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Saturday, April 5, 2014

Self-Drive Vintage Fiat 500 Tour from Florence: Tuscan Wine Experience

Combine a vintage Fiat 500 tour with a Tuscan wine experience on an exciting day out from Florence! Driving a classic 1960s model, you'll travel in a convoy following an expert guide into the picture-perfect hills of Tuscany. After arriving at a 15th-century villa and wine estate, you'll participate in one of two wine tours: either a wine-tasting session and vineyard tour, or a winemaking experience where you'll meet the head winemaker and stomp on the grapes!

Fiat 500s were introduced to the Italian masses at the end of the 1950s, and quickly became the nation's favorite little car. Eye-catching and stylishly retro, the earliest Fiat 500 models remain the most sought-after vintage cars in Italy today, and you'll experience their nostalgic glory on your 5-hour tour.

After meeting your expert guide at a private garage in Florence, you'll be introduced to your meticulously restored 1960s Fiat 500 and given a comprehensive safety briefing. You will have a practice session to get used to the car's manual gears. If you're the nominated driver in your group, you must be confident using them.

Leave Florence behind and head to the hills in a convoy following your guide. As you drive along secluded roads with little traffic, your guide will keep you entertained with fascinating facts about the region and its world-famous wines.

After two hours of leisurely driving through Tuscan and Chianti landscape, you'll arrive at your destination -- a beautiful 15th-century Renaissance villa and wine estate, tucked into the hills. With roughly two hours to spend here, choose between one of the following two activities to enjoy before returning to Florence:

Tour Including Wine-Tasting Session:
Learn about the region's prestigious Super Tuscan wines on a 1.5-hour tour of the wine estate. With your knowledgeable guide, explore the vineyards and cellars, and then taste several local wines. During the tour, sit down in the wine cellar to enjoy a light lunch of crostini, meats and cheeses. You'll have time to spend at leisure in the grounds after your wine-tasting tour ends-- simply relax and sun yourself in the grounds!

Tour Including Winemaking Experience:
Meet the villa's head winemaker and get an inside glimpse into the day-to-day winery work that takes place on site. As you're entertained with lively accounts of wine harvesting, learn how to cut vines and have a go at stomping your own grapes - a classic trick that kick-starts the winemaking process. Sample wines at different stages of fermentation before tasting the finished products! Lunch comes next and consists of a traditional picnic served on tables on the villa's grounds. The exact dishes will vary but you can expect cold pasta dishes, bruschetta, cured meats and salads, served alongside a small glass of Tuscan wine!

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