We have nothing on the agenda until noon (well, this has just changed – meeting Dorit for breakfast) in Montepulciano, about 45 minutes away. So we have some options here – one, obviously, is to sleep in and have a lazy morning. Another will be to head out and stop in Pienza along the way for a stroll through another small town with some great shopping, known for their Pecorino cheese. Here, though like everywhere, we run into the issue of shops being closed, as it’s Monday morning and many stores are closed on Monday morning … though I wonder if this will be less of an issue in Pienza as it’s visited by more tourists than other areas.

A third option would be to head into Montepulciano this morning and explore that town (which while not large, population about 14K+) is much larger than the town in which we’re staying, Montalcino (at about 5K+ I think).

We have a reservation at noon at Avignonesi winery. We’re going to spend an hour touring their facility and then at one o’clock, they’re going to make us a full Tuscan lunch with wine. The cost for this is €70 per person inclusive. They make a Montepulciano Nobile wine (deep red, good with meat), as well as some other Tuscan blends, a merlot and the local Vin Santo – a famous dessert wine. Theirs is supposed to be fabulous though I’ve never tasted it. You can see more about their wines here: products.

After lunch though, especially if we do not get to in the morning, I would enjoy walking around either Montepulciano or Pienza, or both. Again, because of the large lunch I anticipate we’ll be enjoying, I would suggest dinner at home, something simple or at the very least, playing it by ear, a light meal in town perhaps.