Emilia Romagna Cheese tour

Olive oil and wine hiking

Two days traditional Emilia tour

On this tour we can go further than on a one-day trip: we will reach Giuseppe Verdi's lands and the production area of Culatello.

We’ll make an early morning start by car to visit a producer of Parmesan cheese and discover all the stages of its production, from the arrival of the milk to the creation of the cheese itself. At the end of the visit we’ll be able to sample their products.

The tour continues with a visit to a ham producer near Langhirano, where we’ll be able to see the complete process that the leg of pork undergoes from its arrival through all the various stages of maturing which we’ll be able to assess during the visit.

After the visit we’ll be able to enjoy a hearty, traditional lunch, with all the company’s products and homemade cakes. Alternatively you can choose to have lunch in a nearby winery where, after the visit, we will taste their wines and the traditional pasta of the area.

After lunch we will continue our tour to Felino, famous for the production of salami, where we can visit a traditional producer.

In the afternoon we will be in Parma, a magnificent ducal town, full of art and history. We will have dinner and stay overnight in the surrounding countryside. The area is rich in both traditional and Michelin starred restaurants, the choice will be left to the customer's preferences.

The next morning we depart toward the Polesine Parmense area, stopping at Giuseppe Verdi’s home in Busseto, or at the Rocca di Soragna or at the castle of Roccabianca, depending on your preferences. Upon our arrival in Polesine we will visit one of the most distinctive producers of Culatello of the area, a craftsman who supplies the most famous restaurants in the world and even for Prince Charles of England. We will have lunch in their luxury restaurant and visit the impressive culatelli maturing cellars.

In the afternoon we will go back to Modena to visit a producer of Traditional Balsamic Vinegar where we will learn the history of this ancient tradition led by women, made of with patience and seasonality. During the tasting we will immediately understand the enormous difference between an industrial product and this precious craftsmanship.

The return to Bologna is scheduled for late afternoon.

Sweet Bologna

Looking for the perfect gelato

This tour can either be walking or on bike, so that we can go outside the paths.

Bologna is also the city of gelato: it is home to one of the most important ice cream production companies, Carpigiani, and for two years now has housed the Gelato Museum, located right inside the company factory, which is situated just outside Bologna.

During our tour in the city we will go in search of the best gelaterie in the city center, and we will talk about quality, ingredients, and technique. On each stop we will have a small tasting of the most famous flavors offered by that manufacturer, or you can ask for whichever flavor you like.

You will have the opportunity of finding the best hidden gelato makers in town with a passionate foodie local guide!
During our special walking tour, along with eating our 4 gelato cups, I will tell you everything about Bologna, its history, its food and its traditions.

In the afternoon, upon request, you can also visit the Carpigiani Gelato Museum, where there will be the opportunity to attend a mini course taught by a master gelato maker from the same company.

You can choose among:

. A simple museum visit and a tasting
. A 90 minute demonstration class
. A 2 and a half-hour masterclass 

Bachelorette parties (or even bachelor!)

A morning of fun with the closest friends, learning how to make fresh handmade pasta!

In ancient times, taverns were places prohibited to women, where only men went to drinking and playing cards with friends.

Over time they became places where you could have simple dishes, but now they have become increasingly sophisticated,t and some of them have even become real gourmet restaurants (like Osteria Francescana in Modena).

We will go in search of places that have remained close to how they were in the past, starting with the oldest in Italy, Osteria del Sole, where they still serve only exclusively wine and the customers bring their own food, maybe bought in the shops nearby the Medieval Market.

Our tour will also take us to the Osteria where the famous local singer Francesco Guccini used to meet with all the other Bolognese musicians.

Our trip will end with a festive lunch in an osteria!

Winery tours: Pignoletto or Lambrusco

We offer you 2 wine tours: Pignoletto in Bologna Hills and Lambrusco in the province of Modena.

The typical local wine in Bologna Hills is Pignoletto, a white wine that can be still or sparkling, a perfect choice of drink with appetizers.

The area of Colli Bolognesi has plenty of producers that we can visit and have a satisfying tasting of their excellent wines and typical food.

Our tour starts at 10am, departing from Bologna city center, to reach the wine-growing district of Colli Bolognesi, where the Pignoletto is the main vine.

We will visit two companies, where you can have a little wine tasting at each stage, to finish the morning in a third cellar where, in addition to the tasting of their wines, we will have a great lunch with our world famous local products.
The tour is led by an AIS sommelier and provides private shuttles.

In the area of Modena, instead, we are in the realm of the Lambrusco, with its three traditional varieties Sorbara, Grasparossa and Salamino. We can even find some cellars that make a local version of champagne.

As for the Pignoletto, we will visit two companies where you can have a little wine tasting at each stage, to finish the morning in a third cellar where, in addition to the tasting of their wines, we will have a great lunch with our world famous local products.
Even in this case, the tour is guided by a professional sommelier that will lead you to the best cellars of the area.

Romagna between land and sea

Romagna is a world apart, split between land and sea, and has excellent food products of every kind...

The first thing that comes to mind is the piadina, the fish, and the homemade pasta eaten in excellent family run restaurants. Olive oil from Brisighella, formaggio di fossa (cheese matured in pits), raviggiolo cheese, and sweet sea salt from Cervia, local shallots, and many different types of long forgotten fruit from Casola Valsenio.

The best wine is Sangiovese and there is also Pagadebit, Trebbiano and Bursòn.

We can visit Cervia rich with salt marshes and beaches, Rimini full of Roman ruins and the castles, Brisighella, a charming little town with a covered road called Via degli Asini, or we can even go to Sogliano sul Rubicone for the opening of the pits, enjoying the wonderful pecorino cheese.

The tour can be tailored to suit the individual requests and interests of the participants who can choose between land and sea.

Exclusive mortadella tour

Emilia, Land of Motors

A special tour for motor sport and gourmet enthusiasts

For history and motor sport enthusiasts, we have a tour to the Motor Valley that should not be missed, where both high-powered cars and motor cycles are manufactured.

There is a long tradition of motor sports In Emilia Romagna, where we can find car manufacturers such as Ferrari (we can visit both the Museum and the Drake house), Lamborghini, Maserati, Dallara, Pagani, Zonda and also Ducati, for diehard bikers.

We can visit all of these companies’ museums. Some of them are open to public, others are private collections which only open for us upon request.

Of course these visits can also be accompanied by different types of tastings, especially balsamic vinegar, Lambrusco or Parmigiano, according to the area.

Between Modena and Parma: Parmigiano, Prosciutto di Modena and Traditional balsamic vinegar

This is our most popular tour during which you can visit the producers of the best typical products of the Region

We’ll have an early morning start by private car to visit a producer of Parmigiano Reggiano where we have the rare opportunity to see how the cheese is made, from the arrival of milk to the production of the big cheese wheels.
We will also visit their storage facilities that houses over a dozen of different cheeses and will then have a tasting.

The tour will continue with a visit to a traditional balsamic vinegar producer and we will have lunch there, where we can try balsamic on all the dishes we taste, from appetizers to risotto to the cakes. Then we will visit a small Modena prosciutto factory, which is very similar to Parma, where we will see the complete process that a pork leg undergoes from its arrival through all the various stages of maturation and will have a tasting. (Don't forget to take a jacket with you because inside is 0°c) We will be back around 4pm.

The province of Bologna: Dozza, the Regional Wine Cellar and other cellars

This is an half day tour.

In the morning we leave for Dozza, a small hill town characterized by a fascinating ancient fortress.

The town’s most outstanding feature are the walls of the houses, which are decorated with paintings by artists from all over the world.

After a short visit of to this small town we’ll make a stop at the Emilia Romagna Regional Wine Cellars, housed right inside this fortress. The Enoteca brings together all the wines of our region and upon request we can taste some of them, accompanied by some of the typical food products.

The morning ends with a visit to a renowned local producer, where we will discover their great wines and have a light lunch during the tasting.

Chocolate and Coffee Tour in the heart of Bologna

An interesting and energizing tour in the center of Bologna!