Academia Barilla Presents a Sur La Table Exclusive
Sparkling Italy: Prosciutto & Prosecco Tour
A Food and Wine Experience in Parma and the Veneto
If you love Italian food, don’t miss your opportunity to experience
two of Italy’s most treasured artisanal products, Prosciutto and Prosecco,
through the artisans who create them. Join us and be treated to a
hands-on class, demos, tastings, winery tours and some of Italy’s most
renowned restaurants, all while exploring the amazing countryside.
AcADeMIa BArilLA PReSeNtS A SuR LA TaBlE ExCLuSIvE
Sparkling Italy: Prosciutto and Prosecco Tour
Day 1
Arrive in Milan Malpensa MXP airport. Private group transfer to Parma. Check into the Grand Hotel de la Ville, the city’s only 5 star property. Located in the historic city center, this prestigious building is situated in the bustling Barilla Center, a modern urban campus designed by world-renowned architect Renzo Piano! The campus includes numerous shops, restaurants and cafes, a cinema complex and the infamous Paganini Concert Hall.
The afternoon is yours to relax or roam the city and discover Parma’s intimate charm on your own. Gather in the evening for an aperitivo, group welcome and itinerary review, followed by a light first dinner in a local trattoria/authentic pizzeria.
Day 2
After a leisurely breakfast in the hotel, you’ll walk across the piazza to Academia Barilla for a special welcoming and tour of the facility, including the Gastronomic Library, the Historic Menu Collection and a unique collection of Renaissance Food Prints, including an original Rembrandt! With over 3,000,000 recipes, this is Italy’s largest gathering of books on Italian gastronomy. After the tour, you’ll put on an apron and participate in a hands-on culinary course with our chef team! Today’s menu will highlight specialties from the Parma area, including the most famous local salumi and cheeses: Prosciutto di Parma, Culatello di Zibello, Salame di Felino and Parmigiano Reggiano. You’ll learn the secrets to some of the region’s prized handmade pastas, sauces, entrees and desserts. For lunch you’ll feast on what you’ve prepared, with local wine pairings for each course.
In the afternoon, we’ll take a guided walking tour of Parma’s winding streets and French-style Boulevards. We’ll visit the must-sees like Piazza della Repubblica, the Duomo and Baptistery, Parco Ducale, the Teatro Farnese and the Teatro Regio, and of course some of the city’s best gelaterias!
An aperitivo to stimulate the appetite will end the tour, and then we’ll find ourselves at the footsteps of a charming trattoria in the city center for a group dinner. This evening’s menu will give you a real sense of local tastes, with delicious seasonal foods and wines from the area…including a degustation of various agings of Prosciutto di Parma!
Day 3
After breakfast in the hotel, you’ll transfer by private bus to the foothills of the Apennine mountains that surround the city of Parma. It is in these foothills that the prized treasures of the city abound! First stop will be a guided visit to a caseificio, where they produce Parmigiano Reggiano, the “King of Cheeses”, every day. Having unchanged, ancient origins, Parmigiano Reggiano is produced much today the same way it was centuries ago. This dynamic step back in time will be followed by a tasting of various agings of the cheese.
Next stop will be a prosciuttificio, where Prosciutto di Parma is produced. This other “King” of the Italian Food Valley is exclusively made with top quality local pork, coarse sea salt and the briny Ligurian coastal air that blows in from just beyond the hilltops. We will end the guided production tour with an ample tasting of the sweet cured ham. With our appetites whetted, we’ll then head for lunch in a beautiful restaurant overlooking the wine producing area known as Colli di Parma (hills of Parma). On the way, we’ll stop for some photos at one of the country’s best preserved monuments, the Torrechiara Castle. This 15th century building is virtually unchanged from when local Count Pier Maria Rossi secretly built it for his beloved mistress, Bianca Pellegrini.
After lunch we’ll return to Parma for some afternoon free time. Dinner this evening will be in a rustic restaurant dedicated to another local specialty, grilled meats. (Delicious vegetarian options available as well).
Day 4
After a lazy breakfast, you’ll check out of the hotel and transfer by private bus to the charming mountain town of Valdobbiadene. This picturesque wine producing area is located just below the Alps in the Veneto region of Italy. It’s cool climate is perfect for growing the Glera grape used in Prosecco production, making it the heartland and mecca of Prosecco.
Upon arrival, we’ll stop for a first taste at a small artisan prize-winning producer in the Cartizze area, Garbara. This husband and wife team tease the town by making just 800 cases a year of their outstanding Prosecco! Cartizze is the most prized producing area for glera grapes and makes the most sought-after Prosecco in all the land; few producers are located here. We’ll have a wine tasting and light snack overlooking the rolling vineyard-covered Cartizze hills. Energetic guests can take a short climb through the vineyards to the top of the main Cartizze hill to the Osteria Senza Oste (small restaurant without hostesses) for a breathtaking view of the entire Cartizze area. Based on the honor system, this charming hut, with no proprietors or servers in sight, is stocked daily with local wines, salame, bread and cheese for public taking; they ask only that you leave a small donation behind.
Then we’ll check into our elegant hotel, immersed in the green valley with sweeping views of the vines, the renovated Hotel Vecchio Municipio. At the door of proseccoland, this charming retreat boasts a peaceful, panoramic landscape and the area’s most breathtaking sunsets, just to name a few of the perks this intimate resort offers.
This evening we’ll have an elegant dinner at Ristorante La Cima, a beautiful hillside restaurant with views of the valley. Their specialties include pit-roasted meats, homemade pastas and of course, a stunning wine list.
Day 5
Enjoy a delicious Alpine breakfast, we’ll have an exciting day of wine teaching, tasting and touring! We’ll visit 3 top producers of varying sizes to get an in-depth perspective on the different approaches, and different results, available. Our 3 award-winning Prosecco producers will include Valdo (one of the largest producers in the country), Alma Forte (an extremely small producer) and Sorelle Bronca (a medium-size producer). These diverse, prominent wineries are leading the global forefront on Prosecco making as we know it today! At our first stop, we’ll have a short class on Prosecco production and history to set the stage.
In between visits we’ll enjoy a light lunch in the heart of Valdobbiadene at Ristorante Da Ugo. Known all over the region for his inspiring seafood, chef Ugo is a master of fish. He’ll prepare a special lunch for us with table side presentation.
Hope you’ll be hungry by dinner because this evening we’re dining at Salis Cibo & Vino. This restaurant, located in the Cartizze area, is known for its food, as well as its magical atmosphere. Through a glass wall overlooking the Cartizze hills, we’ll dine on homemade local specialties with utmost respect for the land and seasonality. Of course we’ll end with a very local, well loved, dessert born in this area, Tiramisu.
Day 6
After breakfast we’ll board the coach to visit the charming neighboring town of Asolo for some last-minute shopping and a city stroll.
Our leisurely lunch will be at the city’s TOP rated restaurant, Locanda Baggio da Nino. Specializing in local mountain food, we’ll enjoy roasted meats, local vegetables and a splendid selection of Veneto wines.
Upon returning to the hotel you can take a dip in the pool or a nap in the garden.
This evening will be our farewell dinner, and a very special one at that! We’ll be guests at Ristorante La Pergola. Perched high on a hill top surrounded by vines, this restaurant boasts 50 types of homemade spirits and grappa at any given moment! Some of their creative recipes include varieties like green walnut, coconut, asparagus, fennel and cumin seed!
Our special themed dinner will highlight the regional specialties in season and of course, a selection of spirits to wash them all down!
Day 7
Early morning departure to Venice airport for flights to the USA or to continue the excitement with the Exquisite Tastes of Venice Tour.
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