Mapping MONTALCINO

For a wine loving traveler there is no better month to visit Tuscany than September . Vendemmia ,  the wine harvest  is around the corner and the vineyards look at their best with bunches of grapes showing off their beautiful dark red and blu colors - known as Brunello in the case of Montalcino's famous Sangiovese varietal.  From early September you'll be able to see the first pickers in action, whilst they harvest Montalcino's rare patches of white wine grapes and French varietals like Merlot and Cabernet Franc. True to its importance, the Sangiovese Grosso grape is the last to be ready . The harvest o f the Brunello grape will start during the last days of September in the lower lying vineyards with southern exposition and during the first half of October in Montalcino's higher vineyards and North facing areas.   GOOD TO KNOW The approaching wine harvest turns jovial vintners who spend infinite hours in the wine cellar talking to ...

I am no friend of August in Italy. Too hot, too crowded. The last few summers may have been cooler and wetter than the norm, but whilst the weather has changed the tourists haven't. Half of the bel paese is on holiday in August, and those Italians who are not at the beach seem to love ticking off Brunello town from their must see list on sweltering hot summer days (Montalcino gets most of its day trip visitors during this time of the year).  If you insist in visiting Montalcino in August make sure your hotel or agriturismo owns a pool. You'll need it. Otherwise the last resort will be to cool down in one of the area's 250 wine cellars.     GOOD TO KNOW There are better months than August to visit Montalcino. Especially if you come for the wine. With its high alcohol content Brunello tastes better when its a little cooler (or properly cold ) outside, so summer may be the time to drink your way through ...

July brings sultry mornings and sizzling hot afternoons to most of Italy. L ocals who aren't lucky enough to be sunbathing at the sea will try to spend as much time as possible indoors until temperatures get more bearable in the evening.  But there is always an exception to the rule: in July 2014 tourists didn't buy Tuscan straw hats for shade but Chinese umbrellas to shield off the rain. That July central  Italy received  16  days of rain en lieu of the three days usually expected during the second month of summer.  Things  were even worse in the north and south of the country and winemakers in Tuscany had an awfully busy time with  hail and humidity putting their precious crop at risk (for more info on the mad climate's effect on the vines read the Palazzone winery's account of July 2014 ).  Thankfully Italy's Scottish Ju ly is  a thing of the past now and in future years the month is hopefully back to what it's supposed to be: the drie...

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. Va l 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 i f 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 ...

Towards the end of winter in the midst of February, Brunello town wakes up from hibernation. For two reasons: pruning: the vineyards are still resting, so it's high time to move in there with secateurs in hand to get things back into shape before spring is running havoc.  Benvenuto Brunello: Montalcino's most important event presents the freshly released Brunello  -  just count back five years to know which vintage will be on show (and six for Brunello Riserva) . The three days of tasting at the end of February bring the most important wine writers into town. In fact journalists, bloggers and wine critiques are flocking all through Tuscany, since during the same week the anteprima (preview or rather pretaste) of the Chianti Classico aka black rooster wines takes place in Florence and the one of Vino Nobile in Montepulciano. GOOD TO KNOW Benvenuto Brunello is organized every February by Montalcino's vintner association . The event...