From the marvels of Rome to the hidden gems of Umbria and Tuscany, tasting the best wines and visiting medieval towns and untouched hamlets.
On request | Min 2 – Max 12 participants
Umbria is a stunningly beautiful wine region and offers scenery of gentle rolling hills covered in vineyards, medieval towns and untouched hamlets. The best thing about Umbria is despite all it has to offer culturally and gastronomically, the region is still a relative secret, is unspoiled and pristine, and doesn’t receive the tourist hordes. You will visit flagship wine estates and fantastic small wineries , you will taste reds, whites, sparklers and sweeties. While wine tasting is a major focus on this tour, you will also enjoy art and culture with some private guided walking tours, and of course some unforgettable meals.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Experience the best of Rome
- Taste the best wines of Umbria and Montalcino , visit the places where these wines are produced
- Visit Orvieto, Perugia, Assisi, Spello , Pienza & Montalcino, gems rich in history
- Meet the epic winemakers who have created spectacular wineries
- Experience a true truffle hunt in the woods
- Learn how to prepare traditional Umbria dishes
- Visit the historic Perugina factory and taste the legendary Chocolate
Price includes:
- All excursions as featured
- 7 nights accommodation, 4 star hotels, breakfast included
- Private transfers and excursions by minivan as per program, including airport transfers
- English-speaking private guides as per program
- 2 dinners, 5 lunches
- 7 winery visits/tastings
- 1 cooking class
- Visit of Perugina Chocolate factory and chocolate tasting
- Truffle hunt and lunch
- Reservation to skip the line and tickets for Vatican, Sistine Chapel and Colosseum
Price per person sharing double room from € 2,320
Price per person in single room from € 2,370
THE PROGRAM
Day 1 Rome
Arrival to Rome, meet our English speaking assistant at the airport, private transfer to the 4 star hotel, Piazza del Popolo area.
Day 2 Rome, Colosseum, the Vatican and Sistine Chapel
Meet your guide at the hotel, private transfer by bus to the Vatican for a guided visit of Sistine Chapel, St Peter’s Basilica and Vatican Museums. Time at leisure for lunch.
Then you will reach together with your guide the Forum, Capitoline Hill, Colosseum for a private guided visit. Welcome dinner in a gourmet restaurant, walking distance from your hotel.
Day 3 Umbria – Orvieto
Pick up from the hotel in Rome, today we will travel to Umbria region. We will stop on the way in Orvieto, where we will meet our guide for a half day guided visit of the Gothic Cathedral, one of the most important medieval buildings in Italy, containing the Last Judgment fresco by Fra’ Angelico and Luca Signorelli, the historic centre and a visit to the Etruscan underground tunnels, and lunch in a gourmet restaurant (wine included).
Then we will visit a superb boutique winery producing wines that are extremely smooth and with a strong identity.
The experience, led by the winery’s Wine Master, includes a visit to the modern area of the Estate, a walk through the vineyards into the ancient caves, where the sparkling wine traditional method is made and the French oak barrels are kept.
The wine tasting will take place in the old Medieval Chapel of the estate where the Wine Master will guide you through three tastings, specially chosen for you, together with a selection of local delicacies.
Accommodation at the 4 star hotel in the countryside around Perugia, the Relais rises like a jewel between the sweet Umbrian hills in front of Assisi and Perugia. Although protected by the most enchanting scenery, the hotel is a short distance from Umbria’s most beautiful destinations. The hotel features also a private SPA.
Dinner on your own.
Day 4 Perugia, Torgiano Wines & Perugina chocolate factory (B, L)
Pick up from the hotel and transfer to Perugia historic centre, where you will meet your guide for a half day guided visit. The capital of Umbria was founded by the Etruscans in the VII century b.C. The untouched historical centre is one of the largest and interesting in Italy. From the ancient Etruscan remains to the Middle-Ages, from Renaissance to Baroque, every period produced absolute masterpieces. This beautiful town will surprise and charm you with unexpected sites and views.
Lunch will be in a gourmet restaurant in Perugia.
In the early afternoon you will visit Perugina factory and chocolate tasting.
The heart of Italian chocolate beats in a fascinating place rich in history. It is the Casa del Cioccolato Perugina, a unique place in the world, a few kilometers from the center of Perugia, where anyone can breathe chocolate emotions and make a real journey. A place in which to live a unique experience and discover all the secrets of “food for the gods”.
Then you will reach the winery in Torgiano, visit of the wine Museum of the winery and wine tasting will follow. This Umbria’s premier winery is credited with earning the region its initial fame, thanks to its pioneering wines and insatiable drive to promote Umbrian wine and culture. The owners were also innovators in wine tourism in Italy, founding a wine museum.
Transfer back to the hotel.
Day 5 Truffle hunt & Assisi, Spello (B, L)
In the morning we will reach the truffle hunter and his dogs in the countryside around Città di Castello for a truffle hunt in the woods. This is a unique and evocative experience. The truffle hunters and dogs will lead you on a fascinating expedition through the woods, hunting truffles! After an optional visit to a medieval hamlet you will join the cook in kitchen just to see how to prepare the day’s harvest and enjoy your lunch.
Lunch including truffle at the farm will follow.
In the afternoon we will reach Assisi where Saint Francis of Assisi is buried in the monumental Basilica di San Francesco. With your private art guide, you will tour this wonderful village, seeing Giotto’s frescoes in the basilica, as well as the Romanesque-Gothic San Pietro church and the Piazza del Comune. On your way back to Perugia, we will stop in the perfect little medieval hamlet of Spello.
Transfer back to the hotel and dinner on your own.
Day 6 Cooking class & Montefalco wineries (B, L)
In the morning pick up from the hotel and transfer to a fine Country House on the outskirts of Foligno, fully immersed in an authentic Italian life-style, where we will have a hands on cooking class with the chef. During the private cooking class you will the chef will guide you through the preparation of a traditional Italian meal. A real feast consisting in 2 appetizers, 2 pasta dishes, 1 second course and a light dessert. Seasonal produce will determine the menu we shall prepare together: you will only use fresh products, directly from the House vegetable garden or from the local markets. Besides a generous vegetable garden from which the owners pick the freshest produce such as zucchini, tomatoes, carrots and many others, they also grow a myriad of herbs.
Lunch will follow.
In the afternoon we will visit the first winery in Montefalco, one of the finest in Italy. With an unshakable commitment to the terroir and to old-fashioned techniques, the wine estate is known for its expressive, organic wines. At this winery much of the work (including all of the harvesting) done by hand (like in the majority of Italian wineries) and without the aid of modern technology. The wines, made organically without pesticides or herbicides, are robust and complex considered to be the best garage winery in Umbria, producing cult wines for collectors, tasting of these famous organic wines will follow.
We will visit then another flagship winery that produces top-quality elegant wines that uniquely express the terroir of Montefalco and it’s the leader in the production of Sagrantino di Montefalco wine. While this winery is firmly rooted in tradition, such as using the native variety of grape, they also focus on innovation and are constantly thriving to improve production methods both in the vineyard and the cellar. We will tour the vineyards, the winery and Barricaia (barrel room).
Transfer back to the hotel and dinner on your own.
Day 7 Montalcino village, Tuscany (B, L, D)
Pick up from the hotel, we will drive to Tuscany, Montalcino area. Today we will taste some of the most famous Italian wines: Brunello and Rosso Montalcino wines. Your will first reach Montalcino. This ancient village is best known for its red Brunello di Montalcino wines, made with Sangiovese Grosso grapes. You will have a private visit to a Brunello producer, a spectacular, family-run winery producing stellar wines. This winery is one of the highest-altitude estates in Tuscany and this high altitude – which ensures cool nights – leaves an unmistakable footprint on the wines made here, creating a full bouquet that’s hard to find elsewhere in Montalcino. The iconic Brunello di Montalcino wine was the first in Italy to receive the most prestigious wine classification, D.O.C.G. (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita – controlled and guaranteed from the origin), and along with other wines has been consistently praised in international media.
At the winery you will tour the cellars, the vineyards and take in the gorgeous views and taste Brunello “Riserva” and also Rosso di Montalcino. Lunch will be at a Trattoria in Montalcino .
In the afternoon you will visit a superb boutique winery producing Brunello. The owner is not only the founder, he is the winemaker and manages also all the work carried out in the vineyards and his attentive supervision and direct involvement in selecting the grapes prior to and during the manual harvest are what make this winery one of the leaders in Montalcino with the production of first prize award winning Brunello di Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino Riserva and Rosso di Montalcino. Wine tasting and visit of the estate.
Then we will reach Pienza, the wonderful Renaissance jewel, where we will have a truly special Farewell dinner (wine included) will be in a truly special place: a restaurant located in a the Convent’s hanging garden, a large terrace that opens out over the Val d’Orcia. Tables are set under the linden trees, surrounded by the fragrant scents of the garden where there are still plants and herbs grown by the monks.
Transfer back to the hotel.
Day 8 Departure
Returning to Rome, private transfer to Airport.
To find out how we can create your dream holiday or event in Italy, please do contact us at info@stendhaltours.it