NEW TOUR! Tuscan Experience with Rome- Semi-Escorted Tour

Tuscan Experience with Rome!

Our new Tuscan Experience will continue to enchant you! Enjoy an independent night in Rome, the Eternal City! Followed by 5-nights at the Villa Casagrande, a wine-producing villa constructed in 1392. You will find ourselves strolling down quiet lanes bound by stone walls, cypress trees and cream-colored villas. A true Tuscan Experience!

Tour Highlights:

• Daily touring from one location - no unpacking!
• 8 meals; Breakfast & Dinners - with drinks included
• See Florence and the Tuscany Region, Chianti, Sienna and San Gimignano

Your Tuscan Experience tour includes:

• Private transfer on arrival from Rome airport to your Rome hotel.
• One (1) night accommodation at Hotel Windrose or similar in Rome. (Upgrades to other hotels available).
• Five (5) nights accommodations at Villa Casagrande in Chianti, Italy.
• Private transfer from your Rome hotel to the Villa Casagrande.
• Welcome dinner at the Villa with drinks included.
• Italian buffet breakfast daily excluding the day of arrival.
• Half-day English speaking guide for Florence visit (3-hours).
• One farewell dinner at the Villa with wine and water included.
• Full day tour excursion to Chianti region (8-hours).
• Full day English speaking guide (6-hours) in Chianti.
• Visit to a butcher in Chianti for Tuscan salami tasting.
• Visit and wine tasting at Verrazzano Castle.
• Optional Cooking Class
• Roundtrip transfer by car or minibus for Siena and San Gimignano visit.
• Half-day English speaking guide for Siena visit (3-hours)
• Private transfer from Villa to Florence Airport (transfer from Villa to Rome can also be arranged for a supplement)
   
   
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Tuscan Countryside

Tuscan Countryside Villa Stay - An ideal spot for a restful and enjoyable holiday in the Tuscan Region!
NEW for 2013, we are excited to introduce this Tuscan Countryside Package featuring the Fattoria Degli Usignoli positioned between the Arno Valley and the Chianti Hills, just 17 miles from Florence. This villa over looks a beautiful landscape of vineyards and cypress-lined fields.
This is an excellent package for both individual and group travel and has become a popular base for touring the Tuscan Region while enjoying the warmth and charm of Fattoria Degli Usignoli!
The Fattoria Degli Usignoli features two swimming pools, two bars, tennis court, playgroud, billiard rooms, and bowling green. Horse riding and mountian bike hiring is available. This property is great for families!
Tour Highlights:

• 3 Meals: Breakfast & One (1) Dinner
• Great for Groups and Individuals
• Wine tasting and appetizers

Your Tuscan Countryside Villa Stay Includes:

• Roundtrip airport transfers (from/to Florence Apt)
• 3 Nights Accommodation at the Fattoria Degli Usignoli 
• Italian buffet breakfast, except day of arrival
• One (1) welcome dinner 

Note: City Tax not included and must be paid directly to the hotel

Wine Tasting in Chianti

Tuscany is known for its legendary cities, picturesque towns, and its world-renowned wines; all part of its stunning landscapes. Experience the heart of Tuscany with wine tasting tours in Chianti.

Chianti is a region in central Tuscany where the famed Chianti and Chianti Classico wines are produced. Chianti wine is a red wine, historically associated with a squat bottle, enclosed in a straw basket, called a fiasco. Chianti Classico wines are characterized in their youth by their predominantly floral and cinnamon spicy bouquet. As the wine ages, aromas of tobacco and leather can emerge. Chiantis tend to have medium-high acidity and medium tannins. The acidity in the wines make them very flexible with food and wine pairings.

The black rooster emblem that appears on the neck labels of many Chianti Classico is the symbol of the Consorzio Chianti Classico, a foundation of producers in the Chianti Classico region. The foundation was founded with the aim of promoting the wines of the region, improving quality and preventing wine fraud.

Wine tasting in Chianti is a little different than in the US. As most wineries are small, you should call ahead to make an appointment to do a tour. We recommend doing three or less tours in a day because wine tasting in Italy generally takes a couple of hours. You can also find wines to taste, buy and drink at an Enoteca. An enoteca is an establishment where you can sample wines from a wide variety of local wine estates. One of the largest in the Chianti Classico area is Le Cantine di Greve in Chianti, where you can sample over 140 wines, cheese, salame, grappa and olive oil. There is also a wine museum.

A wine tasting tour is Chianti is the perfect way to compliment your Tuscan stay. For more information on Celtic Tour’s Italy tours, please visit our website.

Tuscan Cuisine

Each region in Italy has its own unique cuisine, and Tuscany is a good starting point for exploring the best in Italian food. Tuscan cuisine is appreciated world-round for its fine natural and favorful ingredients. A look at the Tuscan countryside reveals some of the key ingredients in local cooking: olive groves with their silvery sheen, fairytale forests of chestnut trees, hillsides blanketed in grape vines, angelic sheep lolling among ruins, fragrant rosemary and sage bushes lining gardens. Tuscan cooking is simple and seasonal, without the heavy sauces found in other regions.

Traditionally, meals in Italy usually contain 3 or 4 courses. Meals are seen as a time to spend with family and friends, thus daily meals can be longer than in other cultures. Lunch, or Pranzo, is considered the most important meal of the day. During lunch hours (typically 12 noon to 2:00) schoolchildren are allowed to go home and most shops close for a pausa, which is characteristic of that easygoing Italian way of life that visitors find so alluring and desirable.

What better way to learn more about traditional Tuscan cuisine, then to take a cooking class at an historical Tuscan Villa, located in the heart of Chianti. Together with the Villa Casagrande’s Chef Paola Eoncini, you will prepare typical Tuscan dishes and other specialties as well as decadent sweets and Tuscan cakes. Learn more by visiting Celtic Tours website.