Simone’s of Bright
News and Events 2011
...an absolute must when visiting Bright. ...Stephanie Alexander
Chef Patrizia Simone .... in 2009 created a Melbourne Food and Wine Festival Legend
2 Chef hats.... The Age Good Food Guide 2009 & 2010
Join the Simone family (Australian and Italian) and share in their knowledge of Italy and its foods, as they introduce visitors to the depths and delights of Italian cuisine, wines and culture.
Fully guided small group tours of Umbria, Sicily and France provide time to roam towns at leisure, tap into the local culture and cuisine and enjoy the produce and scenery.
4-14 September 2011 ($6500 pp)
On this tour you will share the world of our extended family and friends and experience a way of life rooted in centuries of tradition.
For most of the tour we will be based in Perugia - settle in, unpack and enjoy this ancient walled city. On our daily excursions to surrounding towns such as Assissi, Norcia, Castellucio and Gubbio we will meet local food and wine producers, taste their products and buy ingredients for our hands-on cooking classes. Two days in Tuscany and Greve in Chianti will add to our knowledge of ancient and modern wines.
Woven throughout this tour are dinners and excursion with our extended family, experiencing age-old traditions that can’t be experienced anywhere else.
18 September - 2 October 2011 ($7800 pp)
Once known as the badlands of Italy, Sicily is becoming “the place to visit”. And for good reason!
Greek, Spanish, Arabic and Norman influences can be found in the unique mix of cuisine, architecture and art inherited from the numerous invasions Sicily has known in the past.
Our tour will take us through this island rich with history, culture, cuisine and stunning landscapes.
Between discovering the delights of wines (including the famous Marsala), seafood, chocolate, cheeses, olives and local markets we’ll explore the amazing salt pans near Mozia, charming cliff top villages, beaches, Greek temples and Etna volcano.
As we cross the island we’ll explore the interior, where olive trees and vineyards create a picturesque landscape around quiet hill villages unchanged with the passage of time. There local producers will engage us in hands-on demonstrations of traditional cheese, olive oil and chocolate making.
We’ll explore the towns where old mafia wars took place, and The Godfather was filmed - and of course there is volcanic Mount Etna, still erupting occasionally to cast an ominous shadow across the fertile land around the mountain.
Discover all that is best about Sicily when we tour this exceptional island - a land of intriguing places and tastes.
3-18 October 2011 (Price TBA)
The BBBC Tour?
B = Barolo
B = Barbaresco
B = Burgundy
C = Champagne
Piemonte is home to some of the finest food and wine in Italy, namely the famed white truffle and the king of wines - nebbiolo - made famous by the communes of Barolo and Barbaresco. To find out why people swoon at the mention of these wines, join us on an utterly divine gastronomic tour of the region.
Being so close to France, it makes perfect sense to travel over the Alps to Burgundy, home of the world’s greatest chardonnays, pinot noirs and frogs legs.
We will explore the vineyards, leading domaines, Michelin-starred restaurants and much more. A side trip to Champagne will top off the trip. We will visit some of the finest Champagne houses to appreciate the history and joy of this beautiful region and its famous sparkling wine.
It will be a trip that guarantees exceptional food, wine, cooking, sight-seeing - and of course loads of fun too.
Snapshots from previous tours