Grape Tours

Where Grape Tours operates

Grape Tours runs its own small-group and private wine and food tours from Florence into the Tuscan countryside, with its own guides and vans. The homepage describes "Premium Small-Group and Private Tuscany Wine Tours from Florence," "backed by 20 years of expertise," and says the company works with "more than 80 family-run wineries and artisan food producers across Tuscany." The tours head to Chianti and Chianti Classico, Montespertoli, Carmignano, San Gimignano, Montalcino, Montepulciano and, on private tours, Bolgheri, Cortona and the Mugello. Prices are in euros.

The about page says the company was founded by Rebecca and Pierre Gouttenoire, who met when Pierre, "a French winemaker," joined one of Rebecca's tours as a guest. Grape Tours is now part of Jollie, which the page calls "our family-led ecosystem of complementary projects" and says is "B Corp certified." The other parts are Formaggioteca Terroir, the couple's cheese and wine bar in Florence; Campo Sasso, "our countryside guest house, home to our cheese-aging caves and agroforestry vineyard"; and Grapetrotters, their multi-day journeys. The page adds that Grape Tours has joined the Biosphere Committed pathway for responsible tourism. The Florence shop sells the couple's own organic olive oil from Chianti Classico and wine from Campo Sasso, where they tend a small vineyard and olive groves and age cheeses.

The small-group tours

The homepage lists each small-group tour with its season, days, start time, length and price, all capped at "Max 8 pp."

Fabulous Tuscany runs April to November, Monday to Friday, starting from Florence at 9 am for 7 hrs, from €210. It begins at Campo Sasso, continues to a centuries-old Chianti Classico winery and ends with lunch at a natural winery. Super Chianti runs all year, Monday to Saturday, for 7 hrs from €225, with two organic wineries and lunch at Dario Cecchini's butcher's table. Chianti and Cheese (April to October, from €210) visits three organic wineries and ends at an award-winning dairy. Tasty Tuscany (April to November, from €210) pairs an olive press with family wineries. Wine Time is the half-day option, running every day all year from 10.15 am for 5.5 hrs, from €175, in the hills of Montespertoli. Carmignano and the Medici (April to October, from €200) visits two estates dating back to the Medici.

The Elite tours go further for €295: Classico Grand Cru (9 hrs, with a three-course lunch in the hamlet of Lamole), Brunello di Montalcino (9.5 hrs), Towers of San Gimignano (9 hrs, ending at a winery castle dating back to the 12-hundreds) and Nobile di Montepulciano (9.5 hrs). These run from March to November on set days.

Private tours

Private day tours are grouped into collections: ICONIC (Chianti Classico, Carmignano, San Gimignano, Montalcino, Montepulciano, Bolgheri), GRAPE GEEKS (Cortona, Mugello), EPICURIAN (Super Tuscans and Steak, a Truffle Hunt and Wine Tour, the Cheese Lover's Tour, an Olive Oil and Wine Tour) and TOGETHER (a Romantic Castle tour, a Proposal Wine Tour and the Family Wine Tour). The menu also lists Florence Uncorked, The Italian Cheese Class, a wine tasting in Florence and The Secret Wine Walk.

Two private tour pages publish their prices, which are per person and fall as the group grows, up to 8 people. The Family Wine Tour, "specifically designed for families with children from 4-12 yrs old," runs 7 hours with a playground winery, a light lunch at an organic winery, winemaking "magic storytelling" for the children and about an hour in San Gimignano; it costs €700 per person for 2 people down to €325 per person for 6. The Cheese Lover's Tour, approx 9 hrs, visits a family goat farm, lunches at an organic winery and ends in a cheese cave with "3 unique cheeses together with a final glass of wine"; it needs a minimum of 4 adults, costs €600 per person for 4 down to €350 for 8, and runs only April to August "due to milking being seasonal." On the family tour, adults taste three wines at the first stop and five at lunch, with juice for the children, and the playground winery has farm animals. Pick-ups outside Florence cost extra, generally 100 euro per tour within 40 km and up to 200 euro further out.

Guides, transport and extras

Tours include "Round-trip transportation in air-conditioned Mercedes vans." The homepage says tours "are guided by our group of fun-loving local wine professionals," and the Grape Team page introduces them by first name with their backgrounds: certified sommeliers (FISAR, AIS and WSET Level 3 among them), a winemaker who manages the Chianti Classico olive oil consortium, an oenologist from the Médoc, and co-founder Rebecca, a certified Italian Wine Scholar educator and olive oil and cheese taster who moved to Florence 30 years ago. One guide lists Italian, German, French and Spanish. The about page says emails are often answered by the founders or by Ilaria Miele, "our very first team member."

Before and after tours, guests can use the Florence hub at Formaggioteca Terroir, "with comfortable seating, facilities and a chance to meet fellow travellers." Guests can "Buy your favourite wines during the tour and ship them safely home," and gift vouchers are sold.

Booking and what the site leaves open

The homepage promises "Transparent, all-inclusive pricing with secure online booking, clear cancellation policy. No hidden costs or payments on the day." The cancellation terms themselves are not set out on the homepage or the tour pages, so they need checking at booking. The homepage and menu show no prices for the other private tours, and the Grapetrotters multi-day trips, listed in the menu as "TRIPS IN 2026" and "TRIPS IN 2027," are not described on the homepage.

Grape Tours suits wine lovers staying in Florence who want a small group of no more than 8, a published price and a schedule for each tour, and guides with serious wine credentials. Families with young children, cheese lovers and couples planning a proposal have their own private formats, and the company's organic and family-run winery partners appeal to travelers who care how the wine is made.