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Small Group Private Tour Specialist

Plan your Italy adventure with the small group private tour specialist. Escape overtourism and discover the back roads and authentic small towns with us. Kathy and Vernon create your perfect trip, with off-the-beaten path destinations, activities from walks and bike rides to city tours and shopping, and expert-led culinary adventures.

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Food and Wine

Any tour of Italy is incomplete without indulging in the amazing food and wine. But to truly appreciate It requires an understanding of the regional history, culture and geography. All become part of your adventure with Kathy, chef, food blogger, and Certified Italian Wine Professional, and Vernon, mountain guide, MS in European Literature and avid history enthusiast.

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Your Unique Adventure

Not all private trips are custom. Most tour companies don't have the flexibility to deviate from their set itineraries, so there are always compromises. With Kathy and Vernon, your adventure will be as unique as you are, and your itinerary will be personally designed us to meet the desires and varied interests of your group.

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The ItaliaOutdoors Difference


Truly Personalized Service and a Custom Plan for Every Trip

Kathy and Vernon

NO MIDDLEMEN

You communicate directly with Vernon and Kathy. We know your dreams for an Italy adventure, we’ll have it ready for you when you arrive.

No Group Too Small

SMALL FOOTPRINT

Our small footprint allows us to travel like locals and enjoy spontaneous adventures as we explore the path less traveled.

 

Custom Plan

UNIQUE ITINERARY

Each tour itinerary is unique and serves as a framework for an exceptional journey, where a thoughtful plan adjusts to your pace.

 

Authenticity

KNOWLEDGE

We focus on just a few select tours to provide an exceptional level of regional knowledge and an unforgettable authentic experience.

Travel after COVID-19: How do you wish to travel in Italy when we are able to return? In a small private group of your family and friends? Plenty of outdoor explorations? Off the beaten track destinations far from tourist crowds? Private cooking classes, wine tours, small intimate hotels? That's how we've been traveling for ten years. Plan your adventure in Italy with Italiaoutdoors Food and Wine, the custom tour specialist.

Customize Your Adventure - Food - Wine - Walk - Hike - Bike

With Italy's "Best Local Guide 2013"

Read about our tours in Adventure Cyclist August 2015

Our passion is creating intimate, personalized active food and wine adventures that explore an authentic Italy
- its outdoor beauty, its hidden back roads, its small family producers, its traditional wines, at your preferred pace.
Tell Me More!

Located in the hills right outside of Trento in the Valle d’Adige is a very unique DOC, the TRENTODOC. The signature wine of this DOC are white and rose sparkling wines, produced by the classic Champagne method (Metodo Classico), in which the secondary fermentation occurs in the bottle. Northeastern Italy is home to the well-known sparkling wine Prosecco, these sparklers from TRENTODOC are very different from the proseccos, and are well-worth searching out and taking some time to appreciate their unique position in the wine regions of the area.

vineyards trentino private tours italy walking bike ski
Vineyards in Trentino, Italy


In the early 1900s, a Trentino resident by the name of Giulio Ferrari decided to bring the French champagne making tradition to this area, after spending a few years learning the craft in the Champagne region of France, at Epernay. He felt his homeland was uniquely suited to the cultivation of these grapes, lying at a lower latitude than the Champagne region, but with the terraced vineyards at a higher elevation. So he planted the traditional champagne grapes: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Pinot Blanc, and then began production of sparkling wines following the traditional champagne methods, referred to as Metodo Classico in Italian.

Today, the DOC regulations on these cultivation of these grapes are fairly restrictive. The boundaries of the region are strictly set in Trentino, chemicals are practically banned, the yield per hectare strictly controlled, and irrigation is restricted to only in times of emergency. The exact proportions of grapes are not specified, but the varieties are limited to the four just mentioned. The secondary fermentation must occur in the bottle, followed by a long maturation in which the wine experiences prolonged contact with the lees (residual yeast). This maturation period is 15 months for non-vintage wines, 24 months for vintage, and 36 for riserva. After maturation, a labor intensive procedure begins in which the bottle is slowly rotated and tipped down over a period of many days to move  the sediment down to the mouth (riddling or remauge), then a small amount of wine in the neck, which contains the lees, is frozen and removed (disgorgement).

ferrari spumante wine cycling tours italy
Ferrari Spumante

There are currently more than twenty-five vineyards producing Trento DOC, with over 70 labels under production. All producers market their sparkling wines under the TRENTODOC name. Cavit is the largest, and best known cooperative in the province with some 65% of production. Their Pinot Grigio is widely exported but produced under a different DOC designation.

These TRENTODOC sparkling wines are available in two styles: Bianco (Millesimato and Riserva) and Rosé. They both exhibit persistent and intense perlage, with a dense and creamy foam. These are extremely elegant wines, with a wide range of aromas from fruity to yeasty, reflecting the aging on the lees. They pair well with a variety of dishes from seafood to white meats to pasta. The traditional pairing is with grainy, mature cheeses and antipasti. The rose matches well with seafood soups, fish, and roast poultry.