Is Wine, Cooking and Castles in Barolo & Roero For Me?

Is Wine, Cooking and Castles in Barolo & Roero For Me?

1. Your Disposition - Our vacations are focused on having a good time with new friends. Everything we do revolves around that. People seeking a self-centered vacation might reconsider. Our groups tend to span all ages, men & women, singles & couples... everyone is welcome, and when our guests come ready to embrace a new culture, look forward to trying new things, and interact with other guests, it is always amazing. Even the way our guests see us is important. If you see us as "providers of a service", you may reconsider our trips. We bring you into our family and become part of the group with you... as though you are visiting friends and family. If you are able to be in this frame of mind, our trips will be like nothing you have ever experienced, but if you are looking for a more detached relationship with us, our trips may not be for you.
2. This is vacation highly focused on fine wine, but if you are a "wine snob," this may not be for you - Yes, that was a loaded statement, we know. To be clear, there will be a great deal of incredible wines all week. We will actually drink more than 60 different labels throughout the week! But if you are looking to visit the Gaia, Ceretto or Fontanafredda cellars, that's not going to happen. If you want to know that Barolo or Barbaresco has 98 points in Wine Spectator, that is not going to happen. Those are massive producers that sell in terms of millions of bottles per year, and have massive corporate structures and marketing departments to create their image. We avoid these at all costs, and build relationships with small and unknown producers, where the winemaker is at the table with us sharing his or her passion. They don't have the budget or production to distribute to tens of thousands of stores and be considered in Wine Spectator. Their wine is absolutely as good, if not significantly better than many of those others, and is is made with their heart. Additionally, we are all about relationships and real family hospitality. The corporate wineries have "wine tasting departments," and that is just not us. We strictly seek out winemakers that not only make some of the best wine in the world, but have salt of the earth personalities. Because of this, it is also important that our guests are looking for exactly this kind of experience.
3. Be Ready to Embrace the Culture - Our trips focus on bringing you into the true culture of the place, but some guests want to see it, but not live it. We embrace the culture and do things the way locals do, which may or may not be what you are looking for. This includes little things like not having cappuccino with our meals (Italians only have cappuccino as a breakfast beverage), not having bacon and eggs for breakfast (Italians have coffee or tea and pastries), or larger things, like the fact that we have our dinners after 8:00 PM, like the Italians do. Every step of the way we adapt to the local culture, rather than asking the local culture to adapt to us. This also tends to make us much more welcome guests than other groups!
4. Physical Intensity - You by no means need to be athletic for this vacation, but you must be able to handle some level of physical exertion. A good rule to follow would be to ask yourself if you can do three flights of stairs, then continue walking without needing to sit down for a while. Or, if you can walk up to 2 miles per day.
5. Age Concerns - We have had guests as old as 90 years old with no problems whatsoever. Age is not a limiting factor, so long as you are in good physical condition with no health problems that exertion would complicate.
6. Altitude - This general area is roughly 600 feet in altitude (190 meters). The highest altitude of the week will be 5,000 feet (1,500 meters) on the day we go to the alps.
7. Walking & Bus Time - In Italy, walking is always a larger concern than it probably is back home. This is because the towns are ancient, and much is closed to vehicle traffic. Some guests are also concerned about how much time they will spend in a bus. While we are in a very central area, we try to go to some of the most interesting places. Some days will have more travel time, and some very little.

Total Walking & Bus Time for the Week

• Total Walking All Week: ~4 miles (6.5 km)
  This is the total for the entire week, not per day.
• Total Time in Bus All Week: ~10 hours
  This is the total for the entire week, not per day, and does not include transfers at beginning and end of the week, which are two hours each way.

Detail Day By Day:

While at the Villa
The Villa's parking area where the van picks us up and drops us off is right in front of the entrance. Very little walking is needed here. Note that there are stairs to reach the second floor rooms.

Special Needs we can (and cannot) cater to in Chianti