Travel to Italy like a LocalPlanting grapes, wine tasting and regional cooking

Most likely you have drank wine.

Less likely you have harvested grapes.

Very unlikely you have planted grape vines. Well here is your chance:

Join a great VoomaGo Italian experience and adventure to Puglia, Tuscany and Emilia Romagna from 13-27th March 2016 centered on planting Primitivo grapes, wine and olive oil tasting, and regional gastronomy. Designed to spend quality time with locals who will share with you their passion and craft while you participate in a variety of experiences and stay in beautiful unique accommodations with character and history. Special guest executive chef, sommelier and winemaker Pietro Buttitta will join us to share his passions with us.

Week 1 March 13-19 includes

Seven nights in the Southern Italy region of Puglia. Our homebase will be in Antimo’s hometown, Manduria, from where we will visit the surrounding areas and countryside.

  • Planting grapes – Participate and learn from Locals the art of planting grapes and all the critical aspects of growing Primitivo grapes (Zinfandel) in Puglia
  • Cooking with Locals and American chef Pietro Buttitta
  • The secrets of Pizza Making with Leonardo and Gianna
  • Wine pairing, wine tasting, and olive oil tasting
  • Spend quality time with locals who will share with you their passion and craft
  • Shopping for seasonal food at the local farmers market
  • Art, architecture, and ancient history

Week 2 - March 20-27 includes

Three nights in Florence and four nights in Modena with experiences in Reggio Emilia and Bologna:

  • Walking off the beaten path in Florence with Marta
  • Visit to Castello del Trebbio with wine tasting and food
  • Visit to San Gimignano (Optional)
  • Shopping at the Mercato Storico in Bologna and making tortellini and tagliatelle with executive chefs Emanuele Franchini and Pietro Buttitta
  • The ancient tradition of Balsamic Vinegar making in a private villa outside Modena
  • The making of Parmesan Cheese in Reggio Emilia

 

The North and South of Italy

Southern Italy

Our first week will be spent in Puglia—the heel of the boot surrounded by the Adriatic sea to the east and by the Ionic sea to the south. With its ancient history steeped in Byzantine and Greco-Roman influences, this part of Italy has a unique culture, a vast culinary tradition, and some of the best wines in the world. Olive trees and grapes as far as the eye can see, lively small towns with cobblestone piazzas spread over a rather flat territory with charming hill tops, hundreds of miles of beautiful, emerald-green coastline, and warm, welcoming locals. Puglia will feel like a different country.

 

Northern Italy

Our second week will be spent between Tuscany and Emilia Romagna. A fast train connects Firenze with Bologna in 35 minutes. The charm of Florence and its Renaissance history, the Chianti, and the picturesque hills surrounding the area will accompany our first three days before heading north. Emilia Romagna is home to the finest Italian foods such as Parmesan cheese, Mortadella, Tortellini, Tagliatelle, Lambrusco, Balsamic Vinegar, and more. At the end of this week, you will be exposed to a great variety of wines and culinary traditions you’ll be begging to stay for.

Who We'll Be Meeting

Tonino and Vincenzo will be leading the planting of the Primitivo grapes. Vincenzo is a third-generation vineyard keeper who has kept the tradition of raising grapes and making wine alive for decades as a humble and knowledgeable farmer.

Pietro Buttitta is an executive chef, sommelier, and winemaker in California, and will be joining as a special guest.  To read more about Pietro, visit his website here.

Claudio Sammarco is a sommelier and winemaker who recently received a gold medal in Los Angeles with his Primitivo Cum Clavis aged in barrels made from California Oak.

Gianna and Leonardo, a husband-and-wife team, will be hosting a great Italian pizza making experience in their beautiful, private home.

Maria Giovanna Cimino is a dedicated, passionate artist who has spent all her life painting on canvas, restoring antique furnitures, frescoes and in particular painting landscape on ceramics.

Emanuele and Elena are another husband-and-wife team and dear friends of Antimo’s brother in Bologna. Together they are masters of handmade pasta, and supply some of the best restaurants in the city with their tortellini, tagliatelle, tortelloni, and much more.

ACCOMMODATIONS

The first stop in Puglia for seven days will be at Masseria Sorani, a restored farm from the 18th century surrounded by 35 hectares of ancient olive trees. The rooms all come furnished with artisanal local pieces in what used to be hay storage, a stall, or other rooms of the old farm.

In Florence, you will spend three nights at the Hotel Pitti Palace al Ponte Vecchio, where Antimo worked over 20 years ago. Situated in the heart of Florence, the hotel has a beautiful view of the city and is walking distance from everywhere.

In Modena, you will spend four nights at Opera02, a beautiful agritourism and acetaia (balsamic vinegar) farm surrounded by spectacular grounds and hilltops. A peaceful, relaxing location with only 7 rooms, each with a balcony overlooking Lambrusco grapes.

Travel like a Local in Italy

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Join us March 13—27th 

Join a great VoomaGo Italian experience and adventure to Puglia, Tuscany and Emilia Romagna from 13-27th March 2016 centered on planting Primitivo grapes, wine and olive oil tasting, and regional gastronomy.

Both weeks
Individuals: $5,250 (A value of ~$375 a day)
Couples: $6,500 (A value of~ $465 a day)
Week one
Individuals: $2,750 (A value of ~$393 a day)
Couples: $3,650 (A value of~ $520 a day)
Week Two
Individuals: $3,250 (A value of ~$464 a day)
Couples: $4,150 (A value of~ $593 a day)

For more details email or connect with VoomaGo by calling Antimo 503 720 6214

A non-refundable deposit of $500 (applicable to your balance) is due by December 2nd, 2015

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