Welcome to Our Family!

Our guests discover the true Italy that so few fully experience. They live the passion for Italian country cooking and wine that is at the heart of Tuscan and Umbrian life in Italy like no other.

Our all-inclusive cooking and wine adventures bring you the magical experience of Italian culture like no other.

Each vacation is a once in a lifetime experience with a wonderful balance of cooking classes, culinary and wine excursions, and sightseeing. Even our sightseeing balances between off the beaten path hidden treasures, and major tourist destinations. There is nothing else quite like it, because the main ingredients in everything we do are fun, friends, and family. So come and recharge for a week with us as you make some of the most enduring and fantastic memories your lifetime.

A video highlighting our cooking vacations
(click to see more videos)

A Balance of Cooking, Touring, Laughing & Eating...

1. Tuscan and Umbrian Country Cooking

Our cooking classes take place in the country kitchen of our beautifully restored 18th century ‘Villa Eddarella’, in the gorgeous rolling hills of Soriano nel Cimino. We will learn classic Tuscany and Umbria cooking from local women who teach you family recipes that have been passed down through the generations. These recipes are all true home cooking, and everything is done by hand, from scratch. There are no 'demonstrations' here. You will be involved one hundred percent, so be ready to get that apron on and go wrist-deep in dough as we explore the art of cooking in the Italian countryside.

During our time together, we we have various classes that teach you to make dishes like homemade Fettuccine, Gnocchi and Lasagna… all from scratch, and only with the freshest ingredients from local farms. We learn to make Gelato and amazing desserts like Tiramisu, our own family recipe for Limoncello, traditional Italian Biscotti, and more.

Come with us to the home of local farmers who will show us their private vineyards and olive orchard while we fire up an old stone oven for the amazing country wood-fired pizza class - a night of fun, laughter, home-style wine, and pizza like you have never experienced.

The experience of our cooking classes is as much about fun and friends as they are about the food. They are small and personal in nature, usually 8 or fewer guests per week. You will quickly make new lifelong friends as we cook and laugh together in this enchanting country Italian setting.

2. The Culinary Outings

Our area is blessed by being just a few miles from some of Tuscany and Umbria’s most treasured culinary hotspots, yet only an hour from Rome… and we take advantage of it with our new friends.

Wine lovers will fall in love with our vineyard tours of Tuscany's southern Chianti region as we visit Montepulciano (famous for its Vino Nobile), Montalcino (famous for Brunello -- Considered among Italy's best reds), just to name a few. You will discover some of Umbria’s best wines with visits to the enchanting hilltowns of Orvieto, Assisi, and Deruta.

During our outings we often make stops in some of Umbria and Tuscany's best olive mills, where we will sample olive oil while we discover the milling process. We'll visit cheese factories in the hills of Tuscany where we will experience dozens of varieties of fantastic cheese.

Should you visit us in late September, we will be there to not only watch, but take part in the wine harvest, where you will not only learn how wine is made, but take home bottles of of the wine you made with your own hand. Click here to watch a video of us making wine in 2007!

Should you visit us in late November, take part in the Olive harvest with us, as you harvest your own tree, take the olives to the ancient mill, and take home your own olive oil!

3. The Sightseeing

Each of our tours is balanced with some of Italy's most popular destinations, and some of Italy's most magnificent hidden treasures. We include days in popular hotspots like Rome, Assisi, Montalcino, Pienza, and Orvieto, and we also include places you may never have heard of, such as The Dying City of Civita di Bagnoregio, Calcata, The Sacred Grove, and Viterbo: The city of Popes.

4. All-Inclusive Pricing

Our full tours are truly all-inclusive in nature. We'll pick you up from the Rome airport, cruise terminal, or train station. From that point forward, with very few exceptions, all meals, transportation, tours, all expenses... everything is on us. The only thing you will pay for is airfare, personal expenses and any gifts you may wish to bring home. When it is time to say goodbye, we will take you back to the airport, cruise terminal, or train station. There are no surprises, and no hidden costs. Click here for a full breakdown of prices and what's included.

5. First-Class Accommodations

As our guest, you will have your own private village home nestled in the medieval quarter of Soriano nel Cimino, just below the 11th century castle that was once the Pope's summer home. Our village homes are absolutely beautiful, comfortable and luxurious. Most offer all modern conveniences, such as air conditioning, dedicated broadband wireless internet, satellite television with a large selection of English channels, DVD player, American coffee machine, Cappuccino machine, and much more. Of course, each of the lodging opportunities has complete private facilities.

6. Shopping

For the shop-till-you-drop crowd, we are in ‘get up and go’ distance from Central Rome’s best shopping, Florence, Deruta, and so much more.

7. The Cultural Experience

Soriano is right there at the heart of it all, yet is still unspoiled by the ravages of mass tourism. It is a place where the local shopkeepers still sell local produce, and the villagers still smile and greet you as they open their hearts to you.

You won’t find rows of stores selling trinkets and plastic snow globes. Instead, you will live the real Italian village life.

Let yourself go, and before you know it you will be on a first-name basis with the local butcher, and feel truly at home. This is the most common theme with our guests. They tell us that while they venture away from Soriano on excursions, upon their return, they always feel like they are coming home… a sense of belonging.

There is a certain magic about Soriano nel Cimino that can only be experienced. Words cannot describe it.

8. Fun, Family, Friends, Laughter

This is without doubt the single most important thing of all. No four words better describe what a vacation with us is all about. We are constantly laughing together & having nothing but fun. Our groups are small, causing everyone to become friends right away, and by the time you leave, you will have become extended family... not just with us, but with the other guests. Have a look what past guests have written us, or better yet, if you are on facebook, search for discoversoriano.com and talk with us, plus dozens of past guests!

Any Questions? Write us and ask by clicking here, or call us at 1 (888) 633-9114 toll free from the US, or +1 (321) 441-3551 from anywhere else.