Todd grew up in California and moved to Italy in 2002. He fell in love and never left.
Wine and wine making have long been of interest to Todd. It’s hard to live in Tuscany and not be moved by the local passion for food and wine. In 2005 he earned the title of Sommelier from the Associazione Italiana Sommeliers (Italy’s premier national program for training Sommeliers).
Todd also has a Master’s degree in Cultural Anthropology, is fluent in Italian and lives with his Florentine wife and daughter.
He enjoys sharing his expert knowledge of wine and the region with visitors to the country he now calls home.
Frequently Asked Questions
What kind of vehicle do you use? We want our guests to be comfortable. So we use 9 passenger Mercedes-Benz touring vans for maximum comfort. This means we can bring out up to 8 guests on the tour in our vans. Our vans are N.C.C. regulated touring vans. What is the N.C.C. regulated touring van? N.C.C. means, noleggio con conducente or “rental with driver.” This is a type of professional vehicle and driver’s license, which Italy requires ANY TIME tourists are to be driven ANYWHERE. It is the ONLY way a tour company and its participants can be fully insured against any accidents occurring while on the road. Many less reputable tour companies try to avoid getting this license. Tour companies not using the N.C.C. license run the risk of making their auto insurance null and void the minute they have an accident. N.C.C. must be on the vehicle, and there will be a medallion on the back of the vehicle with the license number. Can I do a tour with more than 8 guests? Our Daily mixed group tours are never more than 8 guests as we think it’s a better experience when it’s a bit more intimate. However, we accommodate larger groups for our private custom tours. If you’re traveling with your wedding party, a larger family, or just a large group of friends, we can accommodate you. For private tours with more than 8 guests in the party, we will utilize 16, 20, 30 or even 50 passenger buses. Email us for more information. Can you accommodate dietary restrictions? Of course we can accommodate your dietary needs. Tuscany is a plentiful land with diverse and wonderful cuisine options. Just let us know at the beginning of the day. What do I need to bring on the tour? We set our tours up to be all-inclusive. You don’t need much. We suggest that you bring comfortable clothing, maybe a bottle of water, a camera, and a sunny disposition ;-) Is there any dress code on the tour/how should I dress for the tour? There is not any specific dress code. Some of the wineries we use are our friend’s homes, so we suggest being respectful both in mind and body (or behavior and appearance). The only time a dress code might be required, is on our private tours, when we visit some of the cathedrals. They may require knees and shoulders to be covered. Are children welcome on the tours? We love children and young adults. So much so that we have some of our own! Children are not excluded from participating on the wine tours. However, we suggest that when traveling with younger children, our guests consider doing a private tour. Teenage children and young adults are welcome, but we cannot discount the tour for these guests. If you require a car seat for a younger child, we can accommodate this most of the time. Can I change my itinerary? For the mixed group tours, we don’t offer changes to the itinerary. For the private custom tours, it’s your day and you can modify it as you see fit. In some situations, there could be supplemental costs, but we’ll let you know in advance before you decide on the change. What is your cancellation policy? We’re flexible and want to work with our guests when issues arise, however we are also a small tour company and have limited inventory for guests to reserve with us. Therefore, we require at least a 25% deposit to reserve any tour date (certain tours may require more). This deposit is non refundable. Any tour cancellation within 1 week of the scheduled tour date, will receive no refund of any monies paid. Do you exist on social media? We sure do. You can follow Tuscan Trails on Facebook & Instagram. If you take a great pic, tag us as we’d love to see it, and share it ourselves if that’s okay with you. https://www.facebook.com/TuscanTrails/ https://www.instagram.com/tuscantrails/
Reviews
My husband and I want to thank you for the lovely tour we had. We had a wonderful time, learned more than we ever expected, and were grateful to have such a low key, "behind the scenes" look at the wine industry of Tuscany. Our lunch was superb, also. Sincerely,
~ Linda, Glenn, Sophie and Margit
I just wanted you to know how much my Aunt, cousin and I enjoyed our winery tour. We had a wonderful guide, the wineries were great, and the lunch was superb. I bought wine ad olive oil, which I am happily sharing with my visitors. Sincerely,
~ Liz
Just to say a very big thank you to you for the wine tour last friday! We all really enjoyed it and were grateful to you for all your work in pulling it together and making it so interesting and fun for us!
~ Mayerling
I just wanted to let you know how much we enjoyed the wine tour & our guide. She was fantastic! She was so knowledgeable and was a lot of fun! We learned a lot from her and just wanted to let you know that she was great & the tour was great! Thanks again!!!
~ Mariann
On behalf of our little group, Iona, Laurie, Anne & myself, I am extending thanks for a wonderful two days with you. We learned & experienced so much. Your consideration for us was so appreciated. Our pictures are wonderful, as is our video & we were happy to have captured a few shots of you to remember all your help and support.
~ Judy
Now that we are back from our vacation I wanted to write you a quick note. My wife and I spent a week total in Italy seeing priceless pieces of art and ancient Roman ruins but we both agreed that your tour was the highlight of our trip. The tour group size was small and intimate, while you were both knowledgeable and unpretentious. These factors combined into a very rewarding experience where we were able to learn about wine, olive oil, and (as a bonus) a little Italian history. It is rare these days to get more than you expect and you managed to pull it off. We'd like to thank you for that and wish you the best of luck in your future.
~ Alan & Heidi
I am smiling as I am writing this at the lovely memories of that day! The beautiful countryside, the castles, of course the wine, the food, the company, your knowledge...and even the fun of the documentary that was being filmed that day (which gave us more time, ultimately!)...all are fading into the dreamy tapestry that was my trip to Italy. Just wanted to drop you a note to let you know again how all was so very much appreciated. Sandy and I loved it.
~ Diana
I wanted to make sure you knew what an amazing time Ashley and I had on our tour. It was easily one of the best parts of our trip and you did an outstanding job. I took a bunch of your cards and am handing them out to anyone who will listen to my story. Again, thank you soooooo much for the amazing tour, I will tell everyone I know about your service and how incredible the tour was. Hope all is well.
~ Kyle
Summer has been crazy for Rocci and myself but I wanted to thank you so much for the wonderful wine tour for our family. It definitely made life long memories. I hope you and yours are all well and that business is going well.
~ Patsy and Rocci
I just wanted to write and thank you for setting up the wine tour for me and my husband. Our guide was wonderful, knowledgeable, fun, and friendly. We shared a beautiful day with great people and amazing wine. Who could ask for more? It was truly one of the most memorable days of our honeymoon in Italy.Thank you again,
~ Ani
Just wanted to let you know that we highly recommended your wine tours to our hotel, Residenza Gastiglioni, and have had an opportunity to recommend you to several friends who are heading for Florence in the next year. We enjoyed your enthusiasm, knowledge of history, wine and the area. We thought it was a great value and a less “touristy” than might be expected. Thanks. I am going to contact Rick Steves with a recommendation.
Dave~
I just wanted to say that you did a great job giving us our tour and Thank you. I learned a lot and had an awesome day. The vineyards and the restaurant we visited were very unique and all well worth it! Good Luck this spring with all your tours and hope that everything goes well for you. Thanks again!
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