Look up the word teca in the Italian dictionary and you’ll find it defined as a ‘highly decorated case for displaying holy things’. In Italy, this takes form in the country’s many –teca: there’s the temple to books, the biblioteca, or the place to play with collections of games, the ludoteca. And then, of course, there’s the shrine to wine, the enoteca.
In every town in Tuscany one can find an enoteca – a relaxed, welcoming wine shop far more characterful than the supermarket and geared towards buying local wines. Some enoteche (the Italian plural), however, have a more extensive offering in terms of their wine selection – reaching outside the region’s borders, showcasing wines from other parts of Italy and the rest of the world.
Crucially, at these idiosyncratic Italian wine shops there is often the added bonus of customer interaction; a chat with the owner to understand what might be the best bottle for a gift or the evening’s meal. There may also be the opportunity to take a seat and taste the wines – to open a bottle for a few euros more than the shelf price or enjoy a wine by the glass. And because this is Italy, where there is the unspoken understanding that wine is best enjoyed at the dining table, you can often find food being served too, from simple plates of cured meats and cheeses to four-course menus. Do call ahead to check if this is the case – but if not, head out armed with a corkscrew. That way, you can take your bottle across the road, grab a sandwich from the paninoteca and have yourself a grande picnic.
Eight of the best wine shops in Tuscany
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Formaggioteca Terroir
Florence
When in Florence, do be sure to cross over the Arno River, for as well as discovering the artisan shoemakers and the house of Elizabeth Barrett Browning, you’ll be rewarded with cheese. Find the most wonderful assortment, aged in a Chianti farmhouse and sold in the San Niccolò neighbourhood by husband-and-wife team Pierre and Rebecca Gouttenoire. Pecorino can often feel like the only variety to show up on cheeseboards in the region, served with the saltless pane Toscano. So when you arrive at Formaggioteca, you have to pinch yourself: those really are blue veins (try the Sasso Forte, the shop’s own Italian take on Roquefort). The wine selection is just as refreshing. Pierre – who worked as a winemaker in Bordeaux for 15 years before starting a life with Rebecca in Tuscany (whom he met on a wine tour she was leading) – champions Crémant over Champagne, and the shelves are replete with some great bubbles from Savoie, Jura, Alsace, and Burgundy. Rebecca, originally from Denmark, is an Italian Wine Scholar and continues to run wine tours from Florence into the famous wine regions nearby. Thus, on the shelves you’ll also find the likes of Brunello producers Le Chiuse and San Polino.
19 Via dei Renai
Enoteca Baldi
Panzano
In the heart of the Chianti Classico, next to the famous butcher Dario Cecchini, is one of the best wine shops in Tuscany. This informal restaurant is run by ex-River Cafe London staff, the Baldi sisters, Francesca works in the kitchen and Eleonora front of house with her partner Gianmaria Garbin, the wine buyer and sommelier. Wines can be pulled from the list for a few euros more than their takeaway price to be enjoyed with antipasti, primi and secondi from the short and sweet menu. The wine list is sweet too, but by no means short. It is extensive but not excessive, featuring the greatest names within the 11 Classico subzones before extending to include the best producers within Italy and the rest of the world. It is a joy to sit and drink from the extensive local selection and enjoy tasting flights from around the region – particularly from a new wave of young producers, from Sophie Conte at Fattoria Tregole to Giacomo Baraldo in San Casciano dei Bagni. But it is perhaps the range of wines from Champagne, Loire, Burgundy and California that draws in the surrounding winemakers – do not be surprised to find yourself at a table next to superstar producers Giovanni Manetti of Fontodi, Sean O’Callaghan of Tenuta di Carleone and Giampaolo Motta of Tenuta La Massa.
25 Piazza Gastone Bucciareli
A Pancia Piena
Pontassieve
If you are touring and tasting in the Chianti Rufina region, then make your way to A Pancia Piena, a food truck specialising in €6 hamburgers (made from organic, zero-kilometre produce) and bottles of exquisite Champagne, like Chavost Blanc d’Assemblage Brut Nature and Egly Ouriet Les Premices. Beyond this novel decadence, there are plates of pasta – from tagliolini with squid ink, calamari and saffron to pici with fresh anchovies, pine nuts and wild fennel blossom – paired with fine wines from Tuscany and Burgundy. These are the wine regions, alongside Champagne, that are loved the most by Emanuele Nenci and Iuri Ronchi, the two friends who opened A Pancia Piena in 2004 with just five bottles of wine by the glass to sell with their panini. All of this, plus techno music (playing at a respectable volume), must account for the euphoric energy from customers – it’s all a bit Bacchanalian here. Customers can sign up for A Pancia Piena’s wine club to get first dibs on bottles that the pair bring back from their frequent trips to France. If you are staying in the area, do get in touch and see about a mixed case delivery to your holiday home.
9 Piazza Aldo Moro, 50065
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Terra di Piero
Arezzo
On the first Sunday of every month, the city of Arezzo hosts an enormous antiques fair attracting people from all over the region to the central Piazza Grande. Bargains aplenty are to be found on tables across cobbles sprawling into the surrounding streets, but the real treasures are bottled and on the shelves in adjacent Piazza San Francesco, inside the Enoteca Terra di Piero. Every week, the wine list by the glass changes, and there are always 18 bottles open to try. The shop has an outstanding range, from the very famous Tuscan names (Masseto) to up-and-coming estates (Bakkanali). You can also seek out wines from Arezzo’s top winemakers – Federico Staderini, Filippo Volpi and Stefano Amerighi – to appreciate why this region has a long tradition of fine quality wines. There are even 60 gins to choose from, revealing the owner Cristiano Duranti’s passion for spirits and making this enoteca the go-to spot in Arezzo for aperitivi and digestivi. If you don’t manage to do all your wine and spirits shopping in one fell swoop, stock up when you get home: Terra di Piero’s online shop is clear and easy to use with the same fabulous selection of wines as in store.
3 Plazza San Francesco
Vineria Aperta
Castelnuovo dell’Abate, Montalcino
It’s such an enchantingly beautiful drive to Vineria Aperta, heading south as you exit Montalcino and taking the road that passes Biondi-Santi on the left and Abbey Sant’Antimo on the right, that it might not appear so strange as you begin to approach a beach-less beach bar and a sign for ‘Landscape Drinking’. This playful wine bar also hosts one of the top wine shops in Tuscany, showcasing and celebrating over 1,500 bottles of terroir-driven wine from across the globe, each one promising to feed both ‘thirst and curiosity’. The large list was created and continues to be curated by Sebastian Nasello, the head winemaker of nearby winery Le Ripi, out of a desire to bring together wine lovers and to create a community. (Podere Le Ripi is minutes away for those wishing to add on a visit.) As well as a well-stocked list there are also micro courses and masterclasses on various wine regions, should you find yourself in the area for a few days – plus evenings with DJ sets, ‘to combine wine with our passion for electronic music’. The food offering is simple and carefully sourced, designed to support whatever you choose to have poured into your glass. Two flights of wines are available and act as an overview of the region – a selection of four Brunello or six wines to explore the ‘Myths and Unicorns’ of Montalcino. They each present a very valuable, exquisite afternoon’s immersion into the transparency and fluency of Sangiovese and its capacity to sensitively express its origins.
3 Via Bassomondo, 53024
La Vecchia Nicchia
San Gimignano
Within the walled town of San Gimignano, close to the Porta San Matteo, find La Vecchia Nicchia. Beneath three vaulted arches spans another offering to enter the list of top wine shops in Tuscany, as well as a Bruschetteria run by husband-and-wife team Alessandro Pieragnoli and Elisa Petrone. Though the shop is within the city walls, it is far from a tourist trap; and it is the fortunate tourist that finds themselves sitting down to dishes so good they have received their own television show – namely, Ale’s inventive gourmet bruschetta, which feature on his regular slot on Gambero Rosso’s TV channel. Should you be buying to take away, there are 200 labels to choose from; otherwise, stay put, order a bruschetta and try two of San Gimignano’s most invigorating Vernaccia (a varietal white from the region) from Il Colombaio di Santa Chiara and Cappella Sant’Andrea respectively. Or go off-piste and out of the region with Alessandro’s top range of extraordinary bubbles – offerings hail from Erpacrife in Piemonte and Podere il Saliceto in Emilia-Romagna.
12 Via San Martino
Ostinati dei Lassi
La California
A five-minute drive north of Bolgheri train station sits the tiny village of La California. And within California lies gold in the form of a wine shop with a food offering that has given reason to rush out of Bolgheri and up the road – particularly the risotto, but also the fine range of cured meats and cheeses. The selection of wines on the shelves and cheeses on the counter is made by owner Massimo Lassi. He has an evident respect for the ‘timeless Sassicaia’, with an array of vintages on display, but clearly enjoys steering clients towards the smaller, equally premium producers, from I Luoghi to Fabio Motta. Over 1,000 bottles fill the walls, so wine lovers are advised not to plan any estate visits post-lunch, or to perhaps make Ostinati dei Lassi their last stop of the day. This enoteca closes at 10pm for wine sales and food service – and there is no better place in Bolgheri to close the day and begin what will inevitably be a wild night.
54 Via Vecchia Aurelia, 57020
Enoteca Rivella
Siena
From the historic centre of Siena, walk through the neighbourhood of the Porcupine (la contrada sovrana dell’Istrice) and exit at the northern gate, Porta Camollia, to reach one of the finest wine shops in Tuscany. Enoteca Rivella is hidden behind a curtain of corks and cigar smoke. The owner, Carlo Bottiglioni, is never seen smoking, but the mysterious aroma lends the shop the atmosphere of an old library, aided further by the fact that it is also rather dusty and dimly lit. The selection of wines is exquisite: Bottiglioni studied enology before opening his shop and his choices reflect a passion for authentic and profound wines. There are boxes half unpacked, sold before they can be put out on the shelves, like the Luna Sangiovese from Toru Oikawa, and bottles that look like they may have been relaxing a while in the company of their gentle owner; bottles with lesser-known labels and a tiny production. If they have earned a place at Enoteca Rivella, they are well worth investing in and trying. While in the neighbourhood, be sure to make a quick stop at Pasticceria Buti for a coffee and their famous caramellato, a lightly crunchy pastry filled with Italian Chantilly cream.
86 Viale Camillo Benso di Cavour
