Our 2026 wine tour season has started in Tuscany.
We assembled at Pisa Airport, some flying in that morning, others having already been enjoying some extra days of holiday. An hour and a half’s drive in the coach (through some ominous showers) brought us into the verdant landscape of steep valley sides, as we followed the Arno and then the Sieve rivers to the Rufina sub-zone of the Chianti DOCG.
We were greeted by Federico Massetti, the owner of Fattoria Selvapiana, one of Rufina’s top producers. In their beautiful old dining room we enjoyed a series of his wines over a traditional Tuscan lunch. Federico poured and introduced each wine and was brilliant at explaining with good humour how the wines were made and the challenges of winemaking in a different climate. A recent wet harvest had been a bit of a shock for the younger generation, who had only previously worked in t-shirts and tennis shoes!
Federico then led us on a tour. Because of the cold wet weather earlier in the year bud burst had barely happened in the vineyards so we didn’t explore those, though Federico explained that Rufina is the highest of the Chianti subzones with mountains up to 1,700m in height. This makes it somewhat cooler in the summer, we had tasted the fresheness in the wines over lunch. We walked through the pretty garden and into the winery, built around 20 years ago. A series of stainless steel tanks enable them to vinify each vineyard plot separately. They make wines under both DOCG Chianti Rufina and DOC Pomino, the latter covering more international varieties, including Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Merlot.
We continued our visit, in the barrel room and then into the old cellars, where bottles of wine dating back to the war were stored. Federico was a great host, very keen to answer any question and full of interesting stories. His pride in his family and their achievements was clear, but he was self-deprecating and very humorous.
We finished the tour of the winery in the Vin Santo room. Here the barrels of wine, sealed with wax, held the sweet wine made from Trebbiano grapes that in the autumn had dried out in the same room (historically they were dried in house lofts).
Back in the dining room we said our thank yous. Federico had provided us with a wonderful introduction to Tuscany, Chianti and we left big fans of Rufina, Pomino and of course his wines.
An hour or so’s drive took us to Siena, where we settled into our hotel, and enjoyed a stroll – the rain we had earlier driven through never returned so we had enjoyed beautiful weather during our visit and in the evening.
A glass of wine or ice cream was all most of us needed!
