MORE THAN WINE SHOPPING TRIPS: NOW THERE ARE COURSES ON WINE AND CUSTOMIZED TOURS TO DISCOVER ALL THE FACES OF BACCHUS “LIVE”. WINE CELLARS CHANGE TO “BOUTIQUE WINERIES”, A NEW FRONTIER FOR WINE TOURISTS

Once upon a time there were wine cellars where people would go to buy bottles of wine at discounted prices. They sometimes even took advantage of a quick tour of the vats, casks and barrels. Today hospitality towards wine tourists has evolved. The new frontier, launched by the Valdipiatta Estate, one of the most famous wineries of Nobile of Montepulciano, includes wine tasting and a wine tour experience as well as unique, highly customized tours.
They also offer high-level educational wine tasting to meet the expectations of both an amateur public and a “niche” clientele interested in personalized proposals. The wine cellar, therefore, has been transformed into a “boutique winery” a location not only to taste wines, but also to learn, through full immersion mini-courses, how to recognize the major defects, how to pair wines to foods and how to develop one’s sensory capabilities.

Miriam Caporali, together with her father Giulio Valdipiatta, manage the Estate and explains, ”We wanted to offer an experience that differs from the classical canons of winery visits and specialized courses.
Taking a cue from the French model, the approach is more about visiting the labs and educating people about taste and responsible drinking. We cater especially to people who are not real experts. Mini-courses are conducted either as real school lessons, or as a kind of “challenge” among fans, who learn, for example, to recognize the shortcomings of the wine (like the smell of the cork, the acetic acid, oxidation defects or wood defects), taking into account the different levels of people’s perception”.

There are many opportunities to choose from, for experts who can consider this training, and for wine enthusiasts who will gain more confidence in buying wine. The Valdipiatta Estate offers for example the “Samples from cask and barrel”: a visit to the cellar and an introduction on techniques of winemaking and tasting wine aged in wood, bottled wines, grappa and extra virgin olive oil. And of course there are the customized tours for people who come to Tuscany with a desire to learn about wine, taste it and use it in cooking, through an all around taste and sensory experience directly in the wine cellar.