ITALY HAS WINE TOWNS IN EACH of its 20 regions, making it exceedingly difficult to choose where to start with a glass. Each area comes with various kinds of grapes and vines that can significantly alter the taste of the wine. Indulging does not end with the wine, though. Every wine region cultivates culinary dishes to pair perfectly with its wine of choice. A visit to Montefalco basically requires a portion of the local strangozzi pasta and don’t forget your polenta if you head north to Fruli and Veneto. Journey around Italy here with a handful of Italian wine hubs that feature hilltop Renaissance towns overlooking kilometers of vineyards, more often than not blue skies, and bottles upon bottles of some of the best wine in the world. If you don’t know your glera from your Vino Nobile, you’re about to! Here are Italy’s best wine towns, courtesy of Matador’s new travelstoke app. Montefalco Think we missed a town? Join us on our new travelstoke app and add it yourself!

Travelstoke is both a social network for travelers and a crowd-sourced guidebook, and it’s a great way to meet new people and explore the world. How to road trip the Sicilian coast Your top 20 bucket list trips 10 bars in Rome for the young guzzler 15 monastery stays around the world 10 foods you need to try in Texas before you die 12 signs you learned to eat in Texas The 21 best burgers from around the world 16 holiday inspired meals that you can cook on the roadA few days ago, we published the first half of our list of Tuscany’s ten best towns. And we just know you’ve been waiting with bated breath to find out what the last five top towns will be!And so, without further ado: Here they are.PisaYes, Pisa’s got the Leaning Tower — but that’s not the only reason to go. The city, a half-hour’s drive southwest of Lucca, reached the height of its dominance in the 11th to 13th centuries. Thanks to the stunning churches, palaces, streets and squares of the era, Pisa still feels like a medieval powerhouse today.

Come on the last Sunday of June to see the Gioco del Ponte, a series of battles staged in medieval costume every year since at least the 16th century. And, okay, the Leaning Tower is pretty cool, too. Our tip: Come in the evening, as the sun’s just setting and after the tour buses have gone, and you’ll have the tower almost to yourself.Add this to the list. After visiting, you will be. Montepulciano’s biggest claim to fame is its Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, a DOCG-rated wine that’s been consumed since the Middle Ages and is considered one of Italy’s best. You could spend a whole afternoon here wandering the small town’s medieval streets and taking advantage of the free wine, meat and cheese samples offered in the stores, but don’t miss the town’s smattering of lovely palaces and churches, either. Then again, if you do spend your whole time in a wine shop, you’re in good company: After Henry James left Montepulciano, he said he struggled to recall the details of the town… because he’d spent all his time drinking!

MontalcinoSmaller than Montepulciano (at some 5,000, its population is about a third of Montepulciano’s), Montalcino also is less touristy, even though its claim to fame is similar: It produces Brunello di Montalcino, often considered to be Italy’s best wine. best rated wine cooler brandOther than that, the town’s top boast is its Museo Civico e Diocesano d’Arte Sacra, with a wealth of medieval and Renaissance works surprising for the town’s size. wine ice cream facebookThere’s also a majestic 14th-century castle, still complete with a public park and walk along the ramparts.best homemade red wine kitArezzoThis town served as the backdrop for scenes from Life is Beautiful, and when you come here, you see why: The historic center of Arezzo is lovely and unspoiled.

Its tranquillity belies a powerful past that included being one of the 12 Etruscan capitals and then, in the Middle Ages, a wealthy independent republic. Now home to nearly 100,000, it’s a hot spot for art and culture lovers. Arezzo’s Church of San Francesco boasts a great cycle of frescoes by 15th-century master Piero della Francesca, Vasari’s frescoes in the Casa Vasari depict an artist’s life journey, and the Archaeological Museum displays numerous ancient finds. Perhaps it’s not surprising that Petrarch, the “father of humanism,” was born here in 1304.CortonaAfter Frances Mayes wrote about living here in Under the Tuscan Sun, Cortona, home to some 22,000, wound up indelibly on the tourist map. That means day-trippers aplenty. Still, we think this town, located smack in the middle of Italy, remains well worth a stop for a day or an afternoon. The views alone are gorgeous, spreading from this dramatic hilltop town over the rolling countryside and Lake Trasimeno. And there are lots of worthwhile sites, like the Museo dell’Accademia Etrusca, chock-full of ancient Etruscan gems from the nearby area.

And towns aside… don’t miss our video of Tuscany’s gorgeous countryside, below!Share this:Tagsday tripsFlorenceItalyoff the beaten pathTuscanyWine writer and travel agent Filippo Bartolotta talks about Tuscany, its wines and recommends his top 10 wineries to visit in the region. Tuscany is like a great bottle of wine: lovingly created and carefully aged, and the longer you spend contemplating it, the better it gets. With each visit, you fall a little more in love with its rich hues, unforgettable personality and sheer beauty. This region is the epitome of perfect wine country, boasting some of Italy’s most famous appellations: Brunello di Montalcino, Chianti Classico, Nobile di Montepulciano, Vernaccia di san Gimignano, Carmignano… Wine touring here is not about a five-minute tasting at a roadside wine bar – it is an immersive experience. Read more Decanter travel guides to Italy On the windy country roads that cross the gentle hills you will pass wild forests, medieval pilgrim trails and ruins of ancient churches before arriving at your winery destination set in a fairytale castle.

On the coast you can drive along streets lined with 400-year-old cypress trees to Bolgheri – the medieval hamlet where the super Tuscans were born. Or you might stay in the charming city of Florence, just a short drive from Chianti, where you will find wineries with Michelin-starred restaurants, or set within luxurious resorts. At any of Tuscany’s wineries you won’t just be served a glass of wine, you will learn about the passion, history and innovations behind that wine (as well as the best food to enjoy it with) while surrounded by the landscapes that inspired Da Vinci. The following 10 wineries are those I feel offer the most enjoyable Tuscan experience – a perfect guide to take with you on your next trip. More Decanter guides of wineries to visit See page two for the top 10 Tuscan wineries to visit. Click here to see Mr and Mrs Smith’s Tuscan boutique hotel collection Use Sky Scanner to find flights to Pisa or Florence – Tuscany Written by Filippo Bartolotta