Cellar Tours Blog - Food, Wine and Luxury Travel

In the space of just over fifteen years, a remarkable resurgence in the quality and quantity of luxury wine hotels has left the discerning oenophile seriously spoilt for choice. Pioneers like Rioja’s Marques de Riscal and Jean-Michel Cages, owner of Cordeillan Bages in Bordeaux, have given the industry a much-needed boost with their natural talent […]

In the right hands, a winery can be far more than simply a functional center for processing grapes and producing wine. After all, making great wine is as much an art form as a science – so why shouldn’t a winery reflect the inherent beauty of wine-making? The world’s greatest architects, from Sir Norman Foster […]

People always ask us “when is the best time to come to the wine country?” and the answer we always give is May or June for good weather and fewer crowds and of course September and October during the harvest time. Often, however, those months might not correspond to the vacation time available to you! […]

Chocolate first made its way to Italy in the 16th century, soon after Spanish explorers imported the cocoa bean from the new world. Although it was first used only as a drink for the privileged, it didn’t take long for chocolate to earn a beloved place in Italian desserts. These days, you’ll find Italian chocolate […]

It´s official- Autumn/Fall is here (in the Northern hemisphere), and what a beautiful time of year it is indeed! And with the colder, shorter days we are craving rich food and wine! For gourmets, some wonderful spots in November include Piedmont (it´s white truffle season, basically culinary Nirvana!), lovely Lyon (gastro paradise) and La Rioja […]

An afternoon at the Salone del Gusto, By Ivano Martignetti Being the first Italian capital and home of the Italian royal family, Turin (in the region of Piemonte)  has been for a very long time the benchmark for Italian cuisine and the destination for chefs and oenologists on a mission to please refined palates. As […]

Italy´s wine country is spectacularly varied from the dramatic valleys of Piedmont overshadowed by the Alps, to the fairytale wine roads of Chianti (complete with castles, medieval villages and cypress lined country roads), to the volcanic vineyards near Sicily´s Mount Etna. Wine lovers coming to Italy are spoiled for choice when it comes to beautiful […]

We heard about a lively and unusual fair (translated as “the fat ox fair”) in Piedmont, and sent our Italian specialist, Simona Piccinelli to check out this amazingly popular event near the Barolo wine country. Simona´s notes- Ever since 1910 (although there is evidence that  ox markets and fairs were held weekly from as far […]