Grape harvest experience in Tuscany
Wine & Food ToursDuration:5 hours - In late August and September
Rates
HOW IS WINE MADE?
A “vendemmia” (Italian for grape harvest) is one of the most fascinating experiences you can enjoy in Tuscany during the harvest season. It is a wonderful way to learn a lot about the local wine & food traditions but also about the local culture. Those who tried it report that the atmosphere in a working winery is something definitely unique! You can participate to a vendemmia on a charming wine estate, see the process of wine making during the most thrilling operational phases and taste some excellent local wines served with lunch.
An experience in the vineyards with the harvesters
Our grape harvest experience takes place in the morning for about two hours (timing is flexible). You meet our local guide and have an introduction to the world of vineyards before acting! The guide gives you a lot of information about the plants and the cultivation of the vines as well as the weather conditions of the seasons and how they affect the fruits. Then you get your scissors and your crates and you start collecting grapes assisted by your guide and the other winemakers around.
The winery during the “fermentation mode”
After collecting some grapes you will follow your guide and the tractor to the operational areas in the winery, where you see all the machinery involved in the process, to understand the wine-making process in detail. From the destemming machine to the fermentation casks you will learn in detail how the grape juice is transformed into wine. Finally, you rest in the tasting room of the property and taste some great wines produced by the winery, served along with lunch.
If you visit Tuscany right at the beginning of the harvesting season you may coincide with the grape stomping. This is a habit in one of our wineries in the very first day of the vendemmia to facilitate the fermentation of the grape juice. Hopefully you will coincide with it!
NOTE This activity is strongly related to weather conditions, so there might be changes to the date or to the itinerary. This will be evaluated closer to the date. An obligatory insurance for the day must be issued.
What you taste
This is a list of specialties that you are likely to sample as part of the program of this tour. Please, note that the specialties of the tasting session and/or lunch may vary according to the season and the availability of the products in the day of the tour.
In our tour we like showing you places off the beaten track and introducing you to Tuscan people with their personal stories, careers and characters.
You will have one of our guides with your party during the whole tour. Please, see below all the guides who can be with you.
During this experience you can also meet some of the Tuscan friends involved in the events. Please, see below which friends you are likely to encounter.
Two brothers and excellent winemakers. Mirko is a qualified professional winemaker with international experience who is in charge of the whole excellent production of one of the most renowned wineries of Terre di Pisa. His Brother Riccardo joined him a few years ago to help and now he is one of the most important characters of the company. 
In Tuscany it is common to see grape harvesters during the "vendemmia". The harvest takes place between the end of August and mid October. The harvesters spend their whole days in the vineyards picking grapes with their hands and selecting just the best bunches. 
Giuseppe is the owner of the farm Fibbiano, one of the most important wineries in the wine district of the Pisan Hills called Terre di Pisa. Giuseppe turned an old farmhouse into an elegant agriturismo and started producing excellent Chianti and other unique wines before promoting them in the whole world together with his two sons. 
The total rate for this activity varies according to the number of people in your party.
Check rates in the table below.
HALF-DAY GRAPE HARVEST EXPERIENCE & LUNCH
|
|
|---|---|
NUMBER OF PEOPLE IN YOUR PARTY |
TOTAL RATE |
| 2 persons | € 450 |
| 3 persons | € 550 |
| 4 persons | € 650 |
| 5 persons | € 750 |
| 6 persons | € 850 |
| 7 persons | € 950 |
| 8 persons | € 1050 |
| Extra Adult | € 100 |
| Extra Teenager (12-17 yrs) | € 70 |
| Extra Child (4-11 yrs) | € 50 |
Rates include
- Private English speaking tour guide for the whole tour – German, Russian, French or Spanish also available
- 1.5 hour of grape harvest in the vineyards
- A guided visit to the operating winery
- Lunch after harvesting
- A guided wine sampling session during lunch
- PERSONAL INSURANCE: Rates include a personal insurance for the grape harvest experience, which is compulsory when working in the vineyards.
- Tax
Rates do NOT include
- Transportation is not included in the rates above. For more info on transportation, please see the box “Transportation options”.
- Tips to the staff. Not included, not obligatory but very much appreciated
Here the message of Sarah from Lebanon, who enjoyed a grape harvest experience with Massimo as well as a cooking class at our My Tuscan Kitchen cooking school:
Dear Massimo,
Sorry for the late reply, just got back home and been busy!
Thank you for sending the recipes and thank you for your lovely company the 2 days in Tuscany. We learned a lot from you and we had a lot of fun! The entire family sends you their best wishes.
Will definitely give you and your company a great review!
Take care,
Sarah
This is an email we received from Jen who experienced a day grape harvest experience at a fantastic winery in Tuscany with us.
I wanted to let you know that my family and I enjoyed the Grape Harvest tour. We’re very glad that Hilton recommended your tour group. Massimo our guide, was fantastic! He was well informed, pleasant and very accommodating. We were a group of four and he addressed all our questions whether they pertained to wine-making or not. He provided us with technical and operational insight about the wine industry, from agriculture to wine-tasting. Probably one of the best tours in Tuscany showing professionalism and hospitality. Massimo gave us a personalized tour which we appreciated very much. We definitely got more than we expected from the tour…and all because of Massimo!
We hope to do other tours with your team when we return to Toscana!
Jen
This tour takes place in the area of Terricciola, Peccioli and Palaia, a rural district between Pisa and Volterra, or in the area of San Miniato, near Florence.
MEET-UP LOCATION:
Unless differently specified, the tour guide meets you at a meeting point in or near Peccioli.
DURATION:
This program takes 5 hours. Time for transportation not included.
AVAILABILITY:
Available between the end of August and mid October. Availability is subject to the havesting plans of the wineries involved in the program. The grape harvest is in the middle of the fields and is strictly related to the weather conditions of the day. If you are booked in for this experience in a day in which it is impossible to harvest, we will arrange for you an alternative program to get the best from the day.
LANGUAGE:
This tour is available in English language. German, French, Spanish, Russian or Italian are also available with no surcharge.
DIFFICULTY LEVEL:
Medium
CHILD FRIENDLY:
Not ideal for children
CLOTHING:
Comfortable shoes and clothes recommended. As we walk in vineyards, we recommend to wear no shorts nor sandals. The first part of the morning can be quite cool.
FOOD RESTRICTIONS:
The foods served during this tour might contain gluten, lactose, nuts and alcohol. If you have any food restriction, please inform our personnel during the enquiry process.
TRANSPORTATION:
This program and its rates do not include transportation and are set on a self-driving base. For further information see the box "transportation options".
OBLIGATORY INSURANCE:
A personal insurance is necessary for the harvesting experience. Rates may vary depending on your nationality and age. Please, see table of rates.
The destinations reached during this activity are in the Tuscan countryside, in areas off the beaten track that cannot be reached by public transport. We highly recommend renting a car or a scooter in order to reach them. As an alternative, we can offer a valued service by chauffeured car, van or minibus. Any cost of transportation is to be added to the rates displayed on the rate table of this page.
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