Name: 8 Day Authentic Wine and Cooking Holiday under the Tuscan and Umbrian Sun
Brand: Culture Discovery Vacations
Price: 5345 USD
Availability: InStock

Accommodation

Facilities

Air-conditioned rooms
Kitchen
Free Wi-Fi

Private village homes

Enjoy your personal and private home in a beautiful medieval village for each night of your vacation with Culture Discovery Vacations.

All guest accommodations are interspersed throughout the town, close to Soriano’s main “Piazza”, or town square. Most date back to medieval or the renaissance period. Each one of them is unique, and has been completely restored with modern conveniences like air-conditioning, TV, and Wi-Fi, all while maintaining their original beauty and charm. Your village home will be within several hundred feet of the piazza, so getting to and from is very quick, and incredibly pleasant each day.

Immersed in local tradition

Your neighbors for the week are not other travelers, they are part of the local community. You will find yourself getting to know them with that daily "good morning" wave, smile, and buongiorno! You will most likely see them in town, and really get a sense of belonging as you weave yourself into the fabric of Italian village life.

Amenities

All of the village homes you will be staying at are actual homes that were private residences at one time. As such, they all have private bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchens, refrigerators, etc. All of the homes have heat and air-conditioning, as well as satellite TV with English-language programming. All homes have free wireless internet.

Assignment

Each home is unique in, square footage, design, décor and floor-plan. Some have valley views, some have castle views, and some have village views. Some offer balconies, while others do not. Some have two bedrooms, and some are one bedroom homes. Different homes will not be charged at different prices, but your host will do their best to assign homes based on what they know about their guests’ personal preferences or needs.

Program

Overview

Day 1: Welcome to Soriano!
Day 2: 5-course cooking class, ricotta cheesemaking + Orvieto
Day 3: Tuscan vineyard lunch, Pienza pecorino cheese and Vino Nobile winery
Day 4: Cooking class, grappa and the ancient Vatican
Day 5: Brunello Winery picnic in Tuscany and dinner in an ancient castle
Day 6: Assisi, Deruta pottery and party at the villa
Day 7: Olive oil mill, the monster park + wood-fired pizza and limoncello cream class
Day 8: Goodbye but see you again soon

The Cooking Classes

You will have three half-day completely hands-on cooking classes this week, plus ricotta-making! You will visit local wineries and spend time with the owners, have lunch at the vineyard, and depending on the season, you may go truffle hunting and harvest grapes or olives. You will visit popular and off-the-beaten-path hidden treasures, and so much more this week!

The cooking classes are not demonstrations. They are 100% hands-on. They are structured so that you can be as involved as you wish in every stage of every course prepared. With every class, you roll up your sleeves and get wrist-deep in making everything fresh, from scratch. Two of the classes are complete five-course meals, during which you are completely involved in everything. Yet another is all about Italian country wood-fired pizza, and making limoncello cream from scratch! During the week, you will also make fresh pecorino and ricotta cheese, and even distill a batch of Grappa in a cellar.

Depending on the week you come, we may make fresh pappardelle pasta with home-made fennel-ragu sauce, home-made ravioli, panzanella, tiramisu, panna cotta, beef involtini, fresh ricotta cheese, and much more. Everything is fresh from the garden, or locally sourced from friends.

For those would rather eat than cook, there is always something to entertain you. All of the classes take place at a beautiful 18th-century country villa. Take control of the 90-bottle wine rack, try a sampling of the countless homemade liqueurs in the cellar, relax, take a stroll, or just enjoy the wonderful Italian countryside. Whether you are cooking or not, the time you spend during the cooking classes is always a highlight.

What you will be cooking

Class #1 - 5-course Sunday family lunch - honoring traditional Italian cooking

At Villa Eddarella Cooking Classes in Soriano, recipes and menus rotate. Depending on which week you come, our Sunday Family-Meals will be one of the following:

Menu 1: Tuscan Panzanella, ravioli - from scratch with home-made ricotta & lemon, Tuscan roasted chicken (made in a wood-fired oven, Tuscan roasted potatoes (made in a wood-fired oven), and a special recipe for tiramisu
Menu 2: Farro salad, papparedelle pasta w/ fennel ragu made from scratch, Tuscan roasted chicken (made in a wood-fired oven, Tuscan roasted potatoes (made in a wood-fired oven) and a special recipe for tiramisu

As an addition to the scheduled classes, during this week you will be visited by a local shepherd who will need your help to make fresh Ricotta and Pecorino cheese. You fire up the cauldron and stir the pot as you learn how to make these regional specialties. The Ricotta or Pecorino cheese you have been using this week was made like this with guests. As you make it, you will have the chance to taste this fresher-than-fresh, just-made ricotta cheese with a sourced honey made by friends. It is truly sensational!

Class #2 - 5-courses - regional Italian classics and grappa making

The second cooking class features more regional favorites. Today's class, you'll be cooking one of the following menus:

Menu 1: Pancetta and stracchino cheese bruschetta, gnocchi made from scratch with sorrentina sauce, saltimbocca alla romana, sautéed zucchini or spinach from own garden, and panna cotta with berry sauce (or wine sauce in season)

Menu 2: Sausage and stracchino cheese bruschetta, eggplant parmesan, amatriciana polpette (meatballs), sautéed zucchini or spinach from own garden, and ricotta and vin santo tarts

While everything is going on in the kitchen, those who want to help are welcome to come down to our cellar, where your host will be distilling a batch of Grappa today in the copper still, a nearly lost art in Italy. You will learn the whole process, and take part as much as you like. Drink the grappa straight from the still, and try some barrel-aged grappa, as well as the many grappa-based liqueurs that they concoct here with their rappa, including their own Amaretto, Coffee liqueur, Walnut liqueur, Jasmine-Lavender liqueur, and a notoriously famous concoction called "Inferno," as well as many others.

Class #3 - party at the villa

Tonight is not so much a cooking class, but a series of events leading up to a wonderful dinner party. You will have music and dancing... and lots of wine flowing for those that want to simply relax and have a good time. In the meantime, you will be cooking up "who knows what?" for dinner in the kitchen, and all are welcome to join in. You will also be making "Nellina," a chocolate hazelnut cream (Yes, the homemade cream that Nutella is based on), made with hazelnuts right from the property. You will be sure to leave enough for Nutella-Ricotta pizza the following day!

Dinner tonight will be family-style tapas plates along with everything prepared today, which you are encouraged to help with, as a family!

Class #4 - traditional wood-fired oven-baked pizza and limoncello cream

Class 4 is a traditional pizza night at the villa! You will prepare the dough together, as well as all of the toppings as the 500-year-old wood-fired brick oven is fired up! Each guest will have the chance to make their own individual pizza with toppings of your choice. Additionally, you will be making a batch of limoncello cream tonight, and you will have a bottle to take home with you! (Yes, you will be drinking it, too)

In addition to individual pizzas, it's a regional and Roman tradition to make pan-pizza, so you'll help Carla prepare several types of them such as margherita pizza, sausage & porcini mushroom pizza, caramelized onion pizza, cherry tomato pizza, zucchini flower and cream pizza. Even a dessert pizza made with the fresh ricotta cheese you've made and the homemade, Nutella-style, hazelnut and chocolate spread you made together.

Detailed itinerary

Day 1: Arrivals and welcome dinner

Private transfer after you arrive at either Rome FCO airport or Orte train station. You will be provided with a scheduled shuttle from either arrival point. Once in Soriano, your home base for the week, you will be accompanied to your accommodations, where you can unwind, relax, and enjoy some downtime before you begin the week. Or explore the town!

You will meet for a hosted orientation to get to know one another and talk about the week ahead over some wine, snacks, and gelato. Then you will do a little shopping for the cooking class in the morning. Enjoy a full-course, special menu traditional welcome dinner tonight!

Day 2: Cooking class and excursion to Orvieto

Start your day with an Italian breakfast at your leisure at a local café and pastry shop. Full-course cooking class at a renovated 18th country villa. Learn to make authentic Italian Classics like bruschetta, gnocchi, fire-roasted Tuscan chicken, and tiramisu. Pecorino and Ricotta cheese making with a local shepherd. Dine al fresco on the delicious meal you made. Take a luxury coach ride to Orvieto after. Start with a guided visit to the amazing 14th-century Gothic cathedral. Enjoy some time for shopping and exploring the narrow streets of this historic hilltop Umbrian town. Enjoy a full-course dinner at a local trattoria tonight.

Day 3: Full Day Excursion to Tuscany

Enjoy an Italian breakfast at your leisure at a local café and pastry shop. Take a luxury coach ride to beautiful Pienza with gorgeous valley views and wonderful Pecorino cheese! Exclusive wine tasting and lunch with the winemakers at their Vino Nobile vineyards in Montepulciano. Visit the workshop at a local coppersmith in the historical center of Montepulciano. Tour the amazing cellars of the historic Vino Nobile cantina in Montepulciano and enjoy a wine tasting there. Tonight's dinner will be at a local osteria in Soriano.

Day 4: Cooking class and excursion to Viterbo, “The City of Popes”

Enjoy an Italian breakfast at your leisure at a local café and pastry shop. Take a full-course cooking class at a renovated 18th country villa. Make pasta or eggplant parmesan from scratch, saltimbocca or polpette di amatriciana, ricotta, and vin santo tart. Go on a luxury coach excursion to the historical center of Viterbo, known for its beautiful fountains and Papal Palace. Walk and shop amongst the locals on the corso of this hidden gem of a town in Alto Lazio. Dinner is in a unique and private setting, hosted by one of your chef instructors!

Day 5: Full-day excursion to Tuscany by luxury coach

Enjoy an Italian breakfast at your leisure at a local café and pastry shop. Go truffle hunting or join a honey harvest in the Tuscan countryside. Then, indulge in an exclusive cellar visit, wine tasting, and lunch al fresco with the winemakers at the vineyards of their small-production Brunello winery. Today, you will also get to stroll through the meandering streets of the historical center of Montalcino. Dinner tonight will be a truly unique dining experience at a historic castle and still the home of a Tuscan duchess of royal descent.

Day 6: Luxury coach to Assisi, Deruta, and a private party!

Enjoy an Italian breakfast at your leisure at a local café and pastry shop. Start the day with a visit and instruction at a generations-old and famous Deruta pottery workshop. Then, try your hand at the potters-wheel. They have an incredible showroom as well! Enjoy an amazing lunch at a countryside villa and restaurant featuring the famous cuisine from the region of Emilia Romagna, where prosciutto di parma, parmesan cheese, mortadella, lasagna, and pasta bolognese all come from!

Visit the historical center of Assisi, home of St. Francis, The Patron Saint of Italy. Marvel at the beautiful architecture of this incredible town that features the truly spectacular Basilica of St. Francis. Unwind, relax, and enjoy the night while you wine and dine at the villa where you will have your cooking classes. Be ready for a specially-prepared dinner and evening hosted by your chef instructors!

Day 7: Olive oil mill visit - sacred woods and pizza night!

Enjoy an Italian breakfast at your leisure at a local café and pastry shop. You will start your day with a guided visit through a very special outdoor “museum” called Monster Park or The Sacred Wood. Discover the wonders of truly remarkable 500-year-old sculptors carved out of the natural rock. You will not believe what you will see!

One of the highlights of the week will be the tour of a 100-year-old, family-run, traditional cold-press extra virgin olive oil mill and winery. You will have a fabulous tasting and lunch with the family in the garden terrace of the mill. Pizza night at the villa! Make your own pizza from scratch and bake them in the wood-fired oven. A fun and festive evening to cap off an incredible week making new friends while having the vacation of a lifetime!

Day 8: Departure day

Sadly, the vacation week is over. Enjoy an Italian breakfast at the café and pastry shop before you leave. There will be a scheduled shuttle by luxury coach to the Orte train station for departures no earlier than 7 a.m. The scheduled shuttle to Rome Fiumicino (FCO) airport in time for departures no earlier than 10:30 a.m.

Culture Discovery Vacations hope that you will remember this week with fond and long-lasting memories, while hoping to see you again!

Note

Itinerary is subject to change. This is a base itinerary, which is subject to minor changes before the vacation begins. Changes may be reorganization of days due to closure and festivals, changes due to weather, or seasonal changes.

Included excursions

When not cooking, you will be heading out on some truly incredible excursions. You will visit some amazing wineries, including small family-run places where you will meet the owners and dine with them. You will have lunch in Tuscan vineyards and visit a wine cellar that is widely considered to be the most beautiful cellar in the world. You will have lunch at a small home-based olive mill that makes arguably, the best Extra-Virgin Umbrian Olive Oil you will ever have! You will visit a generations-old, operational Deruta ceramics factory where you try your hand at the potter's wheel. You will see many other beautiful-beyond-description Italian gems such as Assisi, Orvieto, Pienza, and more.

Cities and villages you will visit

Tuscany

In Tuscany, you will visit the villages of Montalcino, Montepulciano, and Pienza, plus the border town of Proceno. You will visit small family-run wineries and go on a truffle hunt before having an amazing home-made lunch in Montalcino at the home of our dear friend (and Brunello Winemaker), and on another day, you will visit Montepulciano, visit an artisan coppersmith, the most beautiful wine cellar in the world, and lunch in the vineyard of dear friends that produce an incredible Vino Nobile, weather permitting.

Umbria: The Green Heart of Italy

Umbria...Figuratively and literally, sits in Tuscany's shadow, yet evokes emotions of what Tuscany was like before all of the tourists arrived. The journey to Umbria will bring you to some incredible towns with unforgettable experiences. One of the true gems and remarkable places in all of Italy is the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi. You will have plenty of time to stroll through the picturesque walkways in this beautiful, historical town and marvel in the magnificence of the basilica.

When you go to Deruta, you will have an exclusive experience at the factory and showroom of a family-run ceramics maker. You can take your turn at the potter's wheel at this generations-old Italian ceramics factory. Deruta is known around the world as home to some of Italy's most iconic and recognized designs.

One of Umbria's most beautiful towns is Orvieto. Along with the Renaissance-inspired interior of its magnificent Cathedral, the remarkable, gold-laden facade is recognized as one of the most beautiful examples of Gothic design and architecture in the world. You will have a fantastic visit with time for shopping in this historic town.

Alto Lazio: The Northern Roman Territories

There are many of Central Italy's hidden treasures in the area of Alto Lazio - locally known as Tuscia. This is a mostly Roman area, yet borders parts of Umbria and Tuscany and has influences from all three regions. The home base of Soriano nel Cimino which lies in the foothills above the Tiber Valley, was a strategic outpost beginning in Etruscan times and over the years has built a very storied history.

In Proceno, which sits right at the border of Tuscany and Lazio, we visit an ancient castle with a private tour hosted by a friend, the Duchess of the castle, followed by a lovely dinner either in her home or on the grounds of their beautiful estate that they have converted into a breathtaking outdoor restaurant venue.

You will visit the beautifully preserved medieval quarters of the City of Popes in Viterbo, which was also a historic seat of the Vatican. You will also spend a fantastic day at a winery and olive oil mill in the rolling hills of Castiglione in Teverina.

Another local gem is the "Monster Park" in Bomarzo. These are massive 16th-century gardens that were built by the prince of the castle that overshadowed it in the 16th century after his wife (granddaughter of Pope Alexander VI's infamous mistress) passed away. Designed by Michelangelo's student, who also designed the Tivoli Gardens, this park is thought to have been something of a theme park of its time, with massive statues of dragons and ogres, an ancient leaning house, an echo chamber, and much more. Some believe he was attempting to create the 8th wonder of the world, while others believe he was trying to convey the pain he felt after losing his wife to visitors. Whatever the true story is, this is one of the most underrated sites in all of Italy.

Location

Twenty minutes off the main highway that leads from Rome to Florence lies the hilltop hamlet of Soriano nel Cimino. Nestled in the majestic Cimini Mountains and above the Tiber River Valley, Soriano has incredible beauty and charm, a place where you can still experience real, authentic Italian life.

During your stay in Soriano, you will mingle with the locals. Shop at specialty grocers as well as cheese and butcher shops that have been family-run for generations. Nearly all of what they offer is locally sourced. Like Pecorino and Ricotta, Porchetta, and other cured meats. This is classic Italy at its finest. Here, you will find travelers, but not tourists in this charming village with a medieval quarter lying below the centuries-old Orsini Castle. This is truly a hidden gem in Central Italy.

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Food

True farm-to-table, truly organic

Soriano is home-based for CDV, and the kitchen at the villa in Soriano is the centerpiece for everything that CDV does. This shows in all of the ingredients used for the cooking here. Every vegetable that they have growing in their garden outside the villa is used in the cooking classes. The olive oil comes from the olive trees growing right outside, and is milled at an olive mill you visit this week. The hazelnuts are from their own hazelnut trees just outside the villa. The tomato sauce they use is all from jars that they prepare each year right here with their own tomatoes.

The food and wine

Italians love their food. And why wouldn't they? It's delicious! They love it too and so much of what they do revolves around meal planning! They are talking about lunch at breakfast and then talking about dinner during lunch! One thing you never hear during one of these vacation weeks is, "I'm hungry" - What we do hear is..."I can't eat another bite!" But they still find some room!

The wine is always flowing at lunch and dinner. CDV takes a lot of pride in making sure that they are pairing the right dish with one of the fantastic local wines. Everyone has their preferences. Find out which ones you like best!

Additionally, the meals at the cooking classes are not little "learn to make pasta" classes like many others. Instead, the classes are traditional Italian 'Sunday Family Meals'... Some are 5 courses, all done to the max. Other classes highlight Italian desserts and pizza!

When the week is over, you will have experienced the real Italy that few tourists have ever experienced. You will have made new friends, and you will have learned why Italian culture is so amazing... because you will have lived it.

At home with the locals

Home cooking...Away from home. Welcome to the Real Italy. Several of your meals will be home-cooked, home-served. That is, you are dining with local residents in their homes, villas or "taverne", truly sharing in their lives, and being part of everyday family life in an Italian village.

It doesn't stop there. Each morning you have a traditional Italian breakfast of Cappuccino and Pastries in the main piazza with the locals, you will be welcomed with friendly smiles and a Buongiorno from the baristas. Don't be surprised when they know your specialty drink or pastry by the next day!

Your daily encounters with locals will leave a lasting impression not only on yourselves but also on the locals as they really love guests and the interaction that takes place. They are as genuine as it comes and you will feel it from the moment you arrive until the time to say goodbye.

It's not just in town where you will have this opportunity. Down at the villa, there are visitors who come often to join for lunch or pizza night. When you go to the wineries and the olive mill, you are at their personal homes and not some touristy stop where mainstream tour companies go.

This will most-likely be unlike anything you have experienced when traveling. You are invited into people's homes and lives and will be welcomed in as if you have known them for years.

The following meals are included:

Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Drinks

The following drinks are included:

Water
Coffee
Tea
Alcoholic beverages

The following dietary requirement(s) are served and/or catered for:

Gluten Free
Organic
Regular (typically includes meat and fish)
Seafood
Lactose Free
Whole food

If you have special dietary requirements it's a good idea to communicate it to the organiser when making a reservation

What's included

Welcome package
Apron and recipe pamphlet
3 fully hands-on cooking classes featuring regional cuisine
Locally-sourced ingredients
Exclusive Tuscan winery tours and tastings
Lunch in a Tuscan vineyard
Historic olive oil mill tour - tasting and lunch in a garden terrace
Pizza and cheese making class
Trips to Assisi - Orvieto - Pienza - Montalcino - Montepulciano
7 breakfasts, 7 dinners, 6 lunches, including select wines
7 nights accommodation
Airport and train station shuttle

What's not included

Airfare or other transportation prior or after this vacation
Incidentals or other personal purchases, souvenirs, gifts, etc.
Things done outside the group or out of the programed itinerary, including time on your own
Food, meals, or beverages outside of what is scheduled on the itinerary (it is very doubtful that you will be hungry at all during the week!)
Private transportation

How to get there

Recommended Airports

FCO

Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport

68 km

Transfer included

Driving directions

If you will have a rental car, getting to Soriano is extremely easy. The village is about 1.5 hours north of Rome and 2.5 hours south of Florence, just 15 minutes off of Italy's main A1 Autostrada (Expressway).

If you will not have a car, and cannot make one of included shuttles, Culture Discovery Vacations are always happy to recommend a private driver. A private driver is an extra cost and not included in your vacation package.

Arrival by airplane

There will be a complimentary scheduled shuttle service from Rome Fiumicino (FCO) airport leaving no later than 11.30 a.m. on the day your vacation begins. The drive to Soriano is approximately 1.5 hours.

Arrival by train

There is also a complimentary scheduled shuttle service from the Orte train station leaving no later than 2 p.m. on the day your vacation begins. The drive to Soriano is approximately 25 minutes.

Airport: Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport Airport transfer included: Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport No additional charges. You can request this in the next step.

Cancellation Policy

A reservation requires a deposit of 10% of the total price.
The deposit is non-refundable, if the booking is cancelled.
The rest of the payment should be paid 90 days before arrival.

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