The first week of April is the one time of spring that you don't want to be in Montalcino - or in any Italian wine town for that matter - since the majority of the country's winemakers won't be found in their vineyards but in Verona at Vinitaly, the Superbowl of Italian wine fairs.
For the rest of the month do come out. Above all if you're not just a wine drinker but also a hobby photographer, watercolorist, hiker or wildflower lover. Val d'Orcia in April is the proverbial explosion of colors, which will have its climax in May before the landscape turns into hues of Sienna in the month of June.
GOOD TO KNOW
Bring an umbrella. April is one of the rainiest months in Tuscany (hence all the colors). And if you can, avoid Easter in Montalcino - Brunello town is a popular weekend destination for Northern Europeans and Italians who spend Pasqua away from home. Montalcino's town center and the famous Sant'Antimo abbey get very busy during the religious festivity and worst of all - wineries are closed.
NOTE FOR APRIL 2015: as an exemption to the rule Vinitaly will happen from March 22 to March 25 in 2015, so as to give everybody enough time to get ready for the Expo in Milan, which opens its doors on the 1st of May to the 31st October 2015.
For the rest of the month do come out. Above all if you're not just a wine drinker but also a hobby photographer, watercolorist, hiker or wildflower lover. Val d'Orcia in April is the proverbial explosion of colors, which will have its climax in May before the landscape turns into hues of Sienna in the month of June.
GOOD TO KNOW
Bring an umbrella. April is one of the rainiest months in Tuscany (hence all the colors). And if you can, avoid Easter in Montalcino - Brunello town is a popular weekend destination for Northern Europeans and Italians who spend Pasqua away from home. Montalcino's town center and the famous Sant'Antimo abbey get very busy during the religious festivity and worst of all - wineries are closed.
NOTE FOR APRIL 2015: as an exemption to the rule Vinitaly will happen from March 22 to March 25 in 2015, so as to give everybody enough time to get ready for the Expo in Milan, which opens its doors on the 1st of May to the 31st October 2015.