Montepulciano, Italy – Appleby Photography

Montepulciano was, by far, my favorite town in Italy. My only regret is not spending more time there.

When we planned our trip, we thought the time would move slower, that we’d get to linger longer. We thought there would be time to visit vineyards and wineries and to slowly sip wine. There was not. But, even with only being there one night, a mere 15 hours, Montepulciano made up for it.

This town was added to our itinerary because Montepulciano is known for their wine. Being less touristy, it has retained it’s tuscan charm more than the other area towns. I had read that one of the Twillight movies was filmed here, but that didn’t seem to be a bragging point with locals.

We arrived in time for a wine tasting at the town’s oldest wine cellar, Cantina Fattoria della Talosa. Taking steep stairs, we went down into the 16th century winery’s caverns, where they store the wine casks. One of the owners did the wine tasting for us and then showed us around, talking about the winery. It felt like he was letting us in on his Italian gossip, including airing their fights with the other local shop owners.

We were told that Italians drink wine every day and prefer to drink “house” wine, which is cheap, Italian wine. We were also told that Italians prefer wine that has less perfumes and ones that taste more of grapes.

Afterward, we enjoyed one of the best meals of our trip at a small restaurant right off the town piazza. We had to leave right after breakfast, so the next morning we got up early to go walk around to photograph the town. That calm, quiet time before tourists, and many locals too, were out was relaxing and beautiful. I wish we’d stayed there more than one night.

talosa wine cellar in montepulciano italy