Food & Wine

Are you interested in taking a cooking class or going wine tasting during your custom vacation? Cartolina Tours arranges cooking classes and wine tasting excursions throughout Europe.

We are foodies ourselves and delight in sharing our love of cuisine and wines with our clients. From custom winery visits to wine bar walks we can structure an itinerary that will find you trying both famous wines and some little known gems. We are passionate about cooking and offer restaurant recommendations, tasting notes, wine pairing meals, plus tastings of artisan cheeses, vinegars and olive oils.

Here's a sampling of what we offer in some of our most popular regions:

Amalfi Coast, Capri and the Bay of Naples

Cooking and Wine Tasting: Cartolina Tours has partnered with Mamma Agata to offer cooking classes, wine tastings and special Saturday country evening dinners in the beautiful hilltown of Ravello. Start your evening off with Prosecco on the terrace overlooking the entire bay. Between the experience of Mamma Agata, starting her cooking career at the age of thirteen, her daugher Chiara, a wonderful hostess and dear friend, and Gennaro, a professional wine sommelier, you will have a wonderful experience and leave Italy having made new friends for life.
Pizza class in Naples: Learn from the experts. This is a fun activity to do with kids and leads to a delicious meal.
Birthday lunch or dinner on the isle of Capri: For a special day you'll have a very special meal. Imagine a sumptuous array of seafood served with cold white wine next to the lapping waves of the Mediterranean. A birthday to remember!

Rome

Cooking Class: Italian Gourmet is our colleague in Rome. With the help of chef and cookbook author, Diane Seed, you can navigate your way through the food markets of Rome. We also offer balsamic vinegar and olive oil tasting/education as well as cooking classes and gourmet dinners prepared for you in her fabulous 17th century palazzo.
Wine Tasting: Cartolina Tours has developed relationships with sommeliers from some of Rome's wonderful enotecas and can arrange a private wine tasting for you and your group.
Walk, Drink, Learn: Discover some of Italy's hidden wines in this three-hour stroll of traditional enoteche (wine bars) located around the Campo di Fiori. In the company of a trained sommelier, you will sample both Italian wines and Italian wine-bar culture.

Florence

Cooking Class: Our chef in Florence is a cookbook author, TV food show host and was trained at Cordon Bleu. She will lead you through the San Lorenzo food market before taking you to her home to create a wonderful feast.
Insider's Florentine Lunch: Dine in the home of a young chef. You'll not only get to know his home cooking but also spend time relaxing in his home. A real treat! Great food and a warm and wonderful experience!

Tuscany

Cooking Class: After being wisked off to Tuscany, clients arrive at the estate of a breathtaking Renaissance villa. You will visit century-old cellars where olive oil and wine are still made the old fashioned way. A farmer will offer you a generous snack of locally produced fresh bread, olive oil and wine. After a wine tasting, you start our hands-on lesson and prepare homemade ravioli and tagliatelle, from scratch. Then the guide-chef will set the table and serve antipasti and other local treats, so you can sit down to enjoy the fruits of your labor. After lunch, you can relax on the lawn, chat at the table while having espresso the Italian way, and sample dessert wines.
Wine Tasting: Our sommelier in Tuscany can pick you up from your hotel in Florence or any location in Tuscany and take you for a day of wine tasting and village visits. Sample the Chianti Classico Riserva and Supertuscan wines or the Brunello di Montalcino and Nobile di Montepulciano wines. You can also make your own olive oil or go truffle hunting.

Venice

Cooking Class: Spend a day learning about traditional Venetian cuisine. You will learn about and learn to prepare the traditional dishes of Venice. These include: Sopressa, the local salami, seasonal vegetables, sweet and sour dishes of Arabic influence like the celebrated Sarde in saor, Baccalà alla vicentina, Scandinavian cod baked in a milk and anchovies sauce, and regional cookies like the Zaeti, with corn meal and raisins. You will prepare dishes with Cartolina Tours expert cook Mariagrazie in her Palazzo apartment near the Rialto market. The irresistible lunch that you’ve created will be served in the large dining room of this authentic Venetian home. A memorable day in Venice, indeed never to be forgotten!
Wine Tasting: In the city of Venice wine is definitely more popular than water. In fact, an average of 50,000 glasses of wine are served every day in local wine bars. Our wine sommileir will ask you about your sensations and impressions about wine. She will help you to discover the true spirit of the land it comes from, give you information about its history and its organic characteristics, and its versatility in matching local food. Each tasting will take place in a typical “Osteria” or wine bar chosen for the quality of the wines and food products.