Article | October, 2016
Italian Culinary Tour Vacation
Contributing Writer: Sue Ghezzi, Contributing Photographer: Andrea Hillebrand
The Food, Wine and People of Tuscany
Culinary Tour Vacation In September 2016, at a 500-year-old, privately owned villa near Florence, Italy, we experienced Tuscany through its food and people. Our base of operation was a grand villa at the end of a long dirt road lined with cypress trees. The delightful setting included fig and olive trees, a large dining patio, a smaller, pergola-covered patio for relaxing and viewing the valley below, a vegetable garden, a vineyard and an inviting pool. This being a culinary tour, our vacation included exceptional Italian meals prepared by our own Italian chef, local wines and tours of the many hill towns scattered around Tuscany. Throughout the week, as we got to know our tour guides, chefs, local shopkeepers and neighbors, we were treated to an insider’s look at the “dolce vita” in Tuscany. We knew this was the real deal when on Day Three, as we enjoyed a rustic antipasto at the home of a local winemaker, one person in our group broke into tears in memory of her Italian grandparents.
Our vacation began in Prague, from which we made an unexpected ten-hour drive to Florence when we learned our flight to Florence was canceled. Once in Florence we were picked up by Jona, who would be our van driver for the week, and taken to the villa where we met up with Robert Gaglio, of Sarasota, our host and owner of Italian Culinary Tours. Robert was joined by his chef Alesia, a young Italian woman who trained in Venice for six years and a mother-daughter kitchen staff, Maria and Diana. Our villa accommodated a total of eight guests in four separate bedrooms, each with its own bath. There were several large common areas including a room upstairs with a pool table. One of the guests, Andrea Hillebrand, a Sarasota resident and professional photographer, agreed to photograph our adventures as we explored the region. Upon arrival at the villa, we were greeted with a visually stunning feast comprised of fresh salads from local farms, as well as locally produced ham and salami, bread and other fine Italian delicacies. And this was only lunch!
After lunch, the villa guests boarded the van for a short ride to our closest neighboring town, upscale San Casciano to gather provisions – mostly desserts and bread – at Robert’s favorite bakeries. After a short walking tour of San Casciano, we returned to the villa to find that Alesia had prepared many wonderful courses of her favorite Italian dishes, including roasted rabbit and baked fish with fresh herbs from the garden. Throughout the week, Robert narrated food courses based on the book “How Italian Food Conquered the World,” and Alesia gave cooking demonstrations as she prepared dinner.
On Sunday morning, we awoke to a full breakfast prepared by Robert and Alesia, and then boarded our touring van for a drive to San Gimignano with a very informative guide named Elena. San Gimignano is a Tuscan hill town with great walking, shopping and sightseeing. On our return to the villa, we stopped at Tenuta Casanova for wine tour and lunch, comprised of local cheeses, pasta and ice cream drizzled with their own 30-yearold balsamic vinegar, all paired with Chianti Classico and Super Tuscan wines from the farm. We also enjoyed a tour of Tenuta Casanova’s balsamic vinegar aging cellar guided by the owner, a former veterinarian and businessman. Then back to the villa for another amazing dinner, including salami with fresh figs, sautéed whole shrimp and Panzanella, the tomato bread salad.
After breakfast on Monday morning, we went to MonteTorro vineyards, operated for decades by the family patriarch Giovanni and his sons. After Giovanni’s tour of the vineyards, we had brunch at the farmhouse with his whole family. Included was salami, tomato bruschetta, fresh figs, wine and biscotti and Giovanni’s private stash of Vin Santo. This was truly a special time spent with an authentic and genuinely friendly Italian family. The longer we stayed at Giovanni’s table, the more gaily he rushed to refill our wine glasses, until Robert had to call the party to order and whisk us off to our next stop, Castello di Verrazzano. This vineyard was a large producer of all varietals of Tuscan wine.
Here we enjoyed a vineyard and cellar tour and a five-course lunch with wine pairings. Afterward, we stopped to see the town of Grave, our driver Jona’s home town. That evening we savored a dinner of homemade agnolotti and tortellini at the villa. Truly a day packed with great experiences and amazing food and wine.
On Tuesday morning, we boarded the van for a trip to Robert’s favorite butcher in San Casciano to pick up Florentine steaks and other meats for an upcoming dinner at the villa. The butcher held court (and a large carving knife) as he gave us a tutorial and demonstration which was fascinating, but a bit much for the vegetarians in our group. Then we were off to the charming walled village of Monte Reggioni, where we ate porcini pizza and wine at the village’s small restaurant and bar. The next stop was the medieval town of Siena, including a tour of the famous Duomo and race track. Our tour of Siena, a center of commerce, provided an education on the history of the Tuscan region. Tuesday evening, we were invited to a traditional Tuscan dinner prepared by Robert’s neighbor, Candida. Our dinner included chicken pate, ribolini soup, chicken baked with vineyard grapes, and panna cotta. We were surrounded by the warmth of Candida’s home as we enjoyed interesting conversation with Candida about her family’s former hat-making business and her travels around the world. This was an outstanding experience.
