By: Stacey Johnston, a Marvelous Mouse Travels agent
I was one of four travel agents from Marvelous Mouse Travels that were chosen to experience a weeklong food and wine tour of Italy. All I can say is: Amazing!
Our trip began in Rome, where we started the first night with a small group walking food tour. This is a great way to get to see the city and learn some of the history of Rome and the food we all love. The food tour guides are locals that have both a passion for the city and a passion for food and wine. We experienced thirteen tastings at seven different restaurants ranging from street vendors to exclusive hard to get into restaurants. At the first restaurant, we had a pairing of wine that was specifically selected for each of the dishes we were tasting. We started with a traditional mozzarella and tomato dish and focaccia served family style. We then descended into the underground wine cellars that dated back to the Roman era. Of course, a food tour in Rome will definitely include pizza and gelato.
After two nights in Rome, we then ventured into the beautiful landscapes of Tuscany where we experienced one of the most magnificent wine tastings I have ever participated in at a vineyard set amongst the hills of Tuscany. The Tenuta Torciano vineyard had several different grape varietals that are specially formulated for this region, including Chianti and Pinot Grigio. During the wine tasting, we learned how to properly hold a wine glass, transferring it from your left to right hand, how to properly swirl the wine to release the aroma, how to properly smell the wine, and then finally how to properly taste the wine. We also took notes on whether the wine paired better with cheese, vegetables, meats, pasta, or bread and oil. This place is so beautiful it would serve well as the background for the most fabulous wedding!
Our next four nights we stayed at a gorgeous villa dating back to the 1300s. Here at the Villa Casagrande Hotel, we had a fun hands-on cooking experience with Mamma Anna, who is the head chef for the villa. Everything here is made fresh to order! We learned how to make fresh pasta and how to roll it flat into lasagna. We then made lasagna with several layers of thin pasta, eggplant parmigiana, bruschetta pomodoro and we finished with learning how to make almond biscotti. We then enjoyed the fruits of our labor with a beautiful lunch paired with Chardonnay and a Chianti.
We spent a day in Florence where we learned about the fabulous history during a walking tour during which we enjoyed a fantastic sandwich from a street vendor made from just baked focaccia layered with buffalo mozzarella, Pomodoro, basil, and pistachio cream. And don’t forget to ask about the wine windows in Florence!
We even went into Venice for the day where we ate lunch alongside a canal watching the gondoliers drift past. Here in the heart of Venice the flavors are all about the sea with selections of seafood pasta, grilled fish, and Prosecco.
Finally, we had another wine tasting event in Tuscany where we were able to tour the wine cellar that housed the steel drums needed for the process of fermentation as well as the biggest oak barrels I have ever seen. We learned more about the process of making the wine at this tasting event as well as more about the different varietals available in the Tuscany region.
All in all, this was one of the most amazing trips I have ever been on. We learned to savor the vista views in Tuscany, savor the historic sites of Rome and Florence, and savor the flavors of the various Italian regions we were fortunate enough to experience. If you would like to have a customized Italian food and wine tour, send us a message at Marvelous Mouse Travels!
