Dear lovers of the good life, of Italy, cooking and wine, welcome to Umbria! This region is famous for its wine production and it bubbles, fizzes, tingles. For many, Umbria is still an unexplored territory, and that’s why we have put together this vibrant wine tour in the green heart of Italy, so come and enjoy it and don’t hesitate to take a few bottles home with you! The particularly attractive program for an unforgettable time in Umbria is the following:

Day 1

On the day of arrival we  go in the afternoon to the Tenuta di Corbara, about 12 km southeast of Orvieto. A visit to the Castello di Corbara winery is on the program at around and the winemaker, will walk with us among the vineyards and will give us a real lesson on winery. Of course there will also be for us a wine tasting session with snacks, as an aperitif before dinner. In the  evening we will have dinner in the restaurant Il Caio. Here the “menu is à la carte” , with Umbrian specialities in combination with regional wines from the winery Castello di Corbara.

Day 2

The highlight is top chef Paolo Trippini. After breakfast  we will be busy with the first cooking class from 9:00 in the morning. We will talk about ingredients, prepare the “mise-en-place” and elaborate them so we can get started for a real Italian lunch, that we shall of course eat ourselves! Then we  plan to visit the Sagrantino wine region, in Montefalco.  here we will be at the winery of Arnaldo Caprai, one of the first and most famous producers of that beautiful bottle of Umbrian oenology. We will walk among the vineyards, then into the cellars, between barriques and steel barrels, accompanied by the wonderful stories told by knowledgeable staff. The wine tasting session takes place in a beautiful room, where we get to know the different types of Sagrantino and all the other wines they produce. If we have time, we can also visit Spello, one of the most beautiful medieval towns in all of Umbria, with its picturesque streets and buildings. The center of this city is still completely in its original state, and if we are there in May, it is possible to see the inhabitants busy preparing the Infiorata, a colourful show  held every year on Sacramental Sunday (second Sunday after Pentecost). For this day of the Blessed Sacrament, instituted by Pope Urban in 1264, the streets are decorated with coloured floral patterns. This evening we will have dinner once again in restaurant Il Caio with an “menu à la carte” consisting of  Umbrian specialties and delicious wine from the winery Castello di Corbara.

Day 3

After breakfast we’ll meet our top chef Paolo Trippini again  for the second cooking class of our trip. We are going to prepare together the menu and make fresh pasta! some main courses and a dessert. Once again we finish the cooking class by preparing our own lunch. Aferwards we have an appointment with another great main character of this beautiful wine region: Decugnano dei Barbi. It is one of the oldest wineries around the Tiber valley (Lake Corbara is a reservoir created by the construction of a huge dam on the Tiber in the 1950s, right in front of Corbara village). This winery produces top quality white wine, such as the original Orvieto Classico Superiore and a great sparkling wine, made whit the classical method, refined in the bottle inside a natural cave, at the bottom of a hill where the old buildings of the farm are located. After visiting these vineyards and wine cellars, in an old medieval church, we will have a wine tasting session with the bottles of Decugnano dei Barbi, and snacks from local producers. Today’s dinner is particularly special: we shall go to Ristorante Trippini in Civitella del Lago, the restaurant run by Trippini family  for generations and is now run by Paolo, our top chef teacher. Here we can taste his interpretation of tradition and innovation in Umbrian cuisine, a concept that started with his Maestro, the star chef Gianfranco Vissani, also from Civitella del Lago. Paolo’s creations are becoming more and more famous in the international gastronomic world, and this small village is attracting more and more visitors who come to enjoy the tastiest proposals of his restaurant in this wonderful holiday region. Every course of the dinner is served in combination with the prestigious wines of the region.

Day 4

After our last breakfast, we leave for the castle of Titignano, a great discovery in this region and a very special experience. Titignano is in fact a pearl of stone and travertine located in the emerald green of the Umbrian landscape, with an ancient and intense history. The farms of Salviano and Vaglia are part of the Titignano wine estate. Here the winegrowers produce unique quality wines with international grape varieties. Giulio Fontani, once the passionate farmer of the company, will welcome us warmly and together with him we will embark on an wonderful  journey about the production of wine and extra virgin olive (EVO) oil. He only speaks Italian but everything will be translated into Dutch and/or English. After this visit, with of course a wine tasting session and EVO oil, we will go to the restaurant in the castle, for a traditional and  unforgettable Italian lunch! A fixed menu consisting of dozens of courses, an incredible experience that will introduce us to the most authentic tradition of Umbrian cuisine, which has become famous among our travel participants who called it the Monster Lunch. For Italian culture it is a fun tradition to spend  festive Sundays here. After the Monster Lunch, there will be time to relax and possibly go for a walk in the countryside around the castle, because no doubt we will need it! Here  we say goodbye and leave for Leonardo da Vinci airport in Fiumicino, close to Rome. Along the way we will dream about the beautiful holiday we have had, the nice contacts we have built up, the delicious recipes and wines we have discovered and of course the next culinary journey where we will hopefully meet again.