Cost: $3800 per person based on double occupancy
Single Supplement $700
* Exclusive of airfare
Transfers and transportation included
- 7 Night Private Ensuite Lodging
- All transfers
- Daily transport as per itinerary
- Wine with all lunches & dinners
- 7 breakfast, 3 lunches, 7 dinners
- Castle Wine Tour with tasting & lunch
- Artisan Bread & Pizza Making Tour & lunch
- Chianti Wine Tour with tastings
- Walking Tour of Siena
- Pasta Making & Lunch
- Wine, Herb & Cheese Pairing & dinner
- Walking tour of San Gimignano
- 4 Hands-On Cooking Lessons with a local Tuscan Chef
- 2 dinners in a typical Tuscan countryside trattoria
- Entrance fees, tips and tastings as per itinerary
Nothing can compare to the exquisite taste of true Italian cuisine. It's simple, it's elegant and it's tasty. If you are craving a plate of fresh tagliatelle covered in shaved truffles, with a whisper of pecorino cheese, served in a setting that's like a renaissance painting come to life, then you won't want to miss this spectacular journey.
Of course, no Vagabond Gourmet tour is complete
without a serving of fun, so take advantage of exploring this magical
region of Italy with us and our Tuscan friends. We have planned
a convivial and one-of-a-kind week that will take you to the heart
of Tuscan cuisine. We will introduce you to local producers, chefs
and wine experts, teach you how to create local recipes, introduce
you to the Italian culture and treat you to tours of some of the
area’s best villages and cities.
You know, it is true what you've heard about Italy. No meal is served without the warmth of Italian hospitality. Top it off with the Tuscan scenery and you can understand why the Italians coined the phrase La Dolce Vita!
Giulio and Cristina are your gracious hosts for the week. Both are native Italians who have rich professional histories in food, wine and the fashion industry. Giulio was a famed restaurateur and enologist in Milan and Cristina worked in the design houses of Gucci in Florence before they settled into Tuscany. Giulio is one or our most treasured assets in Tuscany and continuously searches for the finest local artisans and wine to add to Vagabond
Gourmet. His passion for life and marvelous charisma brings standing ovations to each of our Italian tours. Cristina brings her knowledge of fashions and design to behind the scenes tours and great shopping finds.
Our Tuscan chef, Francesca
has a well deserved reputation as one of Florence’s favorite restaurant
chefs. She now joins Vagabond
Gourmet as our Tuscan expert and shares her knowledge
of the region’s specialties.
Tuscan food has long been known for its robust flavors and simple ingredients. Like the Italians themselves, every dish seems to celebrate life and the beautiful surroundings for which Italy is known. From the fresh pasta, to the wild mushrooms, the cakes, the meat, the cheese and the bread, to the wine, each meal is made with a passion and served with a love for food that only comes from a deep appreciation and understanding of the ingredients and their source.
Relax after your arrival
with a walk in our private woods, a dip in the pool or see what’s
cooking in the kitchen as our first classic Tuscan meal is being
prepared and we welcome special friends. Our wonderful Villa
Montignoso has the most perfect farmhouse kitchen with
plenty of room to chop and roll. There is a wood fired roasting
jack and gorgeous views from the windows into the gardens and woods.
There’s also a large terrace and gazebo for al fresco dining near
the pool.
You'll meet a new friend,
Pierre whose passion and love for herbs will introduce you to a
whole new world. His great mixtures will be infused with the flavors,
aromas and colors of Tuscany. Together with Giulio they create
a multicourse tasting menu of the region’s best cheeses, Pierre’s
astonishing herb blends and Giulio expertly chosen wines. Followed
by a classic Tuscan meal and more great Tuscan wines
Giulio & Cristina Cook Dinner to Follow Pairing
Today starts in the magnificent
medieval village of San Gimignano where we visit some of our favorite
shops for selecting salumi at La buca di montatuto, pecorino, olive
oils, and goodies from the pasticceria Lucia and Maria’s. Within the old town walls we’ll
walk, admire and enjoy this charming village.
Enjoy lunch on your own
in one of San Gimignano’ charming sidewalk cafes or Trattoria in
the village square. Save room for gelato and homemade chocolates
flavored with balsamic vinegar and hot chili pepper.
During this journey you'll have the opportunity to roll up your sleeves and share their first hand knowledge of the Tuscan cuisine and way of life. Francesca, our Tuscan chef, has been cooking her entire life and prides herself on making everything from scratch.
After breakfast we welcome our accomplished local Tuscan chef into our kitchen for pasta making lessons and lunch. No pasta machines here! Francesca will demonstrate hand-made pastas, sauces and baking. The abundance of fresh vegetables, herbs, meats, fish, and local farm products is the first ingredient for this robust cuisine
Pasta Making Lunch with Francesca
Relax after lunch before we enjoy dinner in an authentic Tuscan trattoria well known by the locals for its robust flavors and family recipes.
In the Chianti countryside the eye can range far across the unfolding
of hills, all offering a spacious spectra of color and a land offering some
of the best vines in Italy. This ancient wine region of is a "must do" for wine lovers and the idyllic scenery is exactly how we think of dreamy Tuscany , sprinkled with castles, hill top villages and vine-covered valleys. Today we meet two passionate young winemakers that are producing some of the best undiscovered wines and we’re
invited into their world on an amazing journey.
After our return to the Villa cooking lessons are under way to prepare the evening meal or you may lounge poolside while sipping wine under the terrace. Lessons will include learning how to prepare more of the Tuscan classic sauces, grilled meats, seafood specialties and decadent desserts.
A visit to Siena is another highlight of this
magical trip. The town is perched over Tuscany and is a well preserved
example of medieval architecture with winding cobbled streets and beautiful
plazas. A walk to Piazza del Campo along the twisting streets and paths
is filled with shops and boutiques of every sort. The many specialty
food shops sell everything from “cinghiale” products, to cheeses, oils,
pastas, and gelato and decadent sweets.
Lunch is on your own in Siena, then you have
the afternoon to shop or visit the wondrous city said to be the most
beautiful medieval city in Italy. Stroll through the breathtaking piazza
the Campo at the city’s heart. Visit the Duomo ranked among Europe’s best Gothic structures. Residing here are frescos and sculptures by Pisano, Donatello and Michelangelo to name a few. Also the elaborate floors of inlaid marble pictures, and the famous Pisano pulpit carved in 1266. A must visit is the Palazzo Publico which has been Siena’s town hall since the 1300’s
and whose walls tell stories of good and evil.
Visits to more of Tuscany famed gourmet markets
for regional specialties for our Tuscan kitchen. A visit to the Duomo
is a must and we’ll have lunch at a great trattoria before returning to the villa. If you prefer after lunch you may linger for visits to more of Siena’s
art treasures and fabulous shopping.
Ask any Tuscan what their
favorite dish is and many will say a two-pound T-bone of Chianna
beef quickly charred over a wood-burning flame. To the beef connoisseur,
few cuts of meat are as exceptional as those from the cattle raised
in Tuscany’s Chianna valley used for the bistecca ala fiorentina
and about as tender and flavorful a steak you will eat. The open
fire grill in our kitchen is perfect for grilling the steak and
vegetables with a light balsamic glaze.
There is nothing quite
like the smell of fresh bread pulled right out of the oven, is
there? Here in Italy, the making of fresh bread is a tradition
that has passed from generation to generation, and this week, the
secrets will be passed on to you. Probably one of our best loved
adventures is visiting a very special lady and artisan bread maker
nestled deep in the countryside.
We will take you to the
farm of Viola, a warm Italian lady who has been cooking bread for
as long as she can remember. Viola will show you how to make bread
from scratch, using the products on her land. Delicious flatbread
with rosemary and olives and pizza crust are on today's menu! She'll
also share some tips on using old bread so it doesn't go to waste.
Lunch with Viola is next with; you guessed it, bread and pizza
for all.
Cooking Lesson & Dinner at the Villa with Francesca
After breakfast Giulio
leads us on an exclusive Castle Wine Tour. This ancient 15th century
fortress whose foundations were erected in the year 1260 was a
medieval stronghold on the border between the territories of Siena
and Florence. It is now a private wine estate rarely open to the
public for a visit. Once owned by a noble Florentine family and
now producing exceptional wines we enjoy a special tasting and
lunch.
Lunch at the Castle then
we visit Greve another
stop on the Chianti trail
filled with wine shops and quaint restaurants. Greve is home to
a very famous butcher owned by the Falorni's whose homemade sausages
and salumi’s are considered some of the best in Tuscany. Their "Enotecca" is
known for its superb
wine collection of Chianti wines, to taste by the glass or to stock
our larder. One unique feature is a special olive oil tasting where
you can learn how the mixing of olive types create their individual
flavors.
Dinner tonight in another
typical Tuscan countryside Trattoria in a beautiful setting and
also known for their superb wines.
Transfer to Florence
airport for departure
Vagabond Gourmet
Cancellations 61
days prior to departure will require no further payments. Cancellations
60 days or less before departure will receive a 50% refund. All
deposits may be applicable to future Vagabond Gourmet tours.
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