Best wine tours from Rome: which one is right for you?

Picks by traveler

A first wine day with the evening free

The Half-Day Frascati Wine Tour with Farmhouse Lunch has the highest review count of the Frascati tours here, 4.9 from 524, at $100 per person. You meet your host outside Frascati station, walk the town and taste wine with a snack, then drive about 7 minutes to a family farmhouse for the vineyard, the old cellar, three wines and a chef’s lunch. The train ticket is yours to buy. See our breakdown of this tour and the Frascati wine tours page.

The lowest price

At $83 per person, the Wine Tour & Farmhouse Lunch in the Vineyard is the cheapest tour on this site. It is the same family’s farmhouse visit without the town walk: a pickup at Frascati station at 11:45, a vineyard visit, three wines with food and a chef’s lunch, about 3 hours in all. Car and taxi guests meet at the winery at 12:00. With 20 reviews so far, the 4.9 rests on a small sample.

No train ticket to sort out

The Frascati Wine Road from Rome starts at Roma Termini with your train tickets included, which makes it the simplest of the Frascati days if you have never bought an Italian regional ticket. You visit a 16th-century estate with Roman-era caves, taste Frascati Superiore, a red and Cannellino, then taste porchetta, focaccia and jug wine in town before lunch at a trattoria. It is from $119 and runs about 6 hours. It does not run on public holidays, and on Sundays most shops in town may be shut. Some reviewers found the trattoria lunch disappointing.

A pasta class with the wine

On the Pasta Masterclass & Wine Tour in the Vineyard you make ravioli, fettuccine and maltagliati with the farmhouse chef, then eat them for lunch with Frascati wine after a tasting and a walk through the vineyards. It is from $100, rated 4.9 from 183 reviews, with groups of up to 15. The chef can cook vegetarian, vegan or gluten-free if you say so when you book. See Frascati pasta making and wine tasting.

Something active

The Frascati e-bike tour rides about 25 km through the Castelli Romani park, past the vineyards and up to the archaeological park at Tusculum, before a cellar visit and a Frascati Superiore tasting. It is from $90 and rated 5.0 from 45 reviews. There is no lunch, the tour does not run in rain, and you need a passport or ID card.

A private tasting with hotel pickup

For a private car without a full day, the Countryside Wine Tasting with Local Family & Food Pairing has the lowest price of the four private tastings, $139 per person when two travel, and the highest review count, 4.8 from 208. A driver collects you in Rome, and you visit a Frascati estate with 17th-century buildings and underground cellars, then taste its wines with food. The Private Castelli Romani Wine Tasting Tour gives you a 90-minute tasting at a 17th-century winery for $155 per person for two (not for under-17s). Some reviewers of these short private tours wished for more time among the vines, so expect a cellar and a tasting more than a vineyard walk. See half-day wine tours from Rome.

Tuscan hill towns and Brunello

The Tuscany & Montepulciano Day Trip gives you a guided walk and free time in Montepulciano, a stop at the San Biagio church, a 3-course lunch with a tasting that includes Brunello di Montalcino, and an hour in Pienza. Brunello itself comes from Montalcino, a separate zone, so read this as a tasting that includes Brunello. The Montalcino Castle visit with a wine and olive oil tasting is on the small-group and private options only. Some reviewers found the start very early and the lunch room crowded. See our breakdown and Tuscany wine tours from Rome.

Time in Montalcino itself

Two coach days spend about 1.5 hours in Montalcino. The Tuscany, Montepulciano Tour with Wine & Lunch tastes Vino Nobile and Rosso di Montalcino with a sommelier in a 13th-century cellar that holds an Etruscan tomb, from $121 and rated 4.6 from 259 reviews. The guide speaks Spanish and English, and some reviewers found the constant translation tiring; the Temple of Brunello museum ticket and any Montalcino tasting cost extra. The Montepulciano and Montalcino, on the Wine Routes day gives you about 2.5 hours in Montepulciano and two glasses with lunch, from $121; it has only 14 reviews, and children under 8 cannot join. See Montepulciano wine tours from Rome.

Civita di Bagnoregio as well

The Tuscany Day Trip with Vineyard Lunch and Wine Tasting is sold as a Tuscany day, but its option is Pienza plus Civita di Bagnoregio, which is in Lazio. You cross the 300-metre footbridge into Civita with entry and shuttle included, lunch with three wines at a family winery near Montepulciano, then spend an hour in Pienza. At $101 it costs $20 to $30 less than the other coach days. The Bagnoregio & Orvieto Day Trip covers three regions: two hours in Civita, a farmhouse lunch with five wines including Brunello, then two hours in Orvieto, from $122 and rated 4.7 from 1,539 reviews. A few reviewers reached Orvieto before the shops had opened.

A private Tuscany day

The Private: Tuscany from Rome, Wine, Pienza & Val d’Orcia Views costs $432 per person for two and runs about 10 hours, with about 2.5 hours each in Montepulciano and Pienza, a wine tasting and a visit to part of Montepulciano’s underground. You travel with a driver, lunch is at your own cost and the route is flexible. Some reviewers got a driver with little English and no vineyard stop, so confirm both in writing before the day.

Orvieto on your own

You can reach Orvieto without a tour. The fastest regional trains from Termini take about 1 h 15 for €10.10, and the funicular from the station forecourt climbs to the old town; the Orvieto Link ticket adds it for €1.30. In Orvieto, the Orvieto: Wine Tour, 5 Minutes from the Historic Center collects you for 2 hours: Etruscan caves among the vineyards, then three wines with local products, in groups of up to 7. It is from $111 and rated 5.0 from 39 reviews.

Know before you book

Buy your Frascati train ticket before you board. A paper regional ticket must be validated in the machine at the station before the train leaves; a ticket bought in the app or online needs no validation. Weekday trains run about once an hour, and on Sundays about every two hours. On Saturdays, the pasta class, the Frascati Wine Tour with Lunch and the Half Day Wine Tour meet at Tor Vergata station instead, so read your voucher. Our Rome to Frascati train guide covers the timetable and the return.

From Frascati station to the main square is an uphill walk of about 25 minutes. Six of the seven Frascati tours meet you at the station, so you only make that walk if you explore on your own afterwards.

The coach days leave early. The listings give no start time, so check your voucher the night before. The Tuscany and Orvieto coach days are not suitable for wheelchair users, and on the City Wonders coaches infants do not get their own seat.

Tell the operator about allergies or diets when you book. The Tour Guy’s lunch includes meat, cheese and gluten, with a vegetarian option if you ask in advance.

Civita di Bagnoregio charges €5 per person for the footbridge. The Tour Guy day includes the entrance; the City Wonders listing names a Civita visit without mentioning the ticket, so check if you want to be sure.

Bring photo ID. Italy’s drinking age is 18, and the private Castelli Romani tasting with a 90-minute pour is not open to anyone under 17.

If you hire a car instead, Italy’s blood-alcohol limit is 0.5 g/l, and zero for drivers under 21 or in their first three years with a licence. Rome’s historic-centre ZTL (limited traffic zone) runs Monday to Friday 6:30 to 18:00 and Saturday 14:00 to 18:00.

Frequently asked questions

Which wine tour from Rome is best?

For a half-day, the Frascati farmhouse tour at $100, rated 4.9 from 524 reviews. For a Tuscan day, the Montepulciano and Pienza coach day at $131, the most-reviewed tour on this site with 3,480 reviews. If you want the train tickets in the price, the Frascati Wine Road from Termini at $119.

Are wine tours from Rome worth it?

Yes, if the hours suit your trip. A Frascati half-day costs from $83 and 3 to 4 hours, so you lose little time in Rome. A Tuscany day costs $101 to $131 and takes 11 to 12 hours, about half of them on the coach, in exchange for two hill towns and a winery lunch.

Can you do a day trip from Rome to Tuscany?

Yes. The coach days on this site run 11 to 12 hours from the Piazza del Popolo area, with lunch and a tasting included, and a private day with a driver runs about 10 hours. Treat Florence, Siena and Chianti as long full days too; none of them makes an easy half-day from Rome.

How do I plan a wine day from Rome?

Decide on a half-day or a full day first. Then check how you reach the start (train, coach meeting point or hotel pickup), whether lunch is in the price, and the day of the week, because some Frascati tours move to Tor Vergata station on Saturdays and Sunday trains run about every two hours.

What should I bring on a wine tour?

Comfortable shoes for steep hill towns and cobbles, a layer for the change in temperature between Rome and the hills, photo ID for the tasting, and your train ticket if you are going to Frascati. One Tuscany operator also suggests water, a sun hat and sunscreen.

Ready to choose? Check the Tuscany & Montepulciano day for your date, or compare by region on the Frascati, Tuscany and half-day pages.

Related reading:

• Frascati vs Tuscany: which wine day trip to take
• Rome to Frascati by train
• Wine day trips from Rome without a car