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The Best Winery Tours in Italy

KM Zero Tours

There are thousands of wineries in Italy, spread from the top of the boot all the way down to the tip of the toe, and across the islands of Sicily, Sardinia, and the Tuscan Archipelago. The country has more than 20 wine regions, some—like Tuscany, Veneto, and the Piedmonte—more famous than others.

It would take a lifetime to visit them all, but a trip to Italy allows you to visit a few choice wineries. While it would take a lifetime to visit every Italian winery, we recommend sampling the fruits of Italy's hills and valleys via a winery tour. Tours typically allow you to visit two wineries, with all appointments for tours, tastings, and lunch arranged in advance. When you visit on a winery tour, you often get more specialized attention from the winery, potentially including the chance to meet the winemakers. And the best part? You leave the driving to someone else.

We picked out these best winery tours in Italy with an eye on geographic diversity and specialized service. So do as the Italians do, and say " cin-cin! " (pronounced chin-chin) or cheers, to these favorite winery tours.

Amalfi Coast: Swirl the Glass Amalfi Coast Wine Experiences

Swirl the Glass

Hosted by a trained sommelier and veteran of Michelin-starred restaurants, Swirl the Glass Wine Tours all begin in Positano and include an in-depth winery tour, with an explanation of the wine-making process, followed by tastings and then lunch with wine pairings. Some tours allow for time at a second vineyard. If you don't want to commit to a full-day tour, Swirl the Glass can also arrange a pre-dinner wine tasting at a Positano restaurant or at your private villa.

Lazio (Rome): Old Frascati Food & Wine

Old Frascati Food & Wine

If you're staying in Rome and want a nice escape from the city, look to Old Frascati Food & Wine Tours. Their Classic Half-Day Wine Tour departs from the Frascati train station, which is a short, inexpensive ride from Rome Termini. The tour includes a walking visit to historic Frascati, followed by a trip to a nearby vineyard for tastings. The day wraps up with lunch at a traditional osteria in Frascati. Winery tours aren't always kid-friendly, which is why we like Old Frascati's offerings. Even better, they offer some of the most affordable wine tours.

Umbria: Gusto Wine Tours

Gusto Wine Tours

Umbria is famous for its white wines, but in the hills around Montefalco, ruby-red Sagrantino is king. Discover this small wine-growing region with Mark and Giselle, the amiable couple behind Gusto Wine Tours, which specializes in single-day tours. Their Classic Gusto Wine Tour is a fine place to start. The full-day tour includes stops for tours and tastings at three wineries, lunch at a winery or a rustic agriturismo, and often, the chance to meet with vintners. There is a maximum of 8 participants per tour and private tours are available. Pick-up is from an agreed-upon point.

Tuscany: KM Zero Tours

"Zero kilometers" is a buzz phrase of Italy's slow-food movement. It means eating and drinking as locally and consciously as possible. It's also the philosophy of KM Zero Tours, a Tuscan-based tour company run by an engaging couple, Alessio and Arianna. We love their menu of day-trip offerings , which includes a range of experiences, from winery visits to truffle hunts to bread-making lessons—all with a healthy amount of wine in the mix, of course. Pick-up from Florence is included with most tours, as is lunch and the services of a private guide. They offer some interesting multi-day options, too.

Trentino: Pagus Wine Tours

Pagus Wine Tours

If your mantra is rosé all day, you'll love the Lake Garda and its Rosé tour, one of several highly specialized offerings from the experts at Pagus Wine Tours. Rosé tours depart from your Verona hotel and head 30 minutes to Lake Garda, Italy's largest lake. There, a visit to a lakefront town is followed by visits to two wineries and including lunch with wine pairings. Pagus can also arrange bespoke activities, such as a tour in a vintage automobile, a speedboat tour of the lake, or lunch at a Michelin-starred restaurant. They also have a wine shop in the center of Verona.

Tuscany: Grape Tours of Tuscany

Grape Tours of Tuscany

Tuscany is the land of Chianti and Grape Tours of Tuscany's Super Chianti wine tour is a great way to get to know the chianti wine-growing region. The all-inclusive tours start in Florence, and include two winery tours with tastings, and usually include lunch at butcher Dario Cecchini 's celebrated shop in Panzano. You can also select private day tours, which are only for your group of up to 8 participants and can be tailored to different Tuscan wine regions. A guide accompanies you the whole time and offers thoughtful explanations of the terrain and history of the region. They also offer all-inclusive multi-day trips in Tuscany and other regions.

Prosecco (Veneto/Friuli): Visit Prosecco Italy

Visit Prosecco Italy

The grapes used to make Italy's signature sparkling wine grow in the Prosecco Hills, a small area that straddles the regions of Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia. Visit Prosecco Italy's Full-Day Prosecco Tour offers visits to three or four small wineries that produce Prosecco DOCG superior, the highest quality prosecco. They offer the option of a quick or lingering lunch and a tour often includes a visit to a prosecco vending machine. Most tours depart from Treviso but other arrangements are possible. Not that these tours do not include tasting fees at the wineries.

Sicily: Prestelli Sicily Tours

Prestelli Sicily Tours

The wine-growing region on the fertile slopes of Mount Etna is among the best-known in Sicily, and Prestelli's Private Tour of Three Top Etna Wineries will help you take a deep dive into the region. Tours include an abundant antipasto lunch at the first winery, as well as the chance to sample a range of Etna's vintages, including red, white, and rosé wines. Two more stops offer additional tastings and accompanying snacks, plus there's plenty of stunning scenery along the way.

Monferrato (Piedmont): Tasting Tours

Tasting Tours

Prosecco isn't Italy's only sparkling wine or its only sparkling wine region. In the southeast Piedmont, the area centered around Asti and Alba is famous for Asti Spumante, a light, sparkling wine that tends to run on the sweet side, as well as even sweeter Moscato d'Asti, which is lower in alcohol. Discover the beauty of the region and its wines with Tasting Tours' Monferrato Wine Tour , which starts with a visit to a winemaker specializing in hearty red Barbera d’Asti wines and ends on a sweet note, with a tasting of Asti's sparkling wines.

Puglia: Salento Wine Tours

Salento Wine Tours

The Salento peninsula forms the heel of the boot of Italy, in the southern Puglia region. Once known for mass-produced table wines, it's come into its own as a wine-producing area to watch, especially for its white chardonnay and vermintino wines, and red primitivo and negroamaros. Salento Wine Tour's one-day wine tour in Salento will introduce you to the region and its wines, with visits and tastings at three wineries, plus a lunch of typical regional produce. Pick up is in Lecce. For those who can't do a full-day tour, they'll arrange a tasting of local wines and nibbles in a Lecce wine shop.

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