In cosa consiste una visita in cantina? Perché sceglierla durante la propria vacanza? Scopri le visite alle cantine del Castello Banfi Wine Resort.

Visit wineries: what to expect?

La visita alle cantine non è solo un’esperienza riservata ai soli cultori del vino ma è sempre più una parte fondamentale di quel turismo enogastronomico che negli ultimi anni ha affascinato turisti italiani e stranieri.

In the past, wine cellar tours were reserved for connoisseurs and sommeliers who visited these places to treat themselves to tastings of fine wines directly in the production area, also taking the opportunity to come into direct contact with the producers and buy fine wines at zero kilometre.

Nowadays, the cellar visit experience is a phenomenon that interests many more people and is an opportunity to taste wines under the guidance of expert sommeliers and to observe at first hand how wine is produced and which are the most advanced production techniques adopted by wineries such as Banfi. But what to expect from a visit to the cellars?

Visiting wineries: an educational and fascinating experience

In many cases, the tour of the cellars is preceded by a visit of the entire estate, especially the vineyards, where a guide will illustrate the ampelographic excellence of the region, show the less experienced the main differences between white and black grape varieties, and explain, for example, what is meant by a late harvest.

This type of experience, evocative and interesting from a landscape point of view, is also fascinating for those who do not consider themselves experts but are equally interested in discovering its characteristics and curiosities.

Next comes a visit to the cellars proper. These are very often architecturally striking places (a spectacle of wood and stone), with rows of barrels of different sizes lined up one on top of the other and/or bottles of sparkling wine lying on the characteristic wooden pupitres for ageing.

A visit to the wine cellar is the ideal opportunity to discover all the stages of vinification or sparkling wine making and to enrich your knowledge of production techniques. Your guide will show you the different equipment, explaining the history, characteristics and curiosities of each one. You may also have the opportunity to observe how the crushing takes place in the large vats, how a proper bottling is carried out or how the master winemakers perform the ancient technique of manual remuage.

Wine cellar tours: a taste experience

A visit to the wine cellar can only end with a tasting of the local wines from the cellar itself, often accompanied by the tasting of other typical local products (cold meats, cheeses, etc.).
It will be the job of the sommeliers to explain to you the different characteristics of the wines, which are the result of a careful selection of berries and an articulated and complex winemaking process in which tradition, experimentation and cutting-edge technology play a fundamental role. This will make the cellar tour a complete educational and taste experience.

Visiting our Cellars

Banfi, which has always made excellence and hospitality its philosophy, is one of the wineries that opens the doors of its estate for a good part of the year for a visit to the cellars, to discover places designed to preserve and enhance the extraordinary clonal selection of grapes produced on the Banfi estate.

In addition to the traditional wine cellar, during the tour of our cellars it is also possible to admire the new micro-vinification area, a true jewel in terms of technology and innovation, born from the avant-garde research that has always characterised us and with the aim of enhancing the richness of the ampelographic heritage of the Montalcino estates.

The environment is in fact a true cellar within a cellar, the heart of Banfi excellence. Here one can observe in detail the entire winemaking process: from the crushing of the grapes to the bottling, in perfect accordance with the educational purpose of the cellar visits organised by Castello Banfi Wine Resort.

What to combine with a winery visit?

The Banfi wine cellars are immersed in landscapes of extraordinary beauty. Once the winery tour is over, it will then be possible to visit the enchanting Castello di Poggio alle Mura, for example.

For those wishing to spend a few days in the Tuscan countryside, rooms and suites are also available at Castello Banfi Wine Resort, the luxury property by Banfi, which offers its guests a five-star experience of relaxation and comfort in perfect harmony with the surrounding landscape and the structures of the Borgo. Treating oneself to a visit to the cellars, combined with a stay like this, is a unique experience: the ideal holiday for wine lovers and not only.