Slow Food & Wine Tour from Piedmont to the Italian Riviera

Arrive at Milan Malpensa airport and meet your driver for a private transfer to Piedmont. Check in to your stylish and authentic accommodations in the Langhe Hills, Agriturismo Speziale Wine Resort near the village of Verduno in Barolo.

Take some time to relax and settle in this afternoon. Tonight, enjoy your first taste of Piedmontese cuisine with a tasting dinner based on local specialties from the Langhe.

Enjoy a homemade breakfast of local products of the Langhe region this morning before setting out for a full day exploring the vineyards and villages of Barolo and Barbaresco. Today you have a private chauffeur at your disposal for morning and afternoon private wine tastings in two of Italy’s most renown wine regions.

Your private wine tour in Piedmont begins today in Barolo, the most sought-after appellation for the Nebbiolo grape in northwest Italy. Much like in Burgundy, winemaking in Barolo is a family affair in which the same family that tends the vines also makes the wine. And like Burgundy, Barolo’s hilly landscape creates many variations in altitude, exposure, and soil drainage such that the best winemakers successfully capture the essence of very specific vineyards. This morning you’ll visit one of our carefully selected family winemakers to discover their unique terroir and enjoy a private Barolo wine tasting in their cellar.

With your private chauffeur at your disposal today, enjoy time exploring quaint villages in the Barolo and Barbaresco hills at your own pace, with lunch included for you at either one of our selected wineries or in a village restaurant.  Later in the afternoon, your private wine tour continues to the smaller Barbaresco appellation, with less than half as many hectares under vine as Barolo.  Barbaresco’s hilly landscape is similar, but its more nutrient rich soil translates into less tannic wines ready to drink a bit younger. While Nebbiolo stars in Barbaresco, you will also find Piedmont red grapes Dolcetto and Barbera and white Moscato, as well as several indigenous varietals. Enjoy a private Barbaresco wine tasting at one of our favorite producers before returning to your accommodations at Agriturismo Speziale Wine Resort for time to relax before dinner in one of Verduno’s local restaurants.

Begin another delicious day with fresh homemade breakfast in the garden of Agriturismo Speziale Wine Resort before you set out for a day discovering some of Piedmont’s famed Slow Food specialties. Your private food and wine tour in Piedmont today explores the lesser-known Alta Langa near the border with Liguria. With fewer vineyards than the Langhe Hills around Alba, La Morra, and Barolo, Alta Langa’s landscape is more hazel tree forests and green meadows. Here, discover Piedmont’s famous cheese and hazelnuts.

For your first Slow Food experience in the Alta Langa today, visit a small cheese producer in the Murazzano DOP. Take a private guided visit of their artisanal production and the cheese cave, tasting a selection of local cheeses made mostly from the milk of sheep and cows that graze the Alta Langa’s meadows. Your visit will end with a light lunch featuring both their artisanal cheeses and other products of Alta Langa.

After your slow food lunch, take a stroll in the pretty village of Bossolasco, known as the Paese delle Rose or the Village of Roses. Bossolasco’s quant streets are full of roses and make for a relaxing walk and many colorful photo ops in this peaceful country village. From Bossolasco, your private food tour in Piedmont continues with a visit to an organic hazelnut producer. During this farm-to-table Slow Food experience, take a walk through the hazelnut groves to reach an idyllic stone farmhouse in the hazel tree woods where you’ll taste fresh toasted hazelnuts and a selection of hazelnut delicacies.

Savor your final breakfast in Piedmont this morning before departing the Langhe hills for the seaside Ligurian coast. Your private food and wine tour in Italy transitions today from Piedmont to the glamorous Italian Riviera. Reach Santa Margherita Ligure by private transfer and check-in to your elegant accommodations at the 4-star Mediterraneo Emotional Hotel & Spa.

After settling into Santa Margherita, take the short ferry ride to chic seaside Portofino. Free time to stroll the beautiful streets and boutiques of Portofino, which has been a fashionable seaside town on the Italian Riviera since the 19th century. We have arranged a special aperitivo for you in Portofino later this afternoon. Enjoy a taste of Portofino’s flavor and lifestyle before returning by ferry to Santa Margherita.

The evening is free for dinner in one of Santa Margherita’s excellent restaurants.

After breakfast in the hotel’s winter garden, this morning you’ll discover authentic Ligurian flavors and culinary traditions during a private guided food tour in Santa Margherita and in the nearby fishing village Camogli.

Start your Santa Margherita food tour with an Italian cappuccino or an espresso in a local family shop steeped in history. Entering this beautiful store is like visiting a temple to Italian gastronomy. Admire the artful local products before continuing down Santa Margherita’s narrow alleys past elegant painted palaces until your next stop in a typical Ligurian trattoria. Here you’ll enjoy a tasting of local Ligurian culinary specialties: extra virgin olive oil, fresh basil pesto with toasted bruschette, and typical Ligurian vegetable pies.

10 minutes from Santa Margherita by train, your private food tour continues to the adorable hamlet of Camogli, one of the most picturesque fishing villages in the Italian Riviera. With your private guide, hear colorful stories of seafaring life in Camogli as you stroll along its spectacular promenade to its picturesque harbor. Camogli is the birthplace of Ligurian focaccia. Visit the most famous bakery in Camogli where you’ll observe bakers making fresh focaccia, then take a seat at a table overlooking the tiny harbor to taste several varieties of freshly baked focaccia while sipping a glass of Ligurian wine.

The afternoon is free to explore Camogli further on your own or return to Santa Margherita with your guide. Relax at the private beach, take treatments at the hotel spa, or go for a little shopping.

This morning after a fresh homemade breakfast at Mediterraneo Emotional Hotel & Spa, take the train from Santa Margherita to the marvelous port city of Genoa (tickets provided). Meet your guide on arrival at Genoa train station and begin exploring the labyrinth of Genoa’s medieval old town, one of the largest and best preserved in Europe. Discover authentic artisan shops passed down through generations during this immersion into authentic Genovese culture and flavors.

Your food tour in Genoa culminates with a private hands-on lesson that will teach you how to make authentic Genovese pesto in a very special setting. Our local culinary expert welcomes you into a private noble palace where you’ll learn to make pesto from scratch, in the traditional way with marble mortar, wooden pestle, and fresh Genovese basil. Enjoy the fruits of your labor along with fresh pasta, additional Genovese specialties, and Ligurian wine in this exclusive setting.

After your private pesto class, the rest of the afternoon is free to visit more of Genoa on your own.  Like Venice, for centuries Genoa was one of the most powerful maritime Republics in Europe and this history leaves a rich legacy in the city’s art and architecture. Return to Santa Margherita by train at your leisure (tickets provided).

Today you’ll explore the scenic Cinque Terre as well as a lesser-visited side of these famous UNESCO World Heritage villages — Cinque Terre’s spectacular vineyards. After a delicious breakfast at Mediterraneo Emotional Hotel & Spa, take the scenic train ride to the Cinque Terre (tickets provided). Meet your guide at the station on arrival to begin your full-day private guided tour of the Cinque Terre villages and vineyards.

Accompanied by your expert local guide, discover the picturesque fishing villages of the Cinque Terre with their tiny piazzas, quaint alleys, brightly colored houses, and stunning panoramas of the Ligurian Sea. At lunchtime, your guide will suggest a nice authentic local restaurant where you can rest your feet while enjoying the vistas.

The famous Cinque Terre landscape exists because of superhuman efforts over centuries, going back to the Middle Ages, to construct seaside farming terraces for cultivating grapes, olives, and other crops. These terraces literally support the incredibly steep, rocky slopes that have made the Cinque Terre such a famous destination. Today, over 90% of these agricultural terraces have been abandoned, leaving the land vulnerable to collapse. Only about 30 small winemakers remain in the Cinque Terre. Supporting their efforts is a way to literally preserve the land itself.

Feel the true soul of the land during your private Cinque Terre wine tasting today. Meet a well-known local winemaker who will welcome you to his small production vineyard, tell you the story behind his heroic wines and show you the ancient cellars. Then enjoy a private tasting of Cinque Terre wines, paired with traditional local appetizers, in a breathtaking setting overlooking the sea.

Return to Santa Margherita by train (tickets provided) after a day discovering the real Cinque Terre.

Savor your final morning in Santa Margherita before checking out from Mediterraneo Emotional Hotel & Spa and departing by train from Santa Margherita to your next destination in Italy, or by private transfer to Milan Malpensa or Rome Fiumicino airports. We will coordinate your departure logistics based on your needs.