Tuscany · Wine route · 2 days
Strada del Vino Nobile The signposted Valdichiana Senese trail, from the valley floor at Sinalunga over the Vino Nobile hill at Montepulciano and down to the hot springs at San Casciano dei Bagni.
73
km end to end
2
days
7
stops, Sinalunga to San Casciano dei Bagni
2
denominations crossed
Why this drive: This is the only Tuscan wine trail that ends in a hot spring. It opens on the Valdichiana floor, climbs to a DOCG whose cellars are dug under the town itself, Contucci and De' Ricci among them, and closes at San Casciano dei Bagni, where the pools at the Bagno Grande have steamed since Roman times. Vino Nobile stays quieter than Chianti or Montalcino, and the road feels it.
The route, drawn
2 days, drawn in two colours
Tap a day in the legend to bring its legs forward. The map follows as you scroll the stops, and a press on any marker jumps to it.
Layers
Day 1
Day 2
Numbered stops
Estates near the route
Stop 1 of 7 · Sinalunga
Day 1
Day 1 · The Valdichiana floor up to Montepulciano
1
Stop 1 · The Valdichiana floor
Sinalunga
The trail's official start, on the valley floor where the Valdichiana opens out.
What to taste here
- Valdichiana ToscanaDOC Bianco Vergine country: the valley's easy white before the climb
- Prugnolo Gentile What Montepulciano calls its Sangiovese, one ridge ahead
Twenty minutes from the A1's Valdichiana exit, which is why the trail starts here. The Collegiata di San Martino tops the old town; stock up on the valley floor before the hills.
2
Stop 2 · The quiet hill between
Trequanda
A walled hill village between the Valdichiana and the Crete Senesi.
What to taste here
- Vino Nobile di MontepulcianoDOCG The road's destination: the ridge ahead is the DOCG, half an hour on
The frazione of Petroio, five minutes south, has fired terracotta since the Middle Ages; its kilns still make the orci that Tuscan olive oil rests in.
3
Stop 3 · Cellars under the corso
Montepulciano
ZTL city, see the driving notesThe centre of Vino Nobile, with cellars cut into the tuff under the main street.
What to taste here
- Vino Nobile di MontepulcianoDOCG Aged under the town: Contucci and De' Ricci pour above their own vaults
- Rosso di MontepulcianoDOC The younger release, one year in wood instead of two
- Vin Santo di MontepulcianoDOC The sweet finish, from grapes dried over the same cellars
Contucci's cellars sit under the family palazzo on Piazza Grande and De' Ricci's vaults drop storey after storey below the corso, both walk-in. San Biagio's travertine temple below the walls is the classic photograph on the way out. Overnight here between the two days.
Where to taste
Avignonesi
View wineryWines to Try
A few wines from the estates above.
Where to eat
Aged pecorino di Pienza, cut at the dairy
Caseificio Cugusi. Via della Boccia 8, on the Pienza road. The Cugusi family has made pecorino here since 1962; tastings and picnic boards at the counter.
Day 2 · South through the thermal hills
4
Stop 4 · The spa town
Chianciano Terme
The spa town on the ridge south of Montepulciano: Terme di Chianciano's waters made its name, and the Valdichiana Toscana DOC covers its slopes.
What to taste here
- Valdichiana ToscanaDOC Back on the DOC floor for the aperitivo hour
- Nobile by the glass The thermal bars pour the ridge you just left
The Museo Etrusco holds finds from the area's princely tombs, and the ridge road onward to Sarteano is the trail's best ten minutes of view.
5
Stop 5 · Castle and cool air
Sarteano
Quieter hill town under Monte Cetona, with an Etruscan necropolis on its edge.
What to taste here
- Vino Nobile di MontepulcianoDOCG The trail's wine follows you south; drink it beside the castle rather than the cellar door
The painted Tomba della Quadriga Infernale in the Pianacce necropolis is the reason to stop: visits are limited and booked through the town's civic museum.
6
Stop 6 · The monastery hill
Cetona
A single steep piazza under the mountain that gives the town its name.
What to taste here
- Vin Santo di MontepulcianoDOC Poured with cantucci in the piazza bars
The prehistoric caves of Belverde burrow into Monte Cetona above town; the piazza below turns into one long aperitivo terrace by early evening.
7
Stop 7 · The hot spring finish
San Casciano dei Bagni
The trail's southern end, known for hot springs rather than for vines.
What to taste here
- Vino Nobile di MontepulcianoDOCG One last glass after the pools at the Bagno Grande
The free Bagno Grande pools below the village steam year round, and the 2022 dig beside them raised twenty-four Etruscan and Roman bronzes from the mud, the finest such find in decades. Bring a towel.
Before you go
The practicalities
Visit prices are set by the winery and availability should be checked before travelling. Bookings open on the estate page or the provider's site.
When to go
Late August for the barrel race
Late August for the Bravio delle Botti, when the contrade push eighty-kilo barrels up the corso, then September and October for harvest on the ridge. Spring is emptier, and the thermal south is at its best outside high summer: the open-air pools at San Casciano are better in cool weather. July asks for early starts.
Booking reality
Walk in on the corso, book the estates
Avignonesi, the one estate on the trail with bookable visits in our data, takes bookings online. The historic cellars along Montepulciano's corso, Contucci and De' Ricci among them, pour without an appointment.
Driving notes
Leave the car below Porta al Prato
Montepulciano's walls are a camera ZTL: leave the car at the numbered lots below Porta al Prato and walk up. The A1's Valdichiana exit drops you at Sinalunga's end of the trail and Chiusi-Chianciano Terme serves the southern half. The roads are open and well surfaced throughout; in late August the Bravio delle Botti closes Montepulciano's centre for the barrel race. Fuel is easiest on the valley floor at Sinalunga and Chianciano.
ZTL
Cameras at Montepulciano's gates
Montepulciano's centro storico is a camera-enforced ZTL, and the streets are steep enough that you want the car parks anyway: use the numbered lots below Porta al Prato. Elsewhere on the trail, park outside the walls and walk; every centre is small enough.
Leave the driving out
Do this route with a guide
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Guided along this route
Someone drives the whole itinerary above
Wine Cheese and EVO Oil Tastings in Tuscany Full-Day from Rome
Experience this great FullDay Tour from Rome exploring the Southern Tuscany towns and countryside and see: • Montepulciano • Pienza • Chianciano Included: - Wine Tasti...
10 hours
From €590
Book via
Viator
Wine Cheese and EVO Oil Tastings Full-Day Tour from Florence
Experience this great FullDay Tour from Florence exploring the Southern Tuscany towns and countryside and see: • Montepulciano • Pienza • Chianciano Included: - Wine T...
9 hours
From €650
Book via
Viator
Wine Cheese and EVO Oil Tastings Southern Tuscany Fullday from Rome
Experience this great FullDay Tour from Rome exploring the Southern Tuscany towns and countryside and see: • Montepulciano • Pienza • Chianciano Included: - Wine Tasti...
10 hours
From €490
Book via
Viator
Reading the labels you'll pass
The wine country it crosses
Before you ask
Strada del Vino Nobile, answered
No. Vino Nobile di Montepulciano is Sangiovese, called Prugnolo Gentile here, grown around the Tuscan town of Montepulciano. Montepulciano the grape is a different variety from Abruzzo, four hundred kilometres east, and the shared name confuses everyone.
Yes. Montepulciano's corso sits above working cellars, Contucci on Piazza Grande and De' Ricci's vaults below Palazzo Ricci among them, pouring on walk-in.
Two comfortable days for this seven-stop spine: wine country as far as Montepulciano on the first, the Etruscan and thermal south on the second. Chiusi and Torrita di Siena, also members of the trail, extend it to a third.
At the numbered pay lots below Porta al Prato, then walk up through the gate. The centro storico behind it is a camera-controlled ZTL, and the streets are steep enough that you would want the car parks even if it were not.
The last Sunday of August. The eight contrade push eighty-kilo barrels up the corso to the Piazza Grande, and the centre closes to traffic for it. Book beds well ahead or visit the week after, when the flags are still up.
Yes, and it is the trail's end rather than a detour. The free public pools at the Bagno Grande have steamed since Roman times, and the recent Etruscan sanctuary finds made the village famous far beyond Tuscany. Arrive with a towel in the boot.
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Take it with you
Save the one estate on this road as a trip
They land in a trip named after the route, in drive order. Reorder them, drop one, add a night, before you book anything.
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