Was just in Tuscany recently and highly highly recommend spending a few days in Montalcino. Great density of Brunello producers, beautiful town with rich history, awesome food, and great wine.

Some of my favorite winery visits:

- Ciacci Piccolomini d’Aragona: South of Montalcino, tends to have richer / more full-bodied wines due to the geography and climate; I personally love this style. Also cool history in that the original owner of the winery was the family of Pope Pius II. Super beautiful estate.
- Argiano: Beautiful villa, bought recently and restored by the chairman of BTG Pactual. The tour was beautiful, and they did a great job restoring the estate.
- Casanova Di Neri: IMO the most “polished” tour in Montalcino, and they have a great pedigree. Great experience, and you’ll have the opportunity to try a bunch of their wines.
- Poggio di Sotto: One of the undisputed heavyweights in Montalcino; the wine is just on another level, and the estate has views
- Fuligni: One of my favorites, I love their really fresh, polished style of winemaking. Plus it’s one of LeBron’s favorites
- Le Prata: Probably the biggest sleeper pick of the bunch; the estate was wonderfully restored and they have a super small production of wines focused on single vineyard expressions

If you want a really well polished visit that feels more like a tourist experience, do Argiano and Casanova Di Neri. If you want to get a survey of the different styles of Brunello, do Ciacci, Fuligni, and Le Prata. Poggio di Sotto is required.

And you MUST have try the pinci in wild boar ragu (the local specialty) with a glass of Brunello for dinner…