(Subject to change)

SUNDAY

7:15 PM – Meet in the atrium of Villa della Torre for a get-acquainted and welcome reception.

 

Dinner will be at one of the top restaurants of the Valpolicella region.

MONDAY

9:45 AM — Meet in the atrium for a tour of the Allegrini vineyards.  You will learn how Amarone is made and visit the winery.  We will have lunch at Villa della Torre and savor the specialties of the Allegrini family.

5:00 PM –Lesson #1.

TUESDAY

8:30 AM — Departure for Padova.  Tour of the food market in Piazza Erbe, in the heart of the city.  This is one of the region’s most colorful and abundant fruit and vegetable markets.

Lunch will be at one of our favorite restaurants in Verona, featuring typical Veronese cuisine.

6:00 PM — Lesson #2.

WEDNESDAY

9:15 AM —

Departure from the Villa to visit a traditional rice mill, in operation since 1648.  Here you will see how rice for risotto is processed both with modern equipment and with the original mortar and pestle system.

We will then go into Verona where we will have a guided tour of the city.  Lunch is on your own.  Transportation will be provided back to the Villa.

4:00 PM — Lesson #3.

THURSDAY

7:45 AM!! — Today we leave the Veneto to go to the region where Parmigiano-Reggiano is made.  Parmigiano-Reggiano is considered one of the world’s great table cheeses.  We will visit one of the many caseifici where it is made and aged.  We will then proceed to the banks of the Po River to see the production of culatello, a cured ham that is rarer and more precious than prosciutto.  Massimo Spigaroli, president of the consortium of culatello producers, will give us a tour of his facility, where his family has been making this ham for centuries.  Lunch will be at his restaurant, Cavallino Bianco, where we will sample the traditional dishes of the region.

We return to the Villa late in the afternoon and the evening is free. Transportation to Verona will be provided.

FRIDAY

9:15 AM — Departure from the Villa to visit a frantoio, an olive press of the area.  We will learn how olive oil is made and what makes it “extra virgin”.

Afterwards we will drive to Sirmione, a jewel of a town on the Lake of Garda.  Lunch will be at one of the finest restaurants on the lake.

6:00 PM — Lesson #4 with distribution of diplomas to the deserving.

SATURDAY

Check-out and departure.