Enoteca Italiana Permanente

The Enoteca Italiana Permanante Siena wine museum
(Photo courtesy of the Enoteca Italiana)

Siena's Italian wine "museum" (read: "tasting gallery")

Tourists can sample the best Italian wines from €3 a glass at Siena's Enoteca Italiana. (Photo courtesy of the Enoteca Italiana) The massive 16th century Medici fortress was once a symbol of Florence's dominance.

Now its echoing brick vaults host the Enoteca Italiana Permanente, a sort of national wine museum filled with rack upon rack of wines from all over Italy. (It's not a truly comprehensive collection, since vintners send in cases voluntarily.)

That's not the point, though. The point is that every day a lengthy list of bottles is uncorked, and you can sample the best of Italy's wine by the glass at tiny tables either inside or outside (glasses of wine cost €3–€8).

The entire musuem is a kind of gourmand's gift shop as well: all of the bottles are for sale. Prices start at €2.30 (that is not a typo; that is around $3), and the vast majority in the €5 to €15 range (with only the rare bottle costing more than €30).

My kind of museum.

Wine lessons

A wine class at the Enoteca Italian Permanente Siena wine museum
A wine class at Siena's Enoteca Italiana. (Photo courtesy of the Enoteca Italiana)You can also take two-hour wine courses (Mon-Fri)—in English or Italian, two hours a day for one, two, or three days—to learn more about Italian wines with a tour of the collections, a discussion of Italan wine history and theory with a focus on regional differences, advice on pairing wines with food, and a tasting of at least three wines.

Rates officially start at €200 for two people per lesson (plus €20 for each additonal person), but they always seem to be on special at €150 for two (plus €15 for each additional imbiber).

Tips & useful links

Details

Enoteca Italiana Permanente
Piazza Libertà 1 (inside the Fortezza Medicea)
tel. +39-0577-228-811
www.enoteca-italiana.it
Open: Mon-Sat noon–1am (Tuesday evening, the wine bar closes to the public at 8pm to host a local wine group's weekly meeting)
Free (well, the wine costs €3–€8 per glass)

Useful links & resources

Walking tours & activities

Siena tourist information

Siena tourist information office
Piazza del Campo 56
tel. +39-0577-280-551
Terresiena.it

Also useful:
Museisenesi.org
Comune.siena.it
Sienaonline.it (private)
Sienafree.it (private)