the cellars, the production area, as well as the gardens and olive groves. This concluded in a tasting of several of their own labels, including the Le Corti and Don Tomasso. My group purchased and shared a liter bottle of 1998 Cortevechhia (reserva) and I can honestly say it was one of the best wines I've had in years. Anyway, the tasting including their own olive oil (which we promptly purchased several bottles to take home), as well as pecorino cheese and tasty salami & prosciutto.
More about Guido. He was an excellent driver, never in a hurry and always eager to point out the local sights and landmarks. However, I really appreciated him not talking
too much, and letting our eyes and brains process the simple beauty of the landscape. If I could pick one area in the world I'd live today it would probably by right there in the Tuscan hillside. Did I already mention Guido is extremely knowledgeable about wine, he's in fact a sommelier.... who better to take you on a wine tour!
We thoroughly enjoyed our day in Tuscany... in fact after seeing Rome and all the other sights and being thankful we did, we actually had the most fun on this tour because we love wine and the countryside that goes along with it. All in all, if you plan to skip Florence and do a wine tour, I can't imagine hiring anyone other than Guido to show you around! We'll be back Guido! (forgot to mention, Guido stopped us in Pisa on the way back to the ship so we could snap some photos of the Leaning Tower)
http://www.guidos-tours.it
Some pics of the Chianti Classico area as well as our tour at Frattoria Le Corti....
