A Wine & Food Tour of Tuscany

Do you enjoy wine and food from the Tuscany region of Italy?  You may want to consider joining Passatempo and Chef Vincenzo D'arista on a very special tour of Tuscany this fall.   

The trip will be September 28 - October 7, 2012.

Chef Vincenzo, who has lived and worked in Tuscany, will be your private chef and tour guide for the week. You'll be introduced to chefs, winemakers and the wonderful people of Tuscany. It promises to be the kind of experience that comes through traveling with an insider. 

June 15 is the deadline for trip registration. 

The trip will cost $3,900 per person which includes airfare, accommodations, ground transportation and most meals during the trip.  There's a $350 single supplement.  A 10% discount being offered when two people register at the same time and a 25% discount when four people register at the same time. For more details and to contact the tour leaders, click here.

These are some brief highlights from the "Tastes of Tuscany Tour" being offered by Passatempo:

• The food at the Duca di Orvieto restaurant in Orvieto is fresh and all handmade using local products and carefully researched traditional recipes from the renaissance times.  The group will enjoy lunch there on the first day of the trip during a stopover between Rome and the Estate of Monaciano.  Monaciano is where the group will be lodging for the eight nights of the trip. The Estate is only 7 km from the historic center of Siena, nestled between the hills of the Chianti.
• The group will experience one of those Italian traditions that you just have to see for yourself: The Grape Festival in Impruneta.  The parade happens on the last Sunday in September every year. The town of Impruneta is world-famous for its production of terracotta.
• Siena is a masterpiece in medieval architecture and home to beautiful traditions.  The group will enjoy the day in Siena and in the evening they'll go way off the beaten path through a nature reserve to experience home-made pizza from a wood-burning oven deep in the Tuscan countryside under bright stars.
• Monte Amiata is the highest mountain in Tuscany and a tour of the area is an unforgettable highlight.  This solitary mountain in the very heart of the region rises between the valleys of the Orcia, the Fiora, and the Paglia, and is the result of powerful volcanic eruptions that occurred between 180 and 290 million years ago.
• The "not-to-be-missed" famous hilltop towns of Volterra and San Gimigniano will be visited with local guides.
• San Giusto a Rentennano is a world-class winery that isn't typically visited by tourists but the group will meet the owners and enjoy lunch with local foods.  The winery visit is followed by a trip to visit the best castle in Tuscany and birthplace of Chianti wine: Brolio Castle.  The group will tour the museum, the gardens, enjoy the spectacular views and taste traditional recipes with dinner on the castle grounds.
• A free day to explore Italy's renaissance city of Florence followed by dinner at the home of an incredible chef.
• Of course, no visit to Tuscany would be complete without a visit to one of Italy's most well-known symbols: The Leaning Tower of Pisa.
• The group returns on Sunday, October 7. The traditional Columbus Day holiday in the United States is on October 8 which provides an opportunity to rest before returning to work.

About Passatempo

The mission of Passatempo is to promote an appreciation of Italian language and culture through Italian language lessons, cooking lessons, film, art, music, literature, wine tastings, sports, travel and social engagement. We help people with a strong interest in Italy connect with one another, both online and in person. Membership is FREE and we're open to all levels of Italian language from zero to native fluency. The club is based in our Nation's Capital of Washington, DC with events in Dupont Circle, Friendship Heights and other neighborhoods all around DC.