Archive for 'Food and Wine'

If you’re going to be in Tuscany for a week and you have a passion for cooking, I strongly suggest you book a one day cooking class. You’ll be amazed at how much you can learn in a day from a professional chef. If you’re travelling with a group, a cooking class can be a great group participation event.

In the coming weeks we'll highlight some cooking class locations throughout Tuscany. Today I'd like to introduce the cooking classes held at Ristorante Malborghetto located in Gaiole in Chianti. The lessons are held at the restaurant in the morning before lunch service starts. The meals you cook are based on the wishes of the participants, each meal includes four courses, an appetizer, homemade pasta, main course and dessert. The participants share the food they cook along with a selected wine for each course.

Today we'd like to introduce you to a language, cultural and culinary school located in Siena, Italy called Dante Alighieri.  They have submitted this article as an introduction to the courses they offer.  If you're considering a cooking or language class while visiting Tuscany, we highly recommend you read this article to learn more about Danta Alighieri.

Wine and Italy go hand in hand, with some of the world's most famous elixirs being manufactured here. From Chianti to Prosecco, there is no shortage of delicious wines to try. One of the most interesting is the vino novello in Italy, which is the new wine. There are numerous festivals and feasts throughout Italy, all in celebration of the new wine harvest. This fresh, young red wine is the first wine combing from the grape harvest, with an intense color and fragrance. It is served during the first part of November, and can be made from any local grapes. Some popular grapes that are used include Merlot, Nero d'Avola, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Sangiovese, for example.

There are several rules that pertain to the vino novello in Italy. For example, it is only allowed to be sold after November 6th of the year of the grape harvest, after midnight.

If you'd like to learn about the tradition of wine making and you love Italian wine, you should come here and enjoy this magical time of the year. Wine tourism during the harvest season is a splendid experience you shouldn't miss!

A lot of cities and towns all around Italy held fairs and “sagre” to celebrate the grapes and wine.

If you are planning to come in Tuscany on the last week of September, we suggest you to make a day trip to the town of Impruneta and take part to the oldest harvest festival in the area, “La Festa dell’Uva”.

The beautiful city of Florence is the birth place of renaissance, and is often referred to as the Athens of the Middle Ages. This capital of the Tuscany region of Italy attracts millions of tourists each year, and was ranked as the world’s 72^nd most visited place in the year 2009. The city is also known as the fashion capital of Italy. Apart from the beautiful locales, grand history and friendly people, the city of Florence is also famous for the Firenze Gelato festival each year.

The Firenze Gelato festival will be held from May 23^rd to May 27^th, 2012 as part of the Florence International Handicrafts Trade Fair. The visitors can experience the process of ice cream making, and taste amazing craft gelato, made with authentic Italian ingredients.

You can also try fantastic cocktails with gelato. Bartenders can provide alcoholic and non-alcoholic versions of the drinks to provide a refreshing and delightful break to people of all ages. Ice cream lovers can taste and buy hundreds of varieties of 100 percent Italian products.

While there is no concrete evidence to prove it, most historians believe that the ice cream originated in Florence during the Renaissance period. Ruggeri, an amateur cook and poultry seller, won the food competition organized by the Lords of Florence in the early sixteenth century. The fame and taste of the recipe spread across the Tuscany area, and the modern ice cream desserts were born. Painter and sculptor Bernardo Buontalenti surprised his guests at the inaugural banquet of the Fortress of Belvedere with his own ice cream recipe in1559.