General Information

Duration:

9 Days

Location Start:

Turin

Location Finish:

Chiusi

Phone:

1-800-557-0370 PST

Payment Types:

• Cash
• Credit Card
• Cheque
• Travellers cheque
• Paypal
• Wire Transfer

We Speak:

English, Italian

Last updated: 03/26/2009

Itinerary

Day 1

Meet at Turin airport or railway station. Transfer to our hotel in Verduno or Alba countryside and get settled.



Welcome dinner in a great restaurant.

Day 2

Drive to La Morra with spectacular views of the Barolo valley. Walk down the vineyards (about one hr.) to visit Renato Ratti Wine Museum housed in the Abbey of the Annunziata where wine production began in 1162. Personal tour and wine tasting with one of the Ratti family.



Lunch at a restaurant in Santa Vittoria d'Alba with lovely panoramas from a hilltop.


Relax at hotel.



Return to Real Castello for your early evening cooking lesson on typical Piemonte dishes like onion tart, risotto with Barolo and guinea hen with rosemary and bunet, a Piedmontese cocoa pudding cooked in a caramelized mould.


Before dinner, visit the Real Casello wine cellars where your host tours you through the cellars and gives you tastings of the acclaimed wines including Pelaverga, that resembles a spicy Barolo and is made only in Verduno.


As you savor your exquisite dishes in their frescoed dining room, you’ll understand why the Real Castello restaurant is known internationally for its fine cuisine.

Day 3

Drive to town of Barolo for visit and wine tasting at historic Marchesi di Barolo winery.



Drive to hilltown of Serralunga to visit a unique medieval castle, expanded in 1320.


Drive to a hamlet in the Barolo wine area to a farm to visit Giovanni, Francesca and their 6 children. See how Giovanni makes cheeses and visit all the animals. Italian country lunch with the very hospitable family.


Drive to Barbaresco for your cooking lesson with warm, hospitable Chef Ester at her well-known restaurant. Like a true Piedmontese, you roll out and cut the thin delicate tajarin pasta noodles and preparing typical appetizers like rolls of roasted peppers with tuna stuffing topped with a parsley sauce and mains like rabbit with Barbaresco sauce.


Take a break on the terrace outside with views of vineyards, enjoying the peace and quiet with a glass of fine local wine in hand. Later dine on your creations in the restaurant.




Visit Real Castello wine cellars.


Dinner of your creations at Real Castello.

Day 4

After breakfast, depart for Portovenere on the Italian Riviera south of Cinque Terre.

Stop along the way in pretty seaside Riviera town of Camogli. Lunch of fresh focaccia and tortes weather permitting, on the beach or in outdoor cafes. Time to stroll and explore the old centre, port and beach in Camogli.



After a one hour drive, reach the port of Portovenere with beautiful coastal views, medieval walls, a castle and colorful, small port. Check into the pretty, three star Hotel Paradiso facing the sea. Walk along the sea, up to the castle, or along narrow streets filled with gelato shops and coffee bars or simply sit at an outdoor seafront cafe and watch life go by.


Dine on stellar fish and seafood back at your hotel’s terrace, with stunning views of the Bay of Poets below.

Day 5

Day long excursion walking the pathways or by boat to Cinque Terre villages.


Light unch at a trattoria in the colourful piazza in Vernazza. You can walk all the way, part of the way or go by boat the whole time, as you wish. Return about 7:00 p.m.



Rest at our hotel. Dinner on the magnificent hotel terrace. More excellent seafood!!

Day 6

After breakfast leave for Southern Tuscany.


After a three or four hour drive, arrive in the walled hill town of Montalcino, famous for Brunello, one of Italy’s top red wines. In the medieval fortress, now a wine bar, a knowledgeable staff member tells you what makes Brunello such a fine wine. Along with Rosso di Montalcino and Brunello wines, savor fresh pecorino cheeses, salamis, and freshly baked bread.


Stroll through the town with your guide and browse the many small shops that line the streets.


From Montalcino we drive past vineyards and olive groves and up into higher hills in the mountains. In a small hamlet, the charming, hospitable, fun loving Chef Roberto welcomes you to his pretty, little three star hotel and restaurant, praised in many guidebooks.


At his restaurant, renowned for its mushroom dishes, learn to prepare divine Tuscan cuisine with a creative flair before enjoying dinner with wines Roberto has selected specially for you. After dinner amble upstairs to your quiet room.

Day 7

After breakfast with Roberto, drive down to Pienza to check in to a three star, modern hotel with 16 attractive rooms, half with amazing panoramas of the Val D’Orcia with its vast rolling hills. On the way we stop at a winery to tour its cellars and taste its Brunello wine, Rosso di Montalcino and Vin Santo right with the producer.


Enjoy a light lunch in Pienza, a little medieval jewel with walkways along its walls with vast views over the Orcia valley and its exquisite Renaissance main piazza. It’s also famous for pecorino cheese offered many shops.


Visit the picturesque hill town of Montepulciano, home to the famous Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, one of the top Italian red wines. With your guide tour the town and its distinguished palaces, wine shops and amazing array of unique stores.


Savor a light lunch in Montepulciano with free time to walk on country paths, shop or hang out in the main piazza watching local life.


Drive across the valley to a lovely little hill town, Montefollonico. In a winery in a 14th century palazzo the hospitable winery owner takes you on a personal tour of the cellars. Enjoy tasting his Rosso di Montepulciano, Vino Nobile and Vin Santo and chatting about life on his garden terrace with fabulous views across the valley to Montepulciano.


Dine in a little restaurant in Montefollonico whose pici pasta with tomato and garlic sauce and roast lamb with rosemary and garlic, all washed down with good Tuscan red, are to die for.

Day 8

From Pienza drive about 40 minutes to visit an artisan olive oil maker, charming Alberto on his organic farm filled with exotic trees and plants. He shows you his age old techniques for making olive oil with the traditional granite wheel. In your cooking lesson with Alberto, who's a fabulous cook, discover how to cook traditional Tuscan dishes that were vanishing. Dine around a long wooden table in his olive oil production room.


On the way home, stop at Sant’Antimo, one of Tuscany’s most beautiful Romanesque churches, dating back over 1000 years set in an idyllic valley of cypresses, olive groves, vineyards and fields.


Before dinner, stroll around Pienza with your guide.


Enjoy a light farewell dinner at a local trattoria in town. Good food, wine and conversation are the perfect way to round off your last evening of this magical wine and cooking adventure.

Day 9

Departure for Chiusi railway station (about half way between Florence & Rome) after breakfast.

Extra Information

Inclusions -

hotel accommodation

Exclusions -

wines with your meals

Extras -

2008 dates: Dates by request.

Immerse yourself in genuine Italian culture and meet lots of local characters you'd never meet otherwise, in places you'd never find otherwise. In three different and vey beautiful regions!

We can custom design this tour for you so you get just the experiences in Italy you've always dreamed of.