dedicated to Bacchus, the Roman god of wine and good times, is designed for those a little more interested in wineries and restaurant tables than the kitchen stove. You’ll enjoy in-depth wine tours, meet the winemakers and learn about their approach to winemaking, visit wineries from small ‘garage’ wineries to sophisticated producers. You’ll visit unique enotecas, innovative osterias and restaurants, specialty shops and markets. Includes two half-days in the Abbondanza Toscana kitchen learning to make the dishes you enjoyed during the week.
This program is available on request to groups. A one week stay is suggested, but varying lengths are possible.
Tuscan Gardens and Farmhouse Cooking, takes you from the campo (the fields) for wild herbs and greens, to humble ortos (vegetable and fruit gardens) to fantastic Renaissance and Baroque gardens, with roses, camellias, lemon groves, grottoes, follies and water tricks, and then into the kitchen to use the fresh vegetables, wild greens and herbs so famous in Tuscan cooking. You’ll have a guided tour of a local vivaio (nursery) and consult with the owner about trying some Tuscan plants in your garden, and you are invited to tour a "typical" villa garden and enjoy lunch on their terrazzo.
This program is available on request to groups. A one week stay is suggested, but varying lengths are possible.
Wining and Dining in Tuscany with the Italian Underground. Following up his 2007 intensive exploration of the Maremma, the birthplace of the SuperTuscan, Ashton Durrett of the Italian Underground Restaurant in Glenwood Springs, CO turns his attention to Tuscany's hill towns to explore the wines of Montalcino (Brunello), Montepulciano and Cortona. You have special invitations from winemakers, tour their cellars, taste their wines, and dine at their tables. And together, you’ll search out new "finds" for the cellar of Ashton’s Italian restaurant, a recognized stop for vinophiles. Other highlights include wine-tasting in caves under the city of Lucca, a visit to an olive mill, making your own limoncello, and excursions to fish markets, salami and prosciutto makers and cheese-tastings. Dates: May 10 - 17, 2008
Painting in Tuscany with Sandra Kaplan. Sandra is a long-time and much favored instructor at the Art Students League in Denver, CO, with classes in Acrylic Painting and Creative Expression through Painting, Drawing, and Mixed Media. Her favorite subjects – flowers, clouds and weather patterns - exhibit a new dimension in Tuscany with its mystical valleys, spring "gloriousity" of flowers and gorgeous gardens. Her ten-day course concentrates on Lucca and its countryside and includes gardens and villas, rustic wineries and olive mills, unrestored ruins, majestic cypress trees, Renaissance walls and Medieval town centers . . . plus two evening cooking classes. Visit her website at http://www.sandrakaplan.com. Dates: May 17 - 27, 2008
A Gastronomic Tour with Angelo Prosperi-Porta, award-winning chef and co-owner of the luxurious Cooper’s Cove Guesthouse on the Sooke waterfront on Vancouver Island, BC. Prosperi-Porta offers 5-star dining, an impressive wine list, and cooking classes. His cookbook, Flavours of Coopers Cove Guesthouse, is one of the 12 cookbook finalists in the 2006 Independent Publisher Book Awards. Angelo terms his teaching style "interactive" and will lead participants through a week long cooking course that will also include cultural and wine excursions in Italy. In 2006, Angelo's book, The Flavours of Cooper's Cove Guesthouse, was one of the three finalists for both the Independent Publishers Book Awards and for the Cuisine Canada Culinary Book Awards. Dates: May 31 - June 7, 2008
Tastes of Tuscany: A Culinary Tour with Curtis Lincoln, a weeklong celebration of all things seasonal, coinciding with the Tuscan vendemmia. Curtis Lincoln, executive chef at Denver’s famous Brown Palace Hotel and Spa, invites you to join him in going to the source of Tuscany’s gastronomic excellence, to the seaside for fresh fish, to the hills for Italy’s renowned Chianina beef, to the shepherdess for fresh pecorino cheese and ricotta, and to the wine country to visit the winemakers whose wine Curtis chooses for his table at the Brown Palace. A winner of many awards, Curtis is a classically trained graduate of the Culinary Institute of America and has cooked in many critically acclaimed restaurants, including the River Café in New York, The Straight Wharf in Nantucket, an the exclusive Game Creek Club in Vail.
Dates: September 20 - 27, 2008
Opening Doors in Tuscany, a Photographic Workshop with Pat and Emi Kanan. Internationally acclaimed photographers Pat and Emi Kanan share their passion for Tuscany with enthusiastic photographers. Regardless of equipment, they assist photographers with creative experimentation. Their workshop concentrates on composition, simplicity and the ability to recognize and capture those rare moments in time. Excursions include the magnificent Cinque Terre, the charms of small corners of Lucca, a fortress town in the mountains, Baroque villas and gardens, beautifully landscaped vineyards and olive groves, and more.
Dates: September 27 - October 4, 2008
A Celebration of Slow Cuisine with Herb Gourmet Deborah Whittaker, takes you on an exploration of the "slow food" philosophy of convivial dining as Italians have been enjoying for millenia. You'll visit local farms for in-season organic produce and fresh lamb, nearby vineyards for organic wine, the neighborhood macelleria for traditional proscuitto. You'll learn how to prepare these Tuscan specialties in cooking classes with our Italian chef and with Deborah providing tips for creating the same foods at home in your own kitchen in a sustainable manner. As a culinary herbalist and health and wellness counselor, Deborah will focus on appreciating great food and the subdued pace of the Tuscan lifestyle as a vehicle to a long, robust life.
Dates: October 4 - 11, 2008
Artisan Discoveries in Tuscany: “Made in Italy." The hallmark of fine quality is never more true than during our tour of artisans in Tuscany. You are greeted by artisans who welcome you as friends into their working studios and factories as they share their entusiasmo and passione for their craft. Handmade, one-of-a-kind products are available to you, directly from the artisans who craft them. Among the many artisans, you visit Nora at her cashmere goat farm, meet Carlo who will measure your feet for customized leather shoes and boots and watch Grazia fashion exquisite embroidery on antique and handmade linens. Other artisan opportunities include ceramics, chocolates, jewelry, mixed media artists and your own artistry at making limoncello! Dates: November 1 - 8, 2008 (just in time for holiday shopping)
A Window on Tuscany, a customized week to suit your group’s special interests. A sample schedule designed for a group traveling to Tuscany in the Fall period is included in the course descriptions. This group asked for a week that would introduce them to the best of Lucca and Chianti. Available upon request to groups of eight or more.
