The Classic Wine Lovers Tour
Tour at a glance
Each day, beginning on Monday, we will be visiting one of the 5 Provinces of Campania – Avellino, Benevento, Caserta, Napoli, and Salerno.
The Classic Wine Lovers Tour is a journey through the 5 provinces of Campania: Avellino, Benevento, Caserta, Napoli and Salerno. Each province has a history and a culture that is unique and diverse terroirs that produce extraordinary wines.
We start each day with a guided tour of a historical site such as the Royal Palace in Caserta that is larger than Versailles or the Roman Theatre in Benevento which although 2000 years old still has musical performances in the summer. After our tour we will travel to one of the outstanding wineries in that province to enjoy a delicious wine pairing lunch. Oftentimes the winery owner will join us and tell us of the history of the vineyard and winery.
On Thursday we travel to Avellino and visit the largest winery in Campania- Feudi di San Gregorio. Here we will start with a guided tour of both the magnificent grounds as well as their production facilities. Following that we will be guided through a spectacular tasting of some of their world famous wines.
After the tasting we take our table at the Marenna Restaurant located at the premises. Here at this Michelin Star restaurant we will savor a wine pairing lunch prepared especially for us by their incredible chef and staff.
Each evening when we return to Tenute del Gheppio we will bring with us wines from the province we visited and enjoy them with our evening meal.
This tour is a Wine Lovers visit to Paradise.
DAY 1 - Saturday
ROME - THE ETERNAL CITY
Arrive at the Rome Airport and check in to your room at the Hilton Hotel. Relax and
spend this day at your leisure. Hop the shuttle bus from the Hilton and head to the
center of Rome where you can sit at an outdoor caf or visit the sites like the Colosseum, the Pantheon, or the Vatican. Don’t forget to throw a coin into the Trevi Fountain to ensure your return to the Eternal City.
DAY 2 - Sunday
MONTE CASSINO and DUGENTA
After your breakfast at the Hilton, meet in the lobby to board our bus at 9:30 a.m. As we travel down to Campania and our temporary home in Dugenta we will stop to visit the legendary monastery in Monte Cassino, which was originally established in the year 529 AD. Destroyed by allied bombing in 1944, it has now been magnificently restored. After lunch we continue to Dugenta.
DAY 3 - Monday
POMPEII or HERCULANEUM
Breakfast begins at 7AM. Our bus arrives at 8AM and we will depart by 8:30 for Pompeii or Herculaneum. After our guided tour, we travel by bus to Sorrentino winery in Boscotrecase in the Province of Napoli lying in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius. The eruptions of Mount Vesuvius over the centuries have created soil conditions in which volcanic ash lends a unique characteristic to the wine grapes grown here. The wines known as Lacryma Christi, Tears of Christ, can only be made from grapes grown in this soil. These wines will accompany a delicious lunch on the patio at Sorrentino. From the patio, with Mount Vesuvius behind us we can look out at the bay of Naples and see Sorrento and Capri in the distance. After lunch we will board our bus to return to Dugenta.
Dinner will be at 7:30 PM, and we will enjoy wines from the Province of Napoli with our meal. After dinner we will show the Italian comedy film Benvenuti al Sud – Welcome to the South.
DAY 4 - Tuesday
SALERNO and PAESTUM
After breakfast our bus arrives at 8 a.m., and we depart for Agropoli in the Province of Salerno where we will visit the ancient Greek city of Paestum. Our guide will take us on a journey back in time to the year 550 BC as we view the magnificent temples built at that time which are still standing.
Following our visit to Paestum, we will arrive at Azienda Marino where we will tour the vineyard and winery with the owners. After our tour, we will enjoy a wine pairing lunch with Marino wines grown in the soil of the Cilento forest area. After lunch, we will return to Dugenta along with wines from Salerno for our evening wine pairing dinner, and we bring back the famous Mozzarella to enjoy with the meal as well.
DAY 5 - Wednesday
CASERTA
After breakfast our bus will take us to The Royal Palace in Caserta. Constructed in the 18th century for Bourbon Kings, this 1200-room palace with its two-kilometer-long gardens dwarfs Versailles. After our guided tour we travel to Pontelatone to visit the magnificent Alois winery. Michele Alois, whose family has long run a successful silk business at San Leucio in Caserta, began this winery and now runs it with his sons and extended family. He produces, among other grapes, the indigenous varieties such as Casavecchia and Pallagrello. We will sample their wines in the barreling room and follow with a wine pairing lunch in their fabulous glass enclosed dining room. After our lunch we will tour the vineyard and return to Dugenta. Of course our evening meal will include wines from the Province of Caserta.
DAY 6 - Thursday
AVELLINO
Following breakfast our bus will take us to the town of Sorbo Serpico in the Province of Avellino. There we will visit the world renowned Feudi di San Gregorio Winery, which produces some of the finest wines in all of Campania. The Marenna Restaurant, which is on the premises has a Michelin Star. After our arrival we will take a guided tour of the winery, which will include a wine tasting, followed by wine pairing and lunch. That evening we will enjoy Feudi di San Gregorio wines with our dinner.
DAY 7 - Friday
BENEVENTO & SANT' AGATA DE' GOTI
After breakfast we travel to the city of Benevento in the Province of Benevento. There, our guide will walk us in the footsteps of the Roman Army that marched on the Appian Way from Rome to Brindisi. In Benevento almost 2000 years ago, an arch was built to honor the Emperor Trajan and to celebrate his addition to this historic road. Along with the Arch of Trajan we will also take a tour of the Church of Santa Sofia built by the Lombards in the year 750 AD, as well as the Roman Theatre where performances still take place.
After our tour of Benevento, we travel to the city of Sant’ Agata de’ Goti. There we will visit the Mustilli Winery and tour their wine cellar carved more than 50 feet below the streets of the town in the 1700s. We will enjoy a lovely wine pairing lunch after our tour and visit some of the quaint shops in town. Later that night after our final wine pairing dinner, we will enjoy music and singing to complete our tour.
DAY 8 - Saturday
DEPARTURE
Our tour ends after breakfast and our bus will return to Rome. For those who wish to continue their vacation in other parts of Italy, we can make alternate transportation arrangements.