Food and Wine Tours
FOOD AND WINE TOURS with the Groups Company appeal to those for whom the heart of a country and its culture is found at the table. Those for whom a hearty lunch and a lengthy evening meal are the highlights of their travels.
Some groups are well-versed in the complexities of the cuisine of a particular country and want a tour which features only the best, most prized restaurants of the region, with meals accompanied by wines of quality and distinction, A gourmet as the tour leader, and the services of a sommelier are seen as essential. Other groups may simply want to learn about the finer points of the table and see such a tour as an introduction to the appreciation of good food and fine wines, with wine-tasting a feature to introduce them to the wines of the region.
You and your group choose which style of food and wine tour you prefer.
We operate Food and Wine Tours to the following destinations:-
A typical day...
After a leisurely breakfast the group may depart for the morning tasting session. This might be a chance to visit a local vineyard, look around, ask questions, and taste the wine, or a visit to a local business to learn about, and sample, the local cheeses, for example.
Lunch will probably also be a leisurely affair, since food is the main focus of the holiday. The afternoon drive, if we are continuing on to another night stop, may well be a relatively short journey, as we allow lunch to settle. Or if we are not moving on today then a short stroll or a quiet siesta might be in order.
Dinner will usually be in a carefully chosen restaurant. Perhaps this may feature the work of a chef of note, or be set in a spectacular location, or both. Accompanied by wines suggested by the sommelier, the evening will be the major event of the day, either with menus agreed with you beforehand, with dishes chosen for you by the chef, or by the group at the time.
Tasting events, restaurants, menus will all be discussed with you in advance. The choice is yours.
Sample itineraries ...
The itineraries below are intended only to give an indication of what might be possible in a particular country, following an itinerary catering for a particular special interest.
No details of meals or accommodation are included in the itineraries as it would be your decision, at the planning stage, as to what is included. You would decide whether your tour included all meals, just Bed and Breakfast, or Bed and Breakfast plus some lunches or dinners at certain points on the itinerary. Similarly you would decide what standard of accommodation you wanted to use.
The itineraries detailed are deliberately short ones. It is intended to give a flavour, an outline, of an itinerary. If you have more time, then extra time can be built into each stop on the itinerary, and additional places of interest and overnight stops can be added. Lengthening the itinerary, to 10 days or two weeks, for example, and adding further night-stops will enrich your journey; shown below is just a brief skeletal itinerary as a basis for discussion and more detailed planning.
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Italy - 5 days 1. Fly to Venice; watertaxi transfer to hotel. Dinner a Michelin Star Restaurant. 2. Visit to Scuola Grande di San Rocco. Lunch on Giudecca; return to Venice for Dinner. 3. Visit to Doge's Palace and cathedral; tour of Rialto market. Lunch and Dinner. 4. Full day visit by water taxi to Burano, Murano and Torcello. Lunch and Dinner. 5. Visit to church of the Miracles; light lunch at restaurant frequented by Gondoliers; water taxi transfer to airport; flight to UK.
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France - 4 days1. Eurostar (or flight) to Paris; transfer to hotel; dinner. 2. Sightseeing at Sainte Chapelle; Notre Dame and Isle St Louis; brasserie lunch. Dinner. 3. Visit to Picasso Museum and the Marais quarter. Lunch. Dinner. 4. Sightseeing at Rodin Museum and Orangerie; brasserie lunch then depart for UK.
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Cuba - 5 days 1. Fly Havana. cocktails and Dinner at Hotel. 2. Havana sightseeing on foot, then lunch. Dinner then salsa at Casa de la Musica. 3. Morning sightseeing, including markets, cigar factory, museo de la revolucion. Cocktails and dinner then Cabaret Tropicana. 4. Morning sightseeing at Plaza de armas, Museo delas ciudad; lunch. Cocktails, dinner, then tango or salsa lessons at Casa del tango, followed by tango show.5. Day at Club Havana then transfer to airport and departure for UK. 6. Arrive UK.
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Italy - Tuscany - 8 days - 1. Fly Rome; transfer to Chianciano. 2. In Chianciano; olive oil tasting; afternoon and evening cookery lesson and Dinner. 3. Drive to Pienza; cheese tasting; visit Montalcino; afternoon wine-tasting and return to Chianciano. 4. Visit Montepulciano; wine-tasting; return to Chianciano for gourmet dinner. 5. Drive via Orvieto to Spoleto. 6. In Spoleto; tour. Afternoon and evening cookery lesson and Dinner. 7. Visit Perugia; return to Spoleto for Gourmet Dinner. 8. Drive to Rome for flight to UK.
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Italy - Sicily - 8 days - 1. Fly to Catania; transfer ot mount Etna. 2. Morning cookery lesson;afternoon visit to Etna and wine-tasting. Overnight at Scilio. 3. Visit Taormina for the day; return to Scilio. 4. Drive to Modica; afternoon cookery lesson. 5. Drive to Agrigento; visit Valley of the Temples; afternoon cheese-tasting. 6. Drive to Menfi; olive-oil tasting and wine-tasting. 7. Drive, with visit to Mozia island en route, to Erice. Wine-tasting and Final Dinner. 8. Drive to Palermo for flight to the UK
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Italy - Siclily - 9 days -1. Fly to Palermo. 2. Morning in Palermo; drive to Regaleali. 3. Cookery lesson and wine-tasting at Regaleali. 4. Drive to Agrigento; visit Valley of theTemples and overnight outside Agrigento. 5. Drive via Piazza Armerina to Caltagirone; continue to Siracusa and overnight on a local farm. 6. Morning visit to Siracusa; afternoon cookey lesson. 7. Drive to Catania; continue to Acireale and Acicastello before overnight in Taormina. 8. Day in Taormina. 9. Drive to Catania for flight to UK.
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Mexico - 10 days - 1. Fly to Mexico City. welcome cocktail and dinner. 2. City tour and visit markets. Light lunch. Mexican Dinner. 3. Visit Xochimilco and San Pedro Actocpan. Traditional lunch and dinner. 4. Visit herbal market; visit pyramids of Teotihuacan; local lunch and dinner. 5. Drive to Queretaro; visit vineyards and bernal. Lunch and dinner. 6. Drive to Guanajuato; visit San Miguel de Allende and Guanajuato. Dinner. 7. Drive to Guadalajara; visit Tlaquepaque and city sightseeing. Lunch and Dinner. 8. Excursion to Tequila; vbisit distillery and lunch. Return to Guadalajara; farewell dinner. 9. Depart for Mexico city and flight to UK. 10. Arrive UK.
Should the itinerary for the country of your choice not be listed above, please contact us for more information...
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