Wine Barrel Chairs made by Whit McLeod
$129.95 each
$125 each if you buy 2
$120 each if you buy 3 or more

 

  E-mail us at beekman@conversent.net or call (201) 445-0712 for details.

 

 

Tuscany Organic Wine & Culinary Tours

Fall Trip: September 19-24, 2008

Featuring: Scansano, Massa Marittima, Island of Elba, Bolgheri, Suvereto, Sant’Angelo in Colle, Montalcino, Siena, Chianti Region

Experience a tour of Tuscany like no other with the Organic Wine Journal!  Featuring exclusive visits to top organic and biodynamic wineries, delicious meals of local specialties, tours of medieval villages and historic sites, and an exploration of the relatively undiscovered region of Maremma, the Tuscany Organic Wine & Culinary Tours offer unparalleled sights and tastes for food and wine enthusiasts.

Accompanied by the Organic Wine Journal and guided by Shop Wine & Dine local experts, travelers will enjoy a week of carefree enjoyment in gorgeous surroundings while absorbing the flavors and culture of Tuscany.  

The tour begins in Siena with visits to organic and biodynamic Chianti wineries.  We’ll also explore the ancient city’s magnificent art-filled borgos and take a half-day cooking class at a family-run school to learn the secrets of Tuscan cuisine.

  From there, the tour travels south through the most celebrated countryside in the world.  Along the way we’ll stop in the walled village of Montalcino to taste its legendary Brunello di Montalcino wine.  If our timing is right, we may catch the resident monks singing their angelic Gregorian chants at the nearby ancient abbey of Sant’Antimo, which was founded in 781 by Charles the Great.

  Our first glimpse of Maremma is Massa Marittima, where we’ll be guests at the luxurious Villa il Tesoro resort overlooking the region’s rolling hills, vineyards and ancient olive groves.

Maremma, home of the Tuscan cowboy, is characterized by lush landscapes, nature preserves, pine forests, beaches and tiny coves.  We’ll make our way through the ancient towns of Scansano, Suvereto and Sant’Angelo in Colle, which have remnants of Etruscan, Roman and Medieval cultures.  Throughout the journey, we’ll come upon vistas of the sea, which provides distinct characteristics to Maremma’s exquisite foods and highly acclaimed wines.  Tours of top Morellino, Supertuscan, Chianti and Brunello producing wineries will both delight and educate the palate.  During our visits we’ll meet with winemakers to learn their distinctive methods of natural viniculture.

We’ll savor the best of the local gastronomic specialties with meals at family-run organic farms, winemaker estates, Michelin-starred restaurants and local trattorias perched high among Etruscan ruins.  Also not to be missed is a visit to a local frantoio to taste handmade extra-virgin olive oils.

The trip will conclude with a trip to Elba Island, the breathtaking island that housed Napoleon during his exile.  Elba is a contrast of landscapes, colors and unique ecosystems with rocky cliffs, secluded coves and rugged terrain.  We’ll travel from the Porto Ferraio to the island’s secluded beaches.  Along the way we’ll visit a Slow Food seafood restaurant and a winery that produces DOC Elba Rosso, Bianco and Aleatico, a varietal found only on the island.

Superb organic and biodynamic wines, incomparable local foods, breathtaking scenery and Italian culture are the main ingredients of this unforgettable tour of Tuscany.

Per Person Cost: Fall Trip, September 19-24, 2008
Double Occupancy: $4,650
Single Occupancy: $5,440

Price includes:

  • 2 nights at the Jolly Hotel Siena located in the historic center

  • 4 nights at the Villa il Tesoro in Massa Marittima

  • All meals featuring organic foods and biodynamic wines. Choice limited to selections made by Shop Wine and Dine.

  • 2 guided walking tours.

  • 1 half-day cooking class

  • Full-day excursion on the Island of Elba

  • 2 aperitifs

  • Visit to an organic olive oil producer

  • Private bus and driver from day 2 through day 6

  • Services of a local Shop Wine and Dine tour manager

Not included:

  • Air transportation

  • Transfers to Siena and from Massa Marittima

  • Personal incidentals

  • Meals or beverages not chosen by Shop Wine and Dine

  • Tips to guides and drivers and restaurants.

Trips are presented in collaboration with Shop Wine & Dine.
For more information go to: www.organicwinejournal.com.


E-Mail: beekman@conversent.net

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