The Farmhouse Selva,
your home for the week Comfortable accommodations at Selva Selva's well equipped kitchen Well sharpened knives
for every purpose The Lucca hills surrounding Selva Shopping in-the-round in Lucca
where a Roman amphitheater once stood One of Lucca's historical churches

What better way to travel in Tuscany than with food and wine connoisseurs Darcy and Christopher Davies, founders of Wine Country International ® Magazine! You'll be joined by Michael Long, chef of his new restaurant Aria in Denver's Cherry Creek neighborhood, who will lead you in a series of cooking classes using the freshest local ingredients. Plus, as an internationally published travel photographer, Christopher will be providing his expertise in a series of photography lessons so that you can chronicle your experience like a professional.

Christopher and Darcy are intrepid travelers covering the globe in search of the next best cuisine and wines. With them you'll explore the up-and-coming wine region of Montescudaio (DOC and IGT) for its annual wine festival, held in a medieval village with 360° views of vineyards. You'll spend a day in the Chianti region visiting a biodynamic winery for a wine tasting, wander the charming piazza of Greve where you can shop for hand embroidered linens, ceramics, regional foods and more. On to a terra cotta manufacturer where you'll find all sizes and shapes of pots plus fanciful decorative items all crafted from the local red clays. Lunch is at a favorite restaurant overlooking the vineyards that produce the Chianti Classico wines you can enjoy with your lunch.

You'll have a guided tour of the jewel city of Lucca to learn about its history and culture, and our local guides will provide tips for the best places to shop like a local or where you can find a shaded outdoor cafe to enjoy a bit of dolce far niente (doing nothing sweetly).We'll sample Brunello wines at our favorite Lucca enoteca where the tasting room is in caves under the city. And how can a visit to Lucca, the birthplace of Puccini, be complete without a concert of his music? The concert is held in a Medieval church built on Roman ruins, portions of which are still visible. And, of course, dinner in Lucca is at a tiny restaurant that boasts an incomparable wine list.

Throughout the week we'll also be shopping the local markets with Chef Michael Long to find the freshest seasonal ingredients for his cooking classes in which everyone is invited to participate. Perhaps you'll learn new knife skills with those plump heirloom tomatoes or develop a feel for the perfect pasta dough consistency.

In Chianti we'll shop with Michael for the famous Chianina beef so prized for its flavor and tenderness. We'll visit our local shepherdess across the valley for exquisite ricotta and pecorino, and we'll make our own limoncello using lemons grown at Selva. Our friend Luigi joins us one evening to demonstrate grappa making and to test your staying power drinking the fiery and potent distillation.

One entire day is devoted to food with an early morning trip to the seaside village of Viareggio to select fish from that morning's catch. Michael's menu for that day's lesson will depend on the fishmonger's suggestions.

And what's more Italian than pizza? On Pizza Night at Selva our local baker fires up the original wood oven, and everyone "builds" their own pizza from our selection of ingredients.

More information:

You can learn more about this week-long Tuscan adventure by visiting www.vinotasting.com/tuscany or by viewing the brochure for this program. You're invited to see more of Christopher Davies' photography at www.daviesphotos.com. All photos at left © 2010 by Christopher J. Davies, all rights reserved.