What to do in Montepulciano in summer: events, tastings, and vineyard experiences

Summer in Montepulciano is the season when the town transforms: the piazzas come alive until late in the evening, wineries open their doors for sunset tastings, and the contrade get ready for the year’s most keenly felt challenge. For those traveling through Tuscany between June and August, Montepulciano offers a calendar of experiences that are hard to find elsewhere. This guide helps you navigate cultural events, wine-related happenings, and a few side trips near one of the most welcoming hilltop towns in the world.

The Poliziano summer calendar: not-to-be-missed events

Montepulciano has a packed summer season, with recurring events that involve the whole town — not just tourists, but the people who live there too. If you’re planning a summer weekend in Tuscany or you’re already in the area, it’s worth knowing the calendar before you go:

June
This is the ideal month to visit Montepulciano at a relaxed pace, with weather that’s still manageable before high season pushes up both prices and temperatures. Bar terraces stay open until late in the evening, wine shops extend their hours, and the first open-air tastings begin at wineries just outside town. At the end of the month, in Abbadia di Montepulciano, the Konca Music Fest kicks off the Poliziano summer with live music, food stalls, and four evenings of free concerts. July Since 1976, every.

July
Montepulciano has hosted one of Italy’s longest-running performing arts festivals: the Cantiere Internazionale d’Arte. Music, theater, dance, and opera bring the piazzas, churches, and historic palazzos of the center to life. The program changes every year and features international artists.

August
The Bruscello Poliziano opens the month with its popular theatrical performance in dialect: a piazza show that tells stories from local tradition, staged in the natural backdrop of Piazza Grande. Then comes Calici di Stelle: on the night of San Lorenzo, wineries across Italy that belong to the Movimento del Turismo del Vino open for nighttime tastings, and in Montepulciano the event unfolds between the historic center and the estates of the surrounding countryside, with glasses of Vino Nobile under the stars and the tradition of making a wish while looking up. On the last Sunday of August, the Bravìo delle Botti closes out the season in the most spectacular way: the town’s eight contrade compete by pushing roughly 80-kilogram barrels up the uphill route through the historic center to Piazza Grande. The race is preceded by days of preparation, processions in medieval costume, and contrada dinners.

With the grape harvest beginning in the vineyards around town, September marks the shift toward autumn. Temperatures drop by a few degrees, the crowds thin out, and the countryside around Montepulciano shows its most authentic side. Restaurants update their menus with the first autumn ingredients, while the Live Rock Festival in Acquaviva still brings music and a younger crowd. For those who prefer traveling outside high season, September is perhaps the best month: still warm enough to be out in the evening, but without the crowds of August.

Visiting Montepulciano in summer, between the historic center and the surrounding countryside

The historic center of Montepulciano can easily be explored on foot in under an hour, but it deserves more than just a quick stroll. The main route follows the Corso, lined with Renaissance palazzos, historic shops, and wine bars, all the way to Piazza Grande, where the view opens onto the Val d’Orcia on one side and the Valdichiana on the other. In summer, sunset transforms the piazza: the golden light brings out the shapes of the Palazzo Comunale and the Duomo, creating a truly striking scene.

Just outside the walls stands the Tempio di San Biagio, a Renaissance masterpiece designed by Antonio da Sangallo the Elder. The path connecting it to the center winds through vineyards and olive groves and is one of the most pleasant walks to take around the town.

Also not to be missed on a visit to Montepulciano are the wineries and wine estates overlooking the surrounding hills. From here, the view opens onto the great amphitheater of Vino Nobile vineyards, one of Tuscany’s most iconic landscapes, which in summer becomes the ideal stage for open-air tastings immersed in the countryside.

For those with a few extra hours, the surrounding area offers destinations that are easy to reach: Pienza is less than 15 kilometers away, while Montalcino and the Abbey of Sant’Antimo are about half an hour by car. Just outside town, Lake Montepulciano is a nature reserve where in summer you can rent a boat or go birdwatching along the trails that line its shores. For those looking for a break from the heat, there are also the area’s two thermal spa options: the Terme di Montepulciano, smaller and closer by, and Chianciano Terme, a few kilometers away, with a more extensive range of facilities.

 

A day at the Chianciano spas: wellness just steps from Montepulciano

The Terme di Chianciano — considered among the most beautiful thermal spas in Tuscany — are the ideal destination for a few hours of relaxation on a hot summer day. Just a few minutes’ drive from Montepulciano, they offer a rejuvenating experience surrounded by the greenery of the Valdichiana, with large indoor and outdoor thermal pools fed by the waters of the Sillene spring. The Piscine Termali Theia, with hydromassage, water features, and spacious outdoor areas surrounded by nature, are especially pleasant on the hottest days, while the Terme Sensoriali offer a wellness path for body and mind featuring scents, sounds, chromotherapy, and settings designed to promote relaxation. After a morning of tastings and walks through the vineyards, a break at the spa is the perfect way to slow down and discover a different side of Tuscany, centered on wellness and rejuvenation.

Practical tips for visiting Montepulciano in summer

To make the most of Montepulciano in summer, it’s worth planning a few aspects of the trip in advance. If you’re wondering when to go, July is often the ideal time: the days are long, the events calendar is packed, and crowds are smaller than in August. Anyone hoping to catch the Bravìo delle Botti should aim for the last week of August, keeping in mind that the historic center will be especially crowded.

If you’re planning tastings or guided tours, it’s best to book a few days ahead: in summer, the most popular experiences fill up quickly.

So where’s the best place to park in Montepulciano? The historic center is a restricted traffic zone (ZTL), so it’s best to leave the car in the parking areas outside the walls and reach the center by shuttle or on foot. In August, arriving in the early morning hours can make all the difference. That said, a car remains the most practical way to explore the wineries and vineyards nearby, connected by unpaved country roads winding through the landscape.

Don’t forget to pack comfortable shoes, essential for tackling the hills and cobblestones of the historic center, a hat for vineyard visits during the hottest hours, and a light layer for evenings spent outdoors or in the cellar. The one essential tip? Leave a bit of extra room in your suitcase: between bottles of Vino Nobile, local products, and purchases from the town’s shops, the trip home is likely to be heavier than the trip there.

Vino Nobile in summer: tastings, wineries, and sunset among the vineyards

Summer is the best time to discover Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. The long days, mild evening temperatures, and the chance to taste outdoors turn the wine into an experience that goes beyond a simple sip. And it’s not just about the scenery: in summer, Vino Nobile finds particularly enjoyable pairings with local cuisine. From pici all’aglione to boards of cured meats and pecorino from the Val d’Orcia, to fresher dishes from farmhouse tradition like panzanella, the wine pairs with simple, authentic flavors that best express the region’s culinary identity. To taste it, there are two options: stay in the historic center or head out to the wineries in the countryside.

In the historic center, wine shops offer a first approach to Vino Nobile through guided tastings and journeys across different labels. Many are housed inside old Renaissance palazzos and hold striking underground cellars carved into the tufa rock, naturally cool spaces where you can explore centuries of winemaking tradition while taking a pleasant break from the heat. For those seeking a more immersive experience, the wineries scattered across the countryside around Montepulciano offer vineyard visits, tours of the production areas, and outdoor tastings.

 

A sunset aperitivo overlooking the vineyards of Montepulciano

If there’s one experience worth the trip outside the center, it’s the vineyard aperitivo organized by Fattoria del Cerro, in nearby Acquaviva. Here the wine is tasted right in the landscape that produced it: neat rows of vines, golden light settling over the hills, and a relaxed atmosphere that invites you to slow down. Those who want to extend the evening can move on to L’Antica Chiusina, the estate’s restaurant, where local cuisine meets Tenute del Cerro wines in an equally intimate setting.

After the tasting, guests can round off the day relaxing by the pool at Relais Villa Grazianella, a particularly popular option during the hottest months. It’s a combination that sums up Tuscan summer well: good wine, wide-open views, and the pleasure of spending a few hours immersed in the quiet of the countryside.

Cooking class, picnic, and vineyard walks: the experiences at Fattoria del Cerro

Chi soggiorna al Relais Villa Grazianella ha tutte queste esperienze a portata di mano. Per chi invece è di passaggio, vale la pena prenotare con anticipo, soprattutto in luglio e agosto.

Beyond tastings, Fattoria del Cerro offers a range of experiences designed for those who want a more hands-on connection with the local area. You can start with a picnic among the vines: a basket of zero-kilometer local products, a bottle from the estate, and the rows of vines as your only backdrop. Those who prefer the kitchen can join a cooking class with the chef from L’Antica Chiusina, learning to prepare traditional Tuscan dishes, followed by lunch paired with the estate’s wines. To explore the landscape, there are e-bikes for riding among the vine rows and unpaved country roads, or the off-road tour with the estate’s agronomist: an excursion that explains soils, exposures, and farming choices firsthand, right in the field.

Those staying at Relais Villa Grazianella have all these experiences within easy reach. For those just passing through, it’s worth booking ahead, especially in July and August.