Post-Cruise tour from Civitavecchia to Tuscany worth it?

[UKWildcatCruiser]

Through Stefano Rome Tours - they pick you up at cruise port and goes to Montepulciano and Pienza, then drops you at your hotel in Rome (which we are staying 3 day post cruise).  Nothing else is included, all wine tasting and food is extra.  Cost is 650 euro.  Seems like a lot for just transportation and safe-keeping luggage.  Anyone have experience with this company or tour?  I'm just not sure I want to miss an entire day in Rome and spend this much.  On the other hand, I'm very interested in the wine and the region in general. Any thoughts?

[CruiserBruce]

Stefano is mentioned around the board a lot, in very positive light. 650 euros is in the range for 8 hours of private car services.

[-Lew-]

Stefano Rome Tours is a sister company of Stefano's RomeCabs...highly regarded here on the Italy board. If you decide to do the tour, do it with Stefano. 

[mapleleaves]

That's a lot of sitting in a car when you look at the logistics of it:  a 2 hr drive each way, plus 1/2 hr between MP and Pienza. So maybe 1 1/2 hours for the wine tasting in each village?  Do you get to visit each town or is the winery on the outskirts ?

I spent 3 nites in Montepulciano during a 10 day road trip in May. It was my favorite location. Such a beautiful area. So easy to drive around and explore. Personally I'd save this for another trip when you have more time for Tuscany. But it all depends on your priorities. 

[UKWildcatCruiser]

Both places are explore on your own.  The tour description doesn't really say how much time in each place.  My main purpose was to buy some wine that I can't get at home and have it shipped back.  But you are correct that it isn't really much time.  Are there wine shops in Rome that do tastings and ship directly to US?  I guess I should research this option a bit more.

[-Lew-]

43 minutes ago, UKWildcatCruiser said:

Are there wine shops in Rome that do tastings and ship directly to US?  I guess I should research this option a bit more.

 

We're doing a wine tasting at Rimessa Roscioli in early October.  They do two tastings per evening and will ship from their extensive selection.  They recently opened a restaurant in New York.

Edited August 26, 2023 by -Lew-

[mapleleaves]

 

Check out the Rome forum on tripadvisor.  Do a search on "wine tasting" (using the quotation marks) .

These 2 companies were mentioned in several threads by a local:  

Wine Tastings and Food Tours in Rome • VinoRoma , 

and for food & wine tours  Casa Mia Tours | Italy Food & Wine Experiences | Rome Tours

 

Or post your own question and see if any new recommendations appear. 

Good luck !

 

 

[UKWildcatCruiser]

4 hours ago, -Lew- said:

 

We're doing a wine tasting at Rimessa Roscioli in early October.  They do two tastings per evening and will ship from their extensive selection.  They recently opened a restaurant in New York.

Yes - I was just looking at this place!  Please come back and do a review after your trip.  I'm not going until February and I'm very interested in this.

[-Lew-]

34 minutes ago, UKWildcatCruiser said:

Yes - I was just looking at this place!  Please come back and do a review after your trip.  I'm not going until February and I'm very interested in this.

 

Will do.  Just added a reminder to my calendar.

 

We have a dinner reservation at Salumeria Con Cucina Roscioli a few days later. Our opinion of the wine and food tasting will determine whether we keep the dinner reservation.

[-Lew-]

@UKWildcatCruiser...

 

We did the 8:00pm wine tasting at Rimessa Roscioli last night and it was excellent!!  Highly recommended.

 

There were twelve participants, six wines, along with some tasty food.  We learned a lot about Italian wines. A very enjoyable evening.

 

It's about a five minute walk from where we're staying, Hotel Smeraldo.

[UKWildcatCruiser]

Thanks for coming back and commenting!  Do they have bottles for purchase and shipping?  Did you have time afterwards to do so?

 

[-Lew-]

3 hours ago, UKWildcatCruiser said:

Thanks for coming back and commenting!  Do they have bottles for purchase and shipping?  Did you have time afterwards to do so?

 

 

Yes to both questions.  They can ship wine from both their Rome and New York locations.  You can subscribe to mailing lists at both locations to be kept up to date on availability.