IT'S ALL ABOUT ITALY
Exclusive Tours In Italy For 2015
TravelOnly and Savour Italy Invite You To Tour Italy In 2015
SAVOUR ITALY is one of Canada’s leading providers of specialized Italian culinary, wine, and travel events.
Together with TravelOnly we will help inspire anyone who wants to explore Italy from a cultural and touristic perspective. Our tours and products are designed to deliver an unforgettable journey discovering the landscapes, wineries, art, culinary and lifestyle of Italy.
Exclusive to our tours is the distinction to be guided by an expert sommelier, Antonio Mauriello, founder of DiVino Wine Studio in Ottawa. He is a past director of the National Capital Sommelier Guild, and currently a sommelier consultant to the Italian Trade Commission and the Italian Embassy. He is an instructor with several wine & culinary associations and schools in Canada and Italy, such as the Algonquin College Sommelier program in Ottawa and La Mia Pasta in Tuscany, Italy. Antonio also serves as a restaurant consultant, a wine columnist and a broadcaster. On December 6, 2009, Antonio received the prestigious Wine Person of the Year award honoured by the National Capital Sommelier Guild.
If your dream is to travel Italy for the first time or to go back and discover more unique sides of our culture, our small group tours or one of our private packages can be what you are looking for. Antonio and his team at Savour Italy and TravelOnly are delighted to share special places and design personalized itineraries discovered over many years of leading exceptional and exclusive tours. Each itinerary carefully balances learning and enjoyment to ensure you experience the time-honoured—and the unexpected—aspects of Italian food, wine, art, culture.
Join us on a tour in 2015
October 9 to October 18, 2015 – 10 days, 9 nights Tour / ESP2015-04
Tuscany and Piedmont – Wine and Culinary Tour
The best seller! Sells out quickly!
$4550 per person based on double occupancy ($500 single supplement)
Registration Deadline: July 31, 2015
A wonderful journey through the gentle hills of Tuscany and Piedmont , packed with exciting activities, visits to wineries and educational wine tastings, olive oil seminars and tasting, cooking classes and much more! It combines the rich experience of a journey through vineyards with the breathtaking scenarios and relaxing sea breeze of the Cinque Terre, five tiny villages embedded on the sea cliff.
The tour conveniently starts in Roma and ends in Florence and does not include air travel so you can easily extend your stay to visit these marvelous capitals of art, fashion and culture
Min to run 8 people, maximum 20
The tour conveniently starts in Roma and ends in Florence and does not include air travel so you can easily extend your stay to visit these marvelous capitals of art, fashion and culture.
It combines the rich experience of a journey through vineyards with the breathtaking scenarios and relaxing sea breeze of the Cinque Terre, five tiny villages embedded on the sea cliff. The itinerary is, as usual, packed with many activities, good food and unforgettable wines.
ITINERARY for October 2015
Day 1 – Roma
Meeting of participants at the Hotel in Rome. Our cozy 4-star hotel is strategically located in the historical downtown, near Campo de’ Fiori, San Pietro, the Pantheon and Piazza Navona. The trip officially starts with a welcome dinner focused on regional food and wines of Lazio, the region where we are – the region around Rome.
Day 2 – Roma-Montalcino-San Gimignano
Breakfast and check out by 09:00 for a 3-hour scenic drive to Tuscany through Umbria. We stop at Montalcino, on the top of one of the most known wine hills of Italy. The Brunello di Montalcino wine, made 100% of Sangiovese Grosso, has a great potential to age with time due to the grape’s great thick skin rich in tannins. Expect some great wine tasting here! After a short visit at the Castello and the Enoteca and some time for lunch and shopping, we depart for San Gimignano where we check in at our hotel located in the historical main Piazza, in an ancient palace of the 11th century, now restored. San Gimignano is the home of the first white Italian DOC wine, which is now a well-known DOCG (the top Italian wine appellation), made with Vernaccia grapes. The village is one of the most fascinating medieval towns with many stone tall towers marking the landscape.
Day 3 – Radda in Chianti, Siena
After breakfast we drive through the Chianti Classico hills and we stop in Radda and Gaiole in Chianti. An ancient monastery and palace hosts historical underground wine cellars. Our tour and tasting of wine and olive oil here is spectacular! A guided itinerary through the rooms of the castle with a themed tasting. Then we drive to Siena where we follow a local guide through ancient palaces and narrow medieval streets to understand the myth and fact of the famous CONTRADE and the PALIO. Back to San Gimignano in the evening.
Day 4 – Time to cook!
Today is the day to become acquainted with the true Tuscan cuisine with our lovely mamma Vilma. Vilma works and lives in Tavarnelle Val di Pesa, near Firenze where she owns a homemade pasta shop. Her passion for the Tuscan cuisine is in her eyes! You will notice it right away! First of all, in the morning, after our cappuccino (remember…cappuccino is a breakfast item for Italians…..!) we go shopping at local stores with Vilma. If you are a bit familiar with Italian language, you recognize that beautiful Florentine accent of Vilma negotiating the daily price of meat and bread with local shop owners. We then participate in a demo and hands-on pasta making seminar. We put our hands at work while making all kinds of fresh pasta shapes: tortelli, ravioli, fettuccine and more. An Italian meal does NOT include only pasta, therefore we will still gather around Vilma’s kitchen at a local agriturismo where we cook the rest of the meal, eat, taste wine … and perhaps have a siesta! What a day!
Day 5 – From Tuscany to Piemonte
Breakfast and check out by 09:00. On the route to Piemonte, we will stop for a visit to a family own Parmigiano Reggiano farm and factory near Parma with incredible cheese aging cellars. Light lunch at the farm. We plan to arrive to our hotel in the town of Alba late afternoon, in the heart of the Barolo and Barbaresco region. We are prepared to spend the next three nights in this smiling town, where the annual October truffle festival (Sagra del Tartufo Bianco di Alba) is held.
Day 6 – Barolo
His majesty ‘The Barolo Wine’ awaits us at the Enoteca Regionale located in the magnificent castle in the town of Barolo. We learn all the different styles of Barolo with a local guide at the Enoteca. The challenge of this visit, today, is to recognize an old style Barolo producer from a new style Barolo producer! You will be certainly able to do it after a side-by-side tasting of the different styles. In the afternoon we are off to visit the village and some other wineries. Remember: you can never have enough Barolo….
Day 7 – Barbaresco
After breakfast we drive downhill, pass the river and then uphill again to the village of Barbaresco. The river separates the two DOC wine appellation areas. Some people call the Barbaresco wine the smaller brother of Barolo. I totally disagree. Do you want to know why? Find the answer to this today, when we enter this world! We start with a visit and tasting at a family run winery located in one of the best ‘cru’ – vineyards of this region. Then we stop in the main village ‘piazza’ to visit the unique ‘church’ hosting the Enoteca Regionale del Barbaresco , after which we adventure in a 'Caccia al Tartufo' in the woods with a local expert guide and his dog. Alba is in the heart of the Tartufo region, a world reknown tuberous very rare and expensive. It is used in the best restaurants all over the world.
Day 8 – From Alba to Cinque Terre
Cinque terre: ”a cultural site of outstanding value” — World Heritage Committee
We check out by 09:00. After a half-day drive through the Appennini mountains and the town of Murazzano, known for the famous DOP cheese, we arrive on the coastal Liguria to our destination: the enchanting villages of Cinque terre. The evening offers a fish based dinner paired with local Vementino wine.
Day 9 – Cinque Terre
Train, boat, short trail on foot. We will try them all today! From our hotel, we take the short and beautiful train ride to Riomaggiore, the first of the 5 villages. Our daily passes, included in the package, is a convenient hassle-free way to travel in Cinque Terre. From Riomaggiore we walk one of the most famous trails in the world called “La Via dell’Amore”. No words for this. . . Unbeatable scenarios! Then … a boat ride to the next village! (or the train again, if you don’t feel at ease to use sea transportation). Accompanied by Antonio, we hop from one village to the other, with free time for you to shop and discover on your own. Cinque Terre is reach with culinary products and local enoteche where to stop and try the famous Sciacchetra’ dessert wine, among the best sweet wines in the world!
We cheer our Arrivederci! with a delightful dinner! And no tears allowed, please! We will be back!!!
Day 10 – Cinque Terre to Florence – End tour
Our bus picks us up at the hotel in the morning and drops us at Florence central train station (about 3-hour drive).
End of tour.
TIPS FOR CINQUE TERRE
After the extravagance of the past days, you deserve to spend the last day of the tour in a unique site, proclaimed a world heritage site by UNESCO. The Cinque Terre are five small villages embedded like stones in the rocks, rapidly descending to the sea. The best way to travel here is by train, boat or by foot. Remember that this is a day to rest, enjoy the water view and cradle with the soothing sound of the sea waves.
From the hotel, you can take the short and beautiful train ride to any of the other villages.
A convenient and inexpensive daily pass, that can be bought at any train station, is a hassle-free way to travel in Cinque Terre. Don’t miss a walk on the world-famous trail on the sea cliff called “La Via dell’Amore”. No words for this unbeatable scenario!
If you want, you can also take a boat ride to complete your ‘village-hopping’ day! You will have lots of time to discover their culinary products and to stop at the enoteche to try the above mentioned Sciacchetra’.
Of course, wine is not missing. Man was able to cultivate these steep mountains by building terraces. The challenge is up at harvest time! Monorails with carts are driven by patient farmers who go up and down several times to harvest just a few bunches. The most cultivated grape is Vermentino, whose wine is best paired with the local fish cuisine. One of the best dessert wines I have ever tried is produced on these hills. It is unfortunately not known in Canada and it is called Sciacchetra’, which is definitely something to try. It will make the entire trip worthwhile!
PRICE, TERMS and CONDITIONS
Price: $4550.00 per person (double occupancy)
Single room supplement is $500
Mode of payment: credit card or cheque
Included in the Tour is:
- 10 days – 9 nights accommodation with breakfast, inclusive of taxes, tips and services.
- One meal per day (lunch or dinner), including wine (limited to one bottle every 2 participants) taxes and tips.
- Cooking class, entrance tickets to sites, VIP tastings.
- Educational and interactive talks.
- Ground transportation for the duration of the tour.
Not included in the Tour is:
- Air transportation
- Transfers to and from where the tour originates and ends as specified in the program.
- Any item of service or personal nature.
- Travel insurance, cancellation and health insurance.
Travel documents needed
- A valid passport is required.
TravelOnly & Savour Italy - Italy 2015 - Exclusive VIP Tours
In compliance with the Ontario Travel Industry Act, 2002 and Ontario Regulation 26/05, our tours sales, registrations and payments are managed by Travel Only, 325A West St. Brantford ON N3R 3V6 tel.1.800.608.1117 TICO #4316071 BPCA #29791 OPC #70267
Tour Registrations and Payments: Mary Lynn Villeneuve, ACC, Travel Consultant, +1 613-924-1404 mvilleneuve@travelonly.com
Tour Information and details on the itinerary: Antonio Mauriello, Travel Consultant, +1 613-274-7474 antonio@savouritaly.ca
What's included in a tour package
Email: mvilleneuve@travelonly.com
Website: www.savouritaly.ca
Location: Brockville, ON, Canada
Phone: 613-924-1404
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Twitter: @dreamplantravel