Italy Cooking, Food, Culinary and Wine Vacations

Italy Food and Wine Vacations

Italy is all about food, wine, friends and family.

When people ask us to best describe the difference between American and Italian cultures, I often put it this way:

The average American wakes up each morning, and their first thoughts are: What will I do to make money today, how much will I make, and how will I spend it?

The average Italian wakes up each morning, and their first thoughts are: What will I eat today, where will I eat it, and with whom? 

With that in mind, those that vacation to Italy primarily to see famous sites are missing out on what makes Italy, Italy!  

When you close your eyes and dream of Italy, you probably picture an elderly Tuscan Nonna making pasta from scratch. Or you picture some people at a sight you imagine, in a cafe drinking a glass of wine while having a snack. Every time, the actual focus is the food and wine, not the place or monument. Those sights and monuments are important, of course. But they are actually the backdrop that completes the picture.

The reality is that to truly experience Italy, it starts at the table, and works outward from there.

We lived in multiple countries and 3 continents for decades, and saw how most visitors focused on the sights. But when friends and family spent time with us, we focused on the culture. Our friends, favorite places to eat, cooking together in our kitchen and sharing a wonderful meal, and if we went to a winery or olive oil mill, it was always that dear friend of ours, not the famous ones that tour buses line up in front of. Every time, people would tell me the absolute best part of their vacation in Italy was the time they spent with me.  

18 years ago, we opened Culture Discovery Vacations, with the goal to give that gift to people that were not our friends and family, yet. To give them an authentic, local experience. The family feel, the true sense of friendship.

It started as a small venture with just a few tours around Tuscany, but our model was so successful that we have replicated it in eight more locations throughout Italy, and have begun expanding the concept into other countries as well.  

There are many food, wine and cooking vacations in Italy that have attempted to emulate us, but none have fully grasped the “secret sauce” that has made us the true leader in immersive tourism in Italy.

Here are just a few of the cooking and culinary vacations we offer in Italy:

All vacations are small groups with 20 or fewer people:

Cooking in Paradise on the Amalfi Coast of Italy

Seven days away from the crowds on the Amalfi coast, based in a breathtaking private villa overlooking the coastline and the village of Atrani. We are hosted by a local family, with a week of amazing food, hands on cooking classes, and visits to local producers, markets, and some sightseeing highlights like Capri, Positano, Amalfi and Pompeii.

Wine & Cooking Under the Tuscan & Umbrian Sun

Our original, based in a tiny castle-topped town near the Tuscany, Umbria and Lazio border. All guests stay in their own private medieval village homes where the locals live, have breakfast in the town cafe with the locals, and become part of Italian village life. We do cooking classes focusing on Tuscan food at the breathtaking 18th century family villa with views to die for, shop at the local markets, and do sightseeing to Assisi, Deruta, Orvieto, wineries in Tuscany, and olive oil mill in Umbria, and even a wonderful dinner in a castle with a countess.

Cooking & Adventure on the Islands of Sicily

On the tiny island of Favignana, off of the west coast of Sicily, we live the island life, staying on a beautiful peninsula with 180 degree views. We’ll cook local Sicilian fare together, go fishing in the middle of the night with a local fisherman, harvest salt in Trapani, visit local wineries, make cheese with the locals, swim the pristine turquoise waters, visit the little known Marettimo island of Grottoes, and much more.

Culinary Treasures of Bologna, Venice, Michelin Stars & Exotic Cars

Italy's food capital and motor city, a 7 day vacation based in Bologna with cooking classes with a local family, visits to small, artisan producers of Balsamic vinegar in Modena, a day behind the scenes in Venice, making Parmigiano cheese in Parma, a Prosciutto maker, and much more.

Sicily, The Motherland - Wine, Cooking, Culture & Adventure

A 12 day vacation, circling Sicily from Taormina, to Mt Etna, Catania, Siracusa, Ragusa, Agrigento, Trapani, Marsala and Palermo.  All along with local hands on cooking.

Wine, Cooking and Castles in Barolo & Roero

For the true lovers of wine, North-Western Italy's Langhe valley is home to some of the best wines in the world. again, we get to know the locals, and focus on cooking and wineries that you have never heard of!

Wine & Cooking in the Heart of Chianti and Florence, Tuscany

In the hills of Chianti, Tuscany we hot some of the classics like Florence and Siena, while settling into local life in a small Tuscan hilltown. As always, we are cooking while we discover.