Join us on an extraordinary cultural and culinary adventure to the Chianti region of Tuscany especially designed for those who want to experience the tastes of Tuscany.
Itinerary
Saturday – Once everyone has checked in at the villa, we'll make a trip to the COOP in Barberino Val d’Elsa where you can stock your kitchen for the week. In the evening we’ll enjoy a group dinner in an area restaurant.
Sunday – After everyone has had breakfast, we’ll make the short drive to the village of Panzano. On the first Sunday of each month, the weekly town market held in Panzano is expanded to include artisan wares of all sorts. Basket weavers, honey producers, hand embroidered linen makers, boutique wineries and antique dealers set up booths to market their handmade goods. We’ll visit L’Antica Macelleria Cecchini, the butcher shop of the renowned Dario Cecchini. We’ll then visit some hill towns in the area, such as Certaldo, Monteriggioni or San Gimignano. In the evening, we’ll have dinner at an area restaurant.
Monday - In the morning, Franco Lombardi, who owns 4,000 olive trees on his Chianti farm, will present an olive oil seminar to the group and take us on a tour of his olive press. Each year, his family harvests their olives by hand, press them with a cold-pressed system and ship more than 8,000 bottles of olive oil to customers all around the world. Afterwards, we’ll visit some of the hilltop villages in Chianti. In the evening, we’ll have dinner in an area restaurant.
Tuesday – We’ll visit the famous hill towns of Monteriggioni and San Gimignano. In the evening, we’ll have dinner in an area restaurant.
Wednesday – We’ll get a late morning start and head to the kitchen of a Chianti chef for a cooking class and meal. The hands-on course covers traditional, home-style Tuscan and Italian recipes cooked in a friendly atmosphere. Participants prepare a complete meal (5 or more recipes) including appetizers, a pasta dish, a vegetable or meat dish and dessert, using fresh, natural, local ingredients. Each course is accompanied by the wine which best complements it. Then we all eat together! Dinner that evening will be on your own.
Thursday – After breakfast in the villa, we’ll visit a Chianti cooking school. After a hands-on cooking class once again preparing traditional Tuscan recipes , we’ll all sit down to the meal that we’ve prepared, each course pared with area wines. In the evening, we’ll have dinner in an area restaurant.
Friday - On our last day, we’ll head for Siena, where we’ll wander the streets of the medieval city, see the Duomo, watch the world go by at a cafe in the Piazza del Campo and explore Siena’s shops. In the evening, we’ll have a blow-out going away dinner at the villa.
Saturday - After a final breakfast at the villa, we’ll say our goodbyes and hit the long road home.
Spring Tour
The Spring Tour
