Gift of Travel: Food & Wine Trails Offers ’12 Trips of Christmas’

Looking for the ultimate holiday gift for the food & wine lover who has everything? Food & Wine Trails, a 29 year-old culinary travel company based in Sonoma County, is offering 12 food and wine focused vacations as gift-giving ideas. Each of the “Twelve Trips of Christmas” include culinary activities or extra amenities, such as a free wine tour, cash to spend on culinary shore tours, a private car and driver shore excursion, or even a free hotel night.

“Culinary travel is more than just eating and drinking on vacation. It’s about immersing yourself in the culture, cuisine, and traditions of a particular region,” says Food & Wine Trails President Larry Martin, “Each experience is unique: you could take a private cooking class with a local chef, dine on food prepared by Michelin-starred chefs, have a guided tour and tasting at the region’s best wine estates…the possibilities are endless.”

Food & Wine Trails “Twelve Trips of Christmas” list features both cruise and land tours all over the world. “It doesn’t matter if you’re a novice or a sophisticated home chef or wine collector, we have a vacation that any food and wine lover would love.” promises Martin.

#1 Trip 12-Night New Zealand wine cruise hosted by three top Oregon wineries with airfare, complementary gratuities and a $100 shipboard credit.
#2 Trip 7-Night cruise on Portugal’s Douro River with a $400 shipboard credit.
#3 Trip 9-Night “Flavors of Italy” land tour with first class hotel accommodations.
#4 Trip 14-Night Trans-Atlantic “Golf, Wine & Food” theme cruise from London to Boston with $500 shore excursion credit .
#5 Trip 10-Night F&WT’s President’s cruise with winery host Rochioli Vineyards with up to $440 in free benefits.
#6 Trip 5-Night biking tour through Northern California wine country on custom titanium bikes.
#7 Trip 8-Night Southern Spain cruise with daily wine tastings and two free wine tours.
#8 Trip 6-Night land tour discovering the delicacies of the Spanish region of Andalusia that includes wine with meals and a hands-on cooking class.
#9 Trip 7-Night Bordeaux wine cruise hosted by a Napa Valley’s Conn Valley Vineyards with up to $308 in free benefits.
#10 Trip Travel package to 2014 Hawaii Food & Wine Festival with free hotel nights.
#11 Trip 11-Night South African Winelands tour with special visits to former homes of Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela.
#12 Trip 10-Night “Pearls of China” wine themed cruise with free private car and driver shore tour.

For more information about F&WT’s “Twelve Trips of Christmas,” call 800-367-5348 or visit http://www.foodandwinetrails.com. Please note some offers are time sensitive.

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Handpicked Adventures Tour Company Offers Artisan Cuisine and Culture Trip to Piedmont, Italy

Handpicked Adventures, a San Francisco, California-based, artisan food-focused travel company, is offering a one-of-a-kind trip to Piedmont, Italy, September 18 – 25, 2013. Anchored by the popular Bra Slow Food Cheese Festival, the Piemonte and the Bra Slow Food Cheese Festival trip promises an intimate immersion into the region’s unique culture via the food, drink and artisans that define it.

The agricultural tour offers travelers the rare opportunity to sample and taste the area’s wealth of foods while interacting with the farmers and artisans who lovingly produced them. Trip highlights include:

• Visiting with chocolatiers in their Torino-based salons – yes, there will be ample tastings;
• Tasting vast arrays of handcrafted cheeses at the festival, which brings together hundreds of Italian and foreign cheese producers;
• Lodging and dining on a working farm and vineyard in Sinio;
• Participating in a hands-on cooking class with a classically trained chef – in his own restaurant; and
• Sipping and savoring at exclusive meetings with winemakers.

Handpicked Adventures’ trip also includes a farm dinner at a local truffle ground, a visit to a snail farm in Cherasco, an Italian brewpub tasting – yes, there’s beer in those hills, too – and a daytrip to the base of the Italian Alps to visit a working dairy farm where the famous Castelmagno cheese is made (FYI: Castelmagno dates back to the 12^th century).

For Handpicked Adventures co-founder Heather England, a food-centric tour is the perfect way to learn about a new place. “So often people head to a new destination with an itinerary packed with landmarks and historic sites,” she says. “We approach travel a bit differently at Handpicked Adventures. We believe that the best way to experience a culture is to slow down, savor local foods and engage in worthy conversations.”

Her business partner, Terry Cosola-August agrees. “The history of a place really comes alive when you start talking with the people who have worked on or drawn from the land for generations. Getting up close and personal with regional foods and local cuisine is truly the best way to experience another culture.”

Cost is $2,500 U.S., double occupancy (excluding airfare), if deposit is received by July 31, 2013. After July 31, the cost is $2,750 U.S. (excluding airfare). Package includes all lodging, private motor coach transport, activities translated in English by a multilingual guide, seven breakfasts, festival entry, all group events listed above, plus one additional group dinner. All group dinners include wine and gratuity. The trip is limited to 12 participants. For more information, visit www.handpickedadventures.com.

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Access Trips has new culinary tour highlighting best of California wine country culture; partners with Sonoma Film Festival

From exclusive cooking classes with Sonoma’s top chefs to private vineyard tours and tastings, Access Trips brand new five-day culinary tour is a foodie fantasy in the heart of California’s Wine Country. The new tour offers access to some of Sonoma’s most renowned local restaurants, chefs and vintners, as guests learn to cook with organic, locally sourced ingredients that change seasonally and showcase the best of California cuisine.

Nestled in a lush valley with trellised vineyards climbing the surrounding hills, and bound by a central plaza and a historic Spanish mission, Sonoma is arguably one of the most beautiful towns in California. Offering a quaint, intimate alternative to the usual tourist trails in Napa, Sonoma is a mecca of cultural and culinary treasures awaiting discovery.

For the ultimate California experience, Access Trips has partnered with the Sonoma International Film Festival to offer a discounted three-day, three-night Film Festival VIP extension package for guests on Access Trips’ first Sonoma Culinary tour departing April 7, 2013. The tour’s July departure was also timed to dovetail on Destination Race’s Napa to Sonoma half marathon on July 21, 2013.

California Wine Country Culinary Tour
Five-days from $2,590 pp

From once-in-a-lifetime cooking classes with Sonoma’s finest chefs to wine, cheese and chocolate truffle tastings and a tour of one of California’s oldest family owned vineyards, Access Trips’ California Wine Country Culinary Tour is a gourmand’s dream. Indulge your palate during sumptuous meals at top Sonoma restaurants, Café La Haye and Harvest Moon Café, before enjoying exclusive cooking classes led by such big names as Harvest Moon Chef Nick Demarest. Surrounded by beautiful gardens, olive groves and rolling vineyards, visit Stone Edge Farm for a multi-course cooking class with acclaimed chef, John McReynolds, and learn tricks to add variety to recipes at home. Discover the local farmers market, take in the sites during a hike along the Glen Ellen Reservoir and relax poolside at the luxurious, boutique, Macarthur Place – Sonoma’s finest Inn and Spa.
http://www.accesstrips.com/sports/culinary-tour/

Sonoma International Film Festival VIP Package
Three-days from $2,000 pp

Get in touch with your inner movie star during Access Trips’ three-day, three-night Sonoma International Film Festival extension. Enjoy VIP-access passes to all films, filmmakers, and discussion panels, and of course, exclusive parties with the best in California wine and cuisine! Savor your red carpet moment at the red carpet gala, where you’ll find out which celebrity will be honored by the association. The main festivities are in the Sonoma Plaza, just four blocks walking distance from Macarthur Place, your luxurious inn and spa. Book the Film Festival package along with the California Wine Country Culinary Tour and receive 10% off both the tour AND the extension, for a total savings of $459 per person. Space is limited to just 12 guests.

Access Trips is a leading adventure travel  operator specializing in exotic learning vacations to 13 countries worldwide. This company offers a wide range of small-group outdoor sports and culinary-focused trips that are expertly designed to allow guests to experience a new culture, learn new skills or fine-tune existing ones, and revel in the splendor of their destination. Based in San Francisco, California and launched in 2001, Access Trips’ impressive portfolio includes cooking, surfing, mountain biking, snowboarding, skiing, and multisport itineraries. Regardless of the focus of the activity, Access Trips caters to a variety of skill levels, serving the novice as well as the expert in a relaxed, non-intimidating setting with the help of world-class instructors and multilingual guides. For more information about Access Trips and the adventure tours available, visit www.accesstrips.com.

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Italiaoutdoors Food and Wine Adds Six-Night Culinary Ski Vacation in Dolomites for March

Italiaoutdoors Food and Wine has added a second six-night ski and snowboarding experience to its 2013 line-up of active culinary vacations in the Dolomites region of Northwestern Italy.

Offered March 10-16 and March 17-23, 2013 and priced $3995 per person, based on double occupancy, the programs invite winter sports enthusiasts to explore the snow-capped Alto Adige region of Italy, where they can ski and snowboard the majestic Dolomites and immerse themselves in the rich Austro-Hungarian history, cuisine and culture of Sudtirol. The small-group tours are led by ski and snowboard instructor and mountain guide Vernon McClure, and PSIA-certified ski instructor, cooking instructor and chef Kathy Bechtel. Together, they offer two decades of experience in the region. www.italiaoutdoorsfoodandwine.com/index.php/bike-tours-italy-ski-holidays-italy/ski-holidays-italy-ski-trips

Trips include accommodations, guided ski tours, meals, daily wine tastings and activities; equipment rental and air are additional. Daily routes include shorter trails and groomed terrain for novice and intermediate athletes as well as off-piste explorations for the advanced skier, allowing groups of mixed interests and abilities to enjoy the region’s offerings. At the end of each day, Chef Bechtel introduces participants to locally produced wines from the regions of Trentino and Alto Adige including Schiava, Lagrein, and Vino Santo. Dinners are enjoyed in charming osterias and more refined ristorantes.

Additionally, tours of five days or longer can be customized for groups of four or more. Set at a variety of price points, these private tours includes daily wine tastings and activities tailored to all ski levels, and offer bespoke alternatives for families, groups of friends and ski clubs.

For all programs, Italiaoutdoors Food and Wine crafts a custom itinerary providing a balance of activity, rest and relaxation. A maximum of 12 persons per group allows daily itinerary refinement, based on participants’ interests, pacing, and real-time “finds.” In any given tour, novice or intermediate skiers can enjoy daily lessons while expert skiers can enjoy steeper slopes and ungroomed terrain. Other outdoor activities can include snowboarding, cross-country skiing, winter hiking, or snowshoeing. For those interested in non-slope activities, day excursions to Verona, Innsbruck and other cities can be arranged for shopping, museum visits, guided walking tours and other cultural activities.

Italiaoutdoors Food and Wine is an owner-operated private guide service, creating and guiding active culinary tours in Northeastern Italy. Unique in their ability to combine active biking, skiing and hiking adventures with world-class culinary programs, Italiaoutdoors customizes vacations for groups of 4 to 12 people. Italiaoutdoors has more than 15 years of recreational programming experience in the region, plus formal culinary and wine training. Programs also include cooking classes, wine tastings, and restaurant dining which explore the best in local regional cuisine and undiscovered wines. Itineraries are rounded out with city visits, shopping, cultural excursions or just relaxing. The owners — experts in fitness, food, and the region — personally lead each tour.

For more information or to receive Italiaoutdoors Food and Wine newsletter, recipes and wine information, visit www.italiaoutdoorsfoodandwine.com or Chef Bechtel’s blog at www.chefbikeski.com. 1-978-270-5774. Twitter: @italiaoutdoors Facebook: www.facebook.com/foodandwineitaliaoutdoors. Discounts are available for ski clubs and other groups.

Food & Wine Trails Offers 12 New Cruises for 2013

Food & Wine Trails has released details of 12 new food and wine cruises for 2013, filled with opportunities to drink the best wines, experience great meals and travel with top wine and food personalities.

Among the highlights:

• A multi-course, wine-paired dinner at Chateau Smith Haut-Lafite in Bordeaux hosted by star Napa winemaker David Ramey who has previously worked in Bordeaux – on the Oceania Nautica June 13-20 Lisbon to London cruise.
• A vertical library tasting of Duckhorn’s acclaimed Merlot, with founder Margaret Duckhorn – on the June 26 to July 3 Azamara Journey Rome to Monte Carlo cruise.
• A private wine-maker hosted luncheon at a top Chateauneuf-du-Pape winery served by a Michelin starred chef on the Azamara Journey July 3-11 Monte Carlo to Barcelona cruise.
• A tour of the Grgich family winery in Croatia with Violet Grgich – on the Oceania Riviera Sept 7-19 Venice to Barcelona cruise.

The value of a Food & Wine Trails cruise becomes apparent when viewed against a comparable land-based culinary vacation. Whereas a typical price for a land-based wine program is $4,000 to $5,000 per week per person, the price of a similar length Food & Wine Trails wine cruise starts at $2,274. This includes the cruise cost with transportation to and within Europe, all meals and entertainment, plus an exclusive to the group wine experience with winemaker dinners, parties, receptions and educational wine tastings.

The mission of Food & Wine Trails is to provide authenticity, value and access to the world’s best food and wine travel experiences. Each program is led or organized by a recognized local culinary expert to provide the guest with insight, access and a behind-the-kitchen (or cellar) door experience. Food & Wine Trails is the tour division of the HMS Travel Group, a 25-year-old company based in Santa Rosa, California. The company designs culinary travel programs for enthusiasts and for the creme of the food and wine world, producing programs for Julia Child, Jacques Pepin, and many of America’s top food magazines and wineries. Larry Martin, the president of Food & Wine Trails, is a wine collector, vegetable gardener and the Northern California Regional Governor for Slow Food, an international food advocacy organization. The editors of Conde Nast Traveler Magazine have chosen Martin as World’s Top Wine Travel Specialist for three consecutive years.

Contact Food & Wine Trails at 800 367-5348, or info@foodandwinetrails.com. A complete list of 2013 wine cruises can be found at www.foodandwinetrails.com/cruises.

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