Itinerary

Day One

Benvenuti! Our 11-day journey starts at 8:30 a.m. at the Hotel Grand Duca di York in Milan, Italy. We highly recommend that our travelers arrive one or two days prior to the start of the trip to get acclimated and enjoy the sights and cultural experiences of Milan.

We embark on a half-day walking-and-tasting tour of six of the city’s foremost food purveyors in the old central Brera district. Energized by the hustle and bustle of Italy’s culture and fashion capital, we savor the best of such local and regional specialties as mondeghili (Milanese meatballs), culatello (the king of cured meats), as well as classic, traditional cannoli and gelati for dessert.

After the tour, we depart Milan for a scenic drive south to the Langhe region and a lovely village called Castiglione Tinella. This UNESCO World Heritage Site – a short distance from Alba and Asti – is home to the lovely Albergo Castiglione Langhe boutique-style hotel/villa. Surrounded by world-class vineyards, this will be our private home for the week. Each room is air conditioned with a private bath. We’ll settle in, enjoy an aperitivo in the vineyard, tour the wine cellar and experience a welcome dinner prepared by our chefs Sylvain Jamois and Angelica Golten, paired with wines hand-selected by our host Massimo Ponte, winemaker and hotel owner.

Day Two

After breakfast, enjoy a “Giro D’Italia” (Tour of Italy) cheese tasting, presented by cheese expert Emilio Mignucci and held in our private courtyard. The Giro will feature a selection of the region’s best known and finest artisan cheeses designed to set the benchmark for a week of tastings and pairings. Though the region is best known for wine, Piedmont is home to Italy’s innovative and world-renowned craft brewery, Birreria Baladin. They are a model of all-natural, sustainable, and forward-thinking practices and their beers pair beautifully with many of our favorite cheese and regional foods. We’ll enjoy a unique tasting of their Belgium-style beers at lunch.

Enjoy a little free time for a swim or walk in the vineyards before half the guests get to grab their aprons and join Chef Sylvain in the kitchen for a hands-on cooking class. You’ll be sure to learn a new cooking technique or two as he shares some of his favorite recipes. The other guests will spend the afternoon with Emilio and Jilly for a food photography class and learn how to use your I-phone to take magazine worthy food pics.

We’ll finish the day with a cool drink in the courtyard, followed by a delicious dinner from Chefs Sylvain and Angelica.

Day Three

After breakfast, we have a private invite from the renowned winemaker Chiara Boschis herself, to enjoy a tour and tasting at her Barolo winery. Learn how she helped elevate Barolo wines to world class status by getting “the Rat Pack” men’s club of wine producers to transition to organic production practices. After our tasting, we’ll enjoy the village of Barolo and travel through some of the most coveted vineyard real estate in the world returning ‘home’ to Albergo Castiglione for lunch prepared by our chefs.

After lunch guests will ‘swap’ classes and join Chef Sylvain for a cooking class or join Emilio and Jilly for a food photography class. You’ll then have the opportunity for some free time to lounge alongside the pool taking in the panoramic views, or perhaps a hike through the vines – maybe even a nap!

Our classic Italian dinner will be served in the courtyard as we watch the sun dip below the hills.

Day Four

After breakfast we’ll meet up with Giorgio Cravero, a renowned Parmigiano-Reggiano affineur & exporter, and a close friend of Anna Juhl (CEO & Founder of Cheese Journeys). Guests will be treated to an intimate look inside his five-generation family business, learn about the unique way he ages his cheese, and enjoy lunch at his family’s restaurant. We’ll spend the afternoon at the town of Asti for a tour and tasting at the renowned Barbero Choccolateria.

We’ll return to our hotel in the countryside and prepare for an evening with our winemaker friend G.D. Vajra. Theirs is a wonderful story that will enthrall you as we taste their wines which have been beautifully paired with our chef prepared dinner.

Day Five

After breakfast, guests will join Jilly & Emilio on a private shopping spree at Alba’s renowned farmer’s market. These dynamic and passionate hosts will offer guests tips on how to best shop at market, what to look for and how to recognize the best products. Then it’s back to our hotel for a lunch using all the delicious ingredients we have bought!

After a chef prepared lunch, we’ll have a free afternoon at the pool or a hike in the vineyards. Later we’ll enjoy a refreshing cocktail with Emilio followed by a lovely chef-prepared dinner.

Day Six

A trip to Piedmont wouldn’t be complete without a truffle hunt with our local trifulau (truffle-hunter), Livio, and his dog, Lula, on their home turf in the nearby woods. Learn the mysteries surrounding the most precious of Mother Earth’s fruits. We have orders from the chef to bring some of these delicious treasures home – the perfect final touch to his impressive Sunday feast! Enjoy a relaxing chef prepared lunch followed by free time or an afternoon helping the chefs prepare this big Sunday family meal – Italian Style! Enjoy this dinner with our truffle experts, Franco and Claudia as we pair regional wines and truffles.

Day Seven

After breakfast we’ll drive to the remote hillside hamlet of Valcasotto, in southern Piedmont. This isolated village has been beautifully restored—as has the region’s local mountain cheese and butter production—by Beppino Occelli, an Italian cheese legend. Part of Valcasotto’s charm is its renovated 19th century flour mill which is fully operational today. Meet and experience first-hand the Occelli team as we enjoy a pasta making experience with Occelli’s chef and Anna’s dear friend Alessandra Ingenetti. We’ll tour their caves and indulge in a lunch of regional specialties, wine and their award-winning and delicious “cake-like after-dinner cheeses.” We’ll return to Albergo Castglione in time for a swim and an Aperitivo before a chef-prepared dinner.

Day Eight

After a farewell breakfast, we leave Albergo Castiglione and travel down the road to the cellars of Contratto, one of Italy’s most historic and fascinating cellars as well as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Here we’ll delight in a tour and tasting at one of the region’s best sparkling white wine producers. After lunch at a local restaurant, we’ll head north to the shores of Lake Maggiore with vistas of palm trees and breathtaking views of the Swiss Alps. Here we’ll check into the stunning hotel situated right on the shore of the Lake and our accommodation for the last leg of our tour.

Settle in, enjoy a welcome event hosted by our team before dining at a local restaurant of your choice

Day Nine

After a leisurely breakfast and following 2 busy days, guests have the opportunity for some free time with 3 options to choose from.

Option 1:- Enjoy a scenic boat ride to Isola Superiore (Fisherman’s Island) – a sleepy island right across the lake from our hotel. The island is home to 35 families, with a multitude of narrow cobblestone streets, shops ,and restaurants. From there you could take one of the many boat taxis to Isola Bella and visit the infamous baroque palace and its stunning terraced Italian garden.

Option 2:- Visit nearby Stresa, an elegant resort town known for its beautiful lakeside promenade and its stunning views of the Borromean Islands. The town is a great opportunity for shopping and sightseeing, or you can simply people watch in one of the many excellent cafes and restaurants.

Option 3:- Spend the day at our beautiful hotel, enjoy the spa or rest and refresh poolside with a cocktail. You can opt for a formal lunch or enjoy a snack at the pool.

Late afternoon, we will gather together again as we have a private invitation from one of our Cheese Journeys friends, Eros owner of La Casera, the ultimate Italian wine, cheese & charcuterie shop in the lovely lake side town of Verbena: get an inside glimpse of one of the best cheese shops in Italy while enjoying a beautiful evening meal with local foodie legends and friends.

Day Ten

After breakfast, guests will have a rare opportunity to travel up into the alpine region of Val Taleggio to meet up with one of our favorite producers – the charming Adele Ravasio of the CasArrigoni family. View the breathtakingly beautiful Taleggio Valley and witness the ancient Taleggio cheese being traditionally made. Enjoy a lunch at the dairy and a trek for a once in a lifetime experience to see the high mountain pastures, cows, and alpage cheesemaking. Enjoy dinner with Adele’s family and a return drive through Italy’s Northern Lake Country – a scenic and relaxing day before a restful night at the hotel on the island.

Day Eleven

After breakfast, we’ll visit the aging facility and shop of Luigi Guffanti 1876, one of Italy’s premier selector and affineur of over 500 cheeses. This fifth-generation family-owned firm, spearheaded by the Fiori brothers, Davide and Giovanni, offers us a tour and a delectable selection of their finest cheeses for tasting and mid-day meal.

You’ll enjoy some of your favorites: mouth-watering Gorgonzola Dolce and Piccante as well as many delicious rarities unavailable in the United States. This is a perfect opportunity to purchase cheese before returning to the states.

After our farewell lunch at Guffanti’s, you’re free to stroll and shop in the nearby lakeside town Stresa, which has a quaint lineup of 19th century luxury hotels along the water along with lovely shops, for a relaxing afternoon before we prepare to say a fond arrivederci to this beautiful lake country and return to Malpensa Sheraton Hotel at the end of the tour.

Tour Price Includes: Lodging for 10 nights, 10 breakfasts, 10 lunches and 9 evening meals, and alcoholic beverages served with meals. All transportation during the tour, all classes and/or day tours provided by local hosts, cheese educators, and chefs.

Tour Price Does Not Include: Round trip airfare to and from Milan, hotel accommodations before or after the tour, and any personal shopping, additional food, and beverage during walking tours and free time.  

Disclosure: To the best of our ability, this tour itinerary is final. However, if, due to unexpected extreme weather, a schedule emergency with hosts, or limitations due to imposed travel restrictions, etc., Cheese Journeys reserves the right to substitute an event if needed. During the tour, you have the option of declining a particular excursion or tour, but we are unable to make refunds for any missed meals, classes, or events. Please see our Terms and Conditions for additional details.