Tuscany · Castagneto Carducci · sagra
Wine Festival of Castagneto Carducci
Festa del Vino
august· verify before attending
Mid-August Castagneto's centro storico turns over to the Bolgheri wine zone for two evenings of open cellars and tastings under the cypresses Carducci wrote about. Producers from the coast pour Sassicaia-adjacent bottles at fair-tasting prices; restaurants set tables in the squares; folk bands play through both nights. Easier to navigate than the bigger fairs further inland.
NoteTasting glass purchased at the entrance. Centro storico is car-free for the festival.
Castagneto Carducci
85 km from Florence · pop. 8,748
Source
Related
Sep·Pienza· verify before attending
Cheese Fair of PienzaFiera del Cacio
On the first Sunday of September Pienza closes its small Renaissance piazza for the Palio del Cacio Fuso — the rolling-cheese contest that gives the fair its name. Local pecorino producers bring fresh aged truffled and ash-rinsed wheels; the cheese-rolling itself is a balance of skill and luck on the cobbles. Piazza Pio II hosts long communal tables and a Sunday market that doubles as a tasting course in Tuscan cheese.
Sep·Greve in Chianti· verify before attending
Chianti Classico Wine FairRassegna del Chianti Classico
Every September the second weekend Greve's triangular piazza fills with around 70 Chianti Classico producers pouring under canopies. A single tasting glass with lanyard buys access to all stalls; small plates of crostini cinghiale and pici come from the surrounding restaurants. The scale is small enough to actually meet the winemakers — many pour themselves.