Join Shelley on this small group, exclusive tour to Umbria, Tuscany’s lesser-known neighbor, led by Susan Guerra, a wine professional and the owner of Via Del Vino Food and Wine Tours. Susan, who lives in Umbria, will show you the sights that only the locals know and give you a peek into daily life in this beautiful region of Italy.

Stay at a 5-Star hotel in the historic center of Perugia, Susan’s adopted hometown. First founded by the Etruscans, Perugia is a beautifully preserved, medieval city where you’ll have shops, museums, cafes, restaurants, and Etruscan ruins right at your door. You’ll mingle with locals as you discover this enchanting region that's remained little changed by the centuries and is far from the usual tourist crowds.

Our week in Umbria will feature a selection of food and wine activities including cooking classes, wine tastings, an artisan chocolate experience, truffle hunting with a local family, Perugia’s top-rated food tour plus sightseeing and free time to meander in several of Umbria's most iconic, and beautiful hill towns. 

SHELLEY WISEMAN

Shelley Wiseman, formerly of The Farm Cooking School, has been teaching people how to cook since 1990 when she opened La Place, a French cooking school in Mexico City. She started her career in New York City at French Restaurants Le Plaisir and Le Cherche Midi, then traveled to France to hone her craft. Following her years spent cooking and teaching, Shelley became a Food Editor at Gourmet Magazine where she developed recipes for 12 years. She has authored and co-authored three cookbooks, Just Tacos, The Mexican Gourmet, and The Farm Cooking School, Recipes and Techniques to celebrate the seasons. 

Shelley discovered the river towns area of the Delaware Valley after joining her business partner, Ian Knauer, at The Farm Cooking School, immediately falling in love and deciding to make it her new home. With Shelley’s Table, she is setting out on her second solo adventure as a cooking school organizer and teacher. When she is not cooking, Shelley spends her time making hammered precious metal jewelry, hosting dinners with friends, and traveling whenever she can.

SUSAN GUERRA, Via del Vino Food & Wine Tours

Born and raised in New Jersey, Susan’s Italian heritage sparked a lifelong interest in the Italian language, travel, food, and wine. After a career in graphic design, Susan earned the Advanced Certificate in Wines & Spirits from the London-based Wine and Spirits Education Trust and is currently a candidate in the Italian Wine Scholar program. Prior to founding Via Del Vino, Susan worked in the wine business for 10 years and wrote about wine for New Jersey Monthly Magazine. 

Via Del Vino was born of a lifelong dream to live in Italy, a giant leap of faith, and a special talent for eating, drinking, and talking! Our tours began organically when—at the tender age of fifty-something, Susan and her pastry chef husband, sold their house and all of their possessions before moving to Perugia, Italy.

With the idea to show you the real Italy, not the one that's only in the guidebooks, but authentic Italy, full of local traditions, customs, and craftsmanship—Via Del Vino's itineraries are designed to immerse you in lesser-known places, meet the locals and discover the true flavors of this endlessly fascinating country.

Today is your arrival day to Umbria and to your hotel in the historic center of Perugia. Your home base for the week is just steps from shops, museums, cafes, and restaurants and has an outdoor bar where you can enjoy an afternoon drink with views over the Umbrian countryside. Drop your bags and have an afternoon stroll or lunch on Perugia’s main Corso. Later, you’ll have time to relax before getting to know your fellow travelers at an evening meet and greet followed by dinner. 

Accommodation: 5-Star Sina Brufani Palace

Meals: Dinner

Today, we’ll spend the day in Perugia and join a special version of Susan’s top-rated Taste Perugia food tour. As we stroll through a maze of medieval streets, you’ll be struck by the beauty of this ancient city and by the delicious simplicity of Umbrian food. We’ll end the tour with a special chocolate experience followed by a creamy gelato from one of Italy’s Top 100-rated artisan gelaterias. After the tour, you’ll have the rest of the day to explore, or relax before dinner on your own with suggestions.

Accommodation: 5-Star Sina Brufani Palace

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Umbria has 2 festivals each year entirely dedicated to pork. And no dish of the region represents this love of “Suino” more than Porchetta. Tracing its ancient origins to a city just outside of Rome, this savory, herb-packed boneless pork roast takes center stage as street food in the region. It owes its unique central Italian flavor to a type of wild fennel that only grows in Umbria. Today, we’ll learn to make this dish with a local chef in a version you can easily replicate in your own home kitchens. We’ll also cook up plenty of side dishes including Umbria’s tender lentils from the high plains of Castelluccio. We’ll serve our meal with generous pours of white and red wine from two of Umbria’s most prestigious winemaking regions, Montefalco and Orvieto. Vegetarian options will be available.

Accommodation: 5-Star Sina Brufani Palace

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch (Cooking Class)

Today we’ll head to Assisi. The birthplace of Saint Francis and Saint Claire, the city is considered the spiritual heart of Umbria. You’ll visit Assisi’s majestic Basilica, a UNESCO world heritage site, that stands above the valley and offers panoramic views in every direction. The basilica, a religious pilgrimage site and also the final resting place of Saint Francis is famous for its series of Giotto frescoes depicting his life. The city itself is built into Monte Subasio, a national park in the Apennine Range famous for its many hiking trails and symbolic places where Saint Francis retreated from civilization to meditate and pray. You’ll have free time to meander and shop before an afternoon stop at a local winery in the Assisi DOC. Here, we’ll be welcomed by the mother and daughter team for a private tour and tasting of their organic wines, olive oil, and balsamic vinegars served with a light lunch of local cheeses and homemade Umbrian flatbread. Later in the day, we’ll return to Perugia with free time before dinner at a local Osteria.

Accommodation: 5-Star Sina Brufani Palace

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Today, you’ll have your morning free, or you can join Susan for an optional visit to Perugia’s glass museum, Studio Moretti Caselli. This tiny museum is a hidden gem housed in the former home of one of the Baglioni family, the infamous nobles who were instigators of The Salt War in 1540. The museum is also a working studio where 5 generations of master glass artisans have been carrying on the family business since the 1800s. Later today we’ll depart for Vinieria del Carmine, a winery located just north of Perugia, to participate in a cooking class with their chef in the property’s state-of-the-art DeManincor kitchen. In this class, the  Carmine Estate Chef will help you prepare an authentic three-course Umbrian meal with a focus on participation and education The menu will be based on the season, Italian tradition, and modern cooking techniques. While the chef adds some finishing touches, we’ll take our places at the beautifully set table in the Vineria where we will enjoy the fruit of our labor paired with Carmine Estate wines throughout your dinner.

Accommodation: 5-Star Sina Brufani Palace

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

This morning, we’ll head to Spello, a little borgo that’s been named one of the most beautiful towns in Italy. With its winding stone streets, expansive countryside vistas, and windows overflowing with seasonal flowers it’s easy to see why. We’ll have free time here to wander and shop the many boutiques. For archeology and history lovers, Spello is also home to The Villa of Mosaics, an archeological site discovered by chance when the town was building a parking lot. The villa houses over 500 square meters of Roman mosaics and features 3D presentations that help to visualize what this villa once looked like during the Augustan Era and Imperial Age, the two major epochs discovered during its excavation. After lunch on your own, we’ll return to Perugia to relax before enjoying apericena on Susan’s terrace that sits on top of a 3rd-century BC Etruscan gate.

Accommodation: 5-Star Sina Brufani Palace

Meals: Breakfast, Apericena

Today we’ll have a truffle hunting adventure on a farm where Susan’s friend Francesca and her family have been hunting truffles and living off the land since the 1400s. The hunt starts from a small mountain village where Luca, an expert truffle hunter will take us to comb the forests with his highly trained dogs. When we have enough of this local delicacy to make lunch, we’ll stop in a panoramic spot and have our first taste of a freshly dug truffle with scrambled eggs (an Umbrian specialty) paired with a glass or two of Prosecco. Afterward, you can lend a hand to Francesca as she makes fresh pasta or simply sit back and watch as you enjoy an assortment of homemade specialties from the farm with generous pours of local wine. When the pasta is made, we’ll sit down to a truly authentic lunch where all of the recipes are part of a centuries-old family tradition. In the later afternoon, we’ll return to Perugia for free time before dinner on your own.

Accommodation: 5-Star Sina Brufani Palace

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

This morning, after breakfast,  we’ll check out and head toward Rome. On our way, we’ll stop in Orvieto, a city with an ancient and mysterious atmosphere that soars above the surrounding valley, perched atop a tufa cliff. The historic center is enhanced not only by its beautiful cathedral, monuments, and museums but through the tradition of wood craftsmanship, wrought iron, and majolica pottery, which can be purchased in the many shops throughout the historic center. You’ll have free time to shop and have lunch on your own before we head to Rome. Tonight we’ll have a farewell dinner in the seaside town of Fiumicino. 

Accommodations: Hotel Tiber Rome Fiumicino

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Today is your departure day. Your trip price includes the shuttle fare from our last hotel to Rome Fiumicino Airport. We can help you schedule your morning at the hotel front desk in accordance with your morning flight departure.