Agriturismo Holidays in Italy

Il Mulino Degli Elfi (Photo credit: diroussel)Property panorama (Photo credit: Daniel Pertovt)


By Fiona Tankard


For some people, the perfect holiday might be summarized as follows: arrive at the airport, check into a luxury hotel, spend the rest of the time at the pool or the beach with the latest bestseller. That may be a good way to unwind and indulge in a bit of unstructured, do-nothing time, but it has always seemed to me to be a bit of a waste, especially when you are a foreign country. Not that I am advocating racing around museums or culturally worthy sights, especially when the weather is hot and you are faced with queues and cross children, but maybe there is a way to have the best of both worlds.
In Italy, one way to experience an authentic taste of the country, its cooking and its way of life is to book yourself into an agriturismo. This roughly translates as a 'farm holiday', but the type of holiday accommodation you find can vary from the simple and rustic to a level of sophistication that's on a par with any five-star hotel.

A Wine Lover's Weekly Guide To $10 Wines - A Portuguese Red

Image via WikipediaBy: Levi Reiss
The Douro Valley of northwest Portugal is quite famous for its Port wine. Today's wine is not a Port, but it is made from typical Port grapes such as Tinta Roriz, Tinta Barroca, Touriga Franca and Touriga Nacional. While this wine isn't organic, its producer has developed an Environment Management System, which it sees as a contribution towards sustainable development and the preservation of natural resources. By the way, Charamba is a Nineteenth Century Portuguese dance.

OUR WINE REVIEW POLICY All wines that we taste and review have been purchased at the full retail price.
Wine Reviewed Charamba Douro 2007 13.0% alcohol cost about $9.
Let's start by quoting the marketing materials. Tasting Note: Deep purple color with ruby highlights; aromas of plum, black currant, and spice; dry, medium to full-bodied, crisp acidity, with flavors of spice, earth, and red currant. Serving Suggestion: Serve with spareribs. And now for my review.
At the first sips the wine started thin but was quite long. It pleasantly tasted of oak. Its first pairing was with home made chicken "nuggets" with Mediterranean spices to which I added an orange slightly sweet, slightly spicy Thai dipping sauce. With the sauced chicken the wine was powerful with a pleasant taste of oak. It was round and lightly tannic. The wine balanced nicely with the accompanying potatoes roasted in chicken fat. There was also an overly spicy salsa with tomatoes, onions, green peppers, and cilantro that weakened the Douro somewhat.
The next meal involved a boxed eggplant parmigiana that I slathered in grated Parmesan cheese. The wine presented the right combination of acid and tannins. There were plums and caramel.
My final meal was composed of barbecued beef ribs in a sweet ketchup-based sauce. This wine was quite powerful and tasted oaky with some tobacco. The accompaniments were the same as in the initial pairing. When it met the potatoes the wine retained its power and washed the grease away. Once again the salsa weakened the wine, but only marginally.
I ended the bottle with two local cheeses. When paired with a relatively tasteless brick cheese, the wine provided some black cherries and cinnamon. It was pleasant but not powerful. When paired with a tastier Swiss cheese, the wine was somewhat acidic with black cherries but it was weakened.
Final verdict. Not bad for a bargain wine. I would buy it again. In fact, you may be lucky enough to find it for considerably less.


Author Resource:-> Levi Reiss has authored or co-authored ten computer and Internet books, but definitely prefers drinking fine French, German, or other wine. He teaches classes in computers at an Ontario French-language community college. His global wine website www.theworldwidewine.com features a weekly review of $10 wines and new sections writing about and tasting organic and kosher wines. Visit his Italian wine website www.theitalianwineconnection.com .

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Cinque Terre in the Rain - 10 Things to Do

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If you go to Cinque Terre for the hiking, as many people do, the rain can put a damper on your trip. Trails can become treacherous when they are wet, and could possibly be closed for safety reasons.

But that doesn't mean that you can't still have a fabulous time in Cinque Terre. Accept that hiking is better left for next time, and follow the suggestions below:


1. Spend more time in each village, taking the train to travel to each

2. Visit the boutiques that feature local artisans for items such as jewellery and ceramics

3. Visit at least one enoteca and have a wine tasting to expand your knowledge and experience of the local wines.

4. If it is only raining, with no thunder or lightning, you can still swim! Just avoid slippery rocks, so swim from the beaches of Monterosso or Vernazza

5. There are a lot of options for a day trip, again allowing you to spend more time in other towns than you might otherwise - such as Pisa or Lucca

6. Visit the olive oil museum in Cinque Terre

7. For a local flavor, take the bus between villages, a different experience from train, ferry or by foot, and it gives a different appreciation of the landscape.

8. Play cards with the locals whether or not you play cards when at home!

9. Have progressive meals. Have an appetizer in one village, main course in the next and dessert in another. Or, if you prefer, stay in one village, but go to different restaurants for each course.

10. Enjoy the beauty of the rain and the storm, and the quieter, less hectic atmosphere it provides.

So, regardless of the weather, it is always possible to enjoy Cinque Terre! Luckily, the best things aren't affected by the rain - the beauty, the food and the people are all still wonderful!

Hike the less-traveled trails, experience the sea, enjoy meals of locally caught and grown food and wines of Cinque Terre. Share the culture of this unique part of Italy, with charming and fun locals whose families have lived there for generations. Visit the website to learn and share information about Cinque Terre.
http://www.experiencecinqueterre.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chris_Wildgen

A Taste of Tuscany – Walking Holidays in Italy

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There’s plenty in Tuscany both for the connoisseur and for those who want to spend their holidays walking in Italy. Imagine a day of seeing the sites, sampling some wine and then taking an after-dinner walk. Italy is the perfect place to do it. Tuscany in particular is full of good food, wine, city culture, and countryside scenery perfect for walking holidays.

Wine and Walking in Italy

There’s more to the wine region of Tuscany than the much-coveted Brunello. The wine buffs would tell you that from the 1980’s Tuscany has been producing new wines called Super Tuscans that have found international popularity. It’s not uncommon to combine wine and walking in Italy into wine-tasting and walking holidays. The vineyards in Tuscany range from a small winery to a large producer in the grounds of a stately Castello, (a castle-like house) and walking here offers the chance to take in the views as you walk among grapes growing on the vines. Most vineyards are open to visitors and many arrange events or tours for groups.

Walk in Italy to Work Up an Appetite

Of course, nothing goes better with wine than food, and the Tuscan cuisine knows how to please. Some walking holiday packages offer the chance to try your hand at cooking delicacies as well as eating them. Such packages let you experience the Tuscan lifestyle in the kitchen as well as in the hills; the trouble is you’ll want to eat so much that afterwards you’ll find it hard to walk! Italy is proud and protective of its pasta, and Tuscany is no different. Each shape of pasta is said to be as individual as the region it comes from. One of Tuscany’s pastas is Pici, a hand-rolled pasta made from long solid fat tubes. After a day Walking in Italy’s hills, sit down to sample a local speciality meal such as rabbit stewed with olives, pasta with a local sauce, or perhaps artichoke pie.

The Tuscan Scenery

What will make that meal special though is the scenery. The towns of Tuscany are linked and surrounded by the gentle green slopes and pretty valleys of the countryside. Walkers can enjoy the mountain paths, some of which are strenuous enough for more serious hiking. Italy is big on cycling too, so you’ll hear the spokes spinning along the rolling hillside roads. The Tuscan landscape has something for its summer vacationers, too, with the sea coast and islands.

Walking in Italy’s Artistic Cities

This scenery has inspired generations of Italian artists to produce an enviable collection of art. Tuscany contains the magnificent cities of Florence, Siena and Pisa, which are filled with eye-catching architecture, famous galleries and sculpture. The best way to take it all in is to walk. Italy is a nation so rich with renaissance art that six of Tuscany’s cities have been made UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Why not take a sightseeing walk at Italy’s famous icons such as the leaning Tower of Pisa and the black and white Santa Maria Assunta Cathedral at Siena?

In true Renaissance style, there’s no reason why you can’t combine all the specialities of Tuscany into one, with the popular package walking Holidays in Italy. A hiking, drinking, eating, and inspiring walk in Italy is waiting for you.
Tags: Holidays, Italy, Taste, Tuscany, Walking

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