Such a fun day exploring the foods of Bologna! First we were picked up promptly, first thing in…read morethe morning (the sun hadn't come up yet) at our hotel in a passenger van, and drove to the first experience which was the cheese factory/farm. We actually got to see how the whole processing of making Parmigiano Reggiano,from start to finish, which was very enlightening. I have to say their Ricotta cheese is the best I have tasted from all over the world.
Next we drove to a family owned DOP balsamic vinegar vineyard where we were able to see the process of making balsamic vinegar. Did you know it takes years and years to make just a small amount of vinegar. Very fascinating to hear and to taste. We got to compare balsamic venegar that isn't DOP and some that is. We were also able to taste the 25 year old, and 50 year old vinegar. This is tightly guarded as it is quite an arduous process, and very, very, time consuming just to get a few bottles out of the 25 and 50+ vinegar. Let's just say it's yummy.
Make sure you buy a bottle while you are there. I didn't, and I could kick myself as it's more expensive is the USA from the same vineyard.
Then it was off to the place where the prosciutto di Modena is made. That was interesting as well all these ham hocks hanging up, and the process of how the most tasty prosciutto is made.
Final stop was to have lunch at a cantina on a sprawling estate. Great views. Did I say FOOD, lots, and lots of Italian food and wine. Very tasty and a good variety of Italian dishes.
Then off to our hotel we go. We had our driver drop us off closer to city center so that we could enjoy the city before heading back to our hotel since this was or last night in Italy. She was very happy to oblige us.
Such a fun day. I highly recommend this tour.