brought to you by Linda and Ted Fondulas of

Taste, Learn, & Enjoy

Tuscany May 2-9, 2008

This tasting adventure in Italy features hands-on culinary classes; tastings of local specialties: wine, cheese, olive oil, prosciutto, salami, balsamic vinegar; and tastings at famous estates, markets, farms; plus visits to vineyards, artisans, and historic sites in Florence, the Chianti Hills and Siena.

We’ll revel in the joys of traditional and contemporary Tuscan cuisine as we taste and learn in kitchens and vineyards, farms and markets, gardens and orchards, exploring delightful landscapes as we go.

We’ll immerse ourselves in the timeless beauty of the Chianti Hills in the Tuscan countryside between Florence and Siena, where the panorama of gray-green olive groves, sloping vineyard hillsides, and dark green cypress trees are woven in a mosaic of unsurpassed charm.

Day-by-Day Itinerary Tuscany

Friday, May 2:  Participants will fly into the Florence airport, which is serviced by international airlines flying from London, Amsterdam, Paris, Frankfurt and Milan as well as other gateways. This small airport is well located on the edge of Florence, a short 10 to 15 minute taxi ride from the center. After claiming their bags, participants take a taxi to the Hotel de la Ville where porterage is included to your room. After check-in, time to rest and relax or take a stroll. At 18:00, the program begins with a welcome and wine reception at the hotel. At 20:00, we’ll walk to an excellent restaurant nearby for an included dinner with wines. 

Saturday, May 3:  07:30-08:45, full breakfast buffet at the hotel. 09:00 we leave for a busy morning of walking and visiting. First we’ll stroll with our guide to the major historic highlights of Florence giving us our orientation to birthplace of the renaissance.  Pausing back at our hotel, we’ll then set forth to the colorful daily Sant’Ambrosio market of Florence.  Walking back through the stalls of the leather/clothing/ceramic market, we’ll find our al fresco lunch at a well known trattoria next to the central market which you can visit on your own if you like. We’ve had a big morning, so the afternoon will be free to stroll, sightsee or rest.  Tonight’s included dinner with wines will feature some wonderful Florentine specialties. This evening we pack for departure on Sunday morning.

Sunday, May 4:  10:00, we board our coach (with baggage) and drive 30 minutes to the little market town of Greve in the Chianti Hill country. Here we will visit the Cantine Falorni, a landmark wine shop where we will taste Tuscan cheeses, wines, prosciuttos, salamis and olive oils. Then we’ll drive to lunch at an outdoor restaurant overlooking the vineyards near Radda-in-Chianti, a historic village that will be our home base for the rest of our program.  Here we’ll check into our four-star hotel, the Relais Vignale, in little Radda.  We’ll have a reception at this attractive hotel before setting out to find dinner on your own in the village (suggestions provided). 

Monday, May 5: Full buffet breakfast today and every day from 7:30 to 9:00 at the hotel. 09:30, we leave for the day at Badia a Coltibuono, a magnificent villa situated in a former abbey and once the home of renowned food writer Lorenza de’Medici who created the culinary school here. Our all-morning hands-on class will be followed by lunch with Badia wines in our private dining room. Then we’ll have a leisurely look at historic rooms in the old abbey, visit the extensive wine cellars, and take a walk through the splendid gardens and shop for wine and ceramics.  If time permits on the drive home we’ll stop at a famous Tuscan wine estate, San Donato in Perano for a tasting with

commentary.  We return to our hotel to relax and contemplate another dinner on your own – the local pizzeria has gotten rave reviews!

Tuesday, May 6:  After breakfast, 09:30 departure for our farmhouse cooking class at Podere Le Rose, the 13th century family home and farm of Simonetta and Paola de’ Mari who teach Tuscan cooking both here and in Florence. The friendly sisters will lead our hands-on cooking class, host us at lunch and show us around their typical Tuscan stone farmhouse. We’ll taste the most delicious local olive oil; then after lunch and a look around the tiny village and farm, Simonetta will lead us to the atelier of a ceramic artisan who will show us her work. Back in Radda at our hotel, we’ll relax before heading out for an included dinner with wines in the village.

Wednesday, May 7:  Departure by coach at 09:00 for Siena, a renaissance masterpiece and a city rich with history, culture and gastronomy. We’ll walk through the busy weekly market, have a look – and taste! - at the best specialty food shops in town, then head for a great lunch with wines overlooking what may be the most picturesque town square in all of Italy, the Piazza del Campo.  After lunch we’ll make a guided walking visit to the historic highlights grouped in and around the Piazza.  If time permits we’ll stroll and shop before returning to Radda and our hotel.  Dinner is on your own again tonight. 

Thursday, May 8:  After breakfast we’ll travel to the enchanting hilltop hamlet of Volpaia for a tasting of the Castello di Volpaia wines and olive oil and a guided walkabout in the historic little village. Lunch in Volpaia at the local osteria on a terrace overlooking the wonderful view.  For our gala farewell dinner we’re off to beautiful San Donato in Perano for a multi-course tasting menu with wines. We’ll toast good times and our successful discovery of culinary Tuscany during this exceptional dining experience. 

Friday, May 9:  Our culinary holiday comes to an end following breakfast.  Departure at 09:30 for the one-hour return coach ride to Florence, taking participants to their choice of airport or train station.

To enroll:  download, print, complete and return the enrollment form with the required deposit of $1000 per person. Make deposit checks payable to ‘Vineyards and Kitchens in France’, mailing address: PO Box 1151, Brattleboro, Vermont 05302. A confirmation of enrollment along with other information will be sent within a few days. Questions? Contact Chuck Hornsby, Director, Vineyards and Kitchens in France, chornsby@sover.net.

Join Linda and Ted Fondulas of their celebrated Vermont restaurant, Hemingway’s, on a week-long culinary holiday

from Florence to the Chianti Hills and Siena.

Food Odyssey: Tuscany May 2-9, 2008

Program Highlights:

•Hands-on morning class followed by lunch at top-rated Badia a Coltibuono cooking school

•Farmhouse cooking class at Podere la Rose with the deMari sisters in Poggio San Polo

•Stroll through open markets; great dining in Florence, Radda and Siena

•Taste wines and cheeses, prosciuttos, sausages and salamis at ‘Cantine Falorni’ in Greve

•Vineyard visits & wine tasting at hilltop estates: Castello di Volpaia & San Donato in Perano

•Guided walking trips to the historic wonders of Florence and Siena

•Drive through the marvelous, unspoiled Chianti countryside to villages and historic sites

•All lunches with wines at delightful  ristoranti, trattorias and osterias.

•Wine reception plus two nights at the elegant, 4-star Hotel de la Ville in central Florence

•5 nights in classic 4-star hotel Relais Vignale in Radda, heart of the Chianti Hills countryside

•Gala farewell 5-course dinner and wines at San Donato in Perano, a vineyard estate

Program Cost for 7 nights, ‘land only’:

is $4250. per person, double occupancy

Includes  all events, activities, visits, cooking classes, tastings, guiding, coaching, seven hotel overnights with breakfasts, all lunches and four dinners, with wines, as described above. Not included: travel to Florence airport and the hotel or from Florence at the program’s end, 3 dinners on your own, expenses of a purely personal nature. The single supplement is $500; single rooms are limited and should be requested before enrolling.