ABOUT US
AN AUTHENTIC EXPERIENCE
Why(ne) Tour With Us?
Tasting Tuscany is a 4 star Tour Operator based in the USA with representative offices in Pennsylvania & Tuscany. We proudly boast to be one of the first tour operators to offer food & wine vacations in the region of Tuscany since 1994. We work exclusively with 4 star hotels & winery resorts in Tuscany, Amalfi and in Venice. All our restaurants, trattoria, enoteche and wineries are hand-picked for their uniqueness and quality service.
What began as a fun way of showing friends and family who came to visit us in Florence the beautiful hamlets. wineries and hill-top towns in the area has become a wonderful way of showing others around the world unique and very special places where I and my family call home. We do our best to include as many excursions and activities as possible into our tours and cooking vacations while maintaining that balance of personal time that is so important.
Tuscany is a place that we call home. Eating a pizza in the warm summer evening at a beach resort or helping our dear neighbors pick olives to take to the press... it's all normal, something we don't think about. However for YOU, it's another world and we are thrilled to show you ours...
Tuscany is all about romance, its food and wine are treated with respect. Meals are long, never rushed and are very much a social event. They are a special occasions to relax, talk about the day's events and be with family and friends. Our tours have been developed with that ideology in mind.
Tours are designed to give our guests a truly authentic experience as we visit the hill-top villages or taste sheep "pecorino" cheese from local producers.
You will always have bi-lingual guides and hosts with you on our accompanied tours who are selected for their knowledge of the city they work in as well as their exuberant personalities. Tour sizes vary from 6 to a maximum of 14 guests allowing us to give you even more attention! Our objective is to attend to your needs and desires and we will take care of you! The Italian verb for this is to "coccolare"... that's what we do!
We support the artisans and local businesses. Our suppliers are authentic and we love working with them! You will have the impression that you are not a tourist but actually living in Tuscany. We go out of our way to give every guest special attention from even before the tour begins right through to the last day. This could be visiting an artisanal profumery, hand-made & painted ceramic producer, an olive oil mill or walking through a 1000 year old monastery. Our hotel and winery resort partners are absolutely fabulous and they really go the full 9 yards to make our guests comfortable.
We are passionate about local art, food & wine. We cater to people who are looking for all that is Italian, something unique and that's just what we strive to give our guests, "a unique and special experience they will never forget".
"Come Tour with Us!"
Meet some of our guides, tour hosts & friends....
THE OWNERS STORY
About The Owner
Ciao a tutti! My name is Marc and the lovely young lady next to me in the photo above is my precious daughter Susi. She is my apprentice and will hopefully allow me to slow down and enjoy life in a few years!
I spent most of my life living in Florence, Italy. After my graduate studies in Switzerland, I went to work for a European multinational in Paris France, London, England and ending up in the eternal city of Rome, Italy.
One bright morning in 1989 I decided that I had enough, so I made a difficult decision to leave the comfort of a regular paycheck in the corporate world and head to Florence (where I would meet my wife and have a beautiful daughter, Susanna) to open an art school.
For years, friends and family would come to visit us from abroad and I would be their personal guide. I honestly enjoyed taking family and friends to my favorite trattoria in Impruneta or to show them details of Caravaggio painting in the Uffizi Gallery. I soon began organizing short tours for the students at my art school and thought "this could be a business on its own...".
In 1994 I was asked to organize a food and wine tour for a group of ladies from California and I never stopped because it didn't feel like work. Its a great feeling showing people so many places that are special to me and my family.
I am also a trained chef, owned restaurants and worked in catering and hospitality consultancy... I LOVE GOOD FOOD (I suppose that it shows by the size of my mid-section in the photo above)! I love what I do and am able to divide my time with my family between a little hill-top village 50 km from Florence in Tuscany and a small town in Pennsylvania.
We create tours based on what we know people will love. I basically manage the logistics while my team of local hosts, wine experts, tour designers and professional guides back me up and are integral to the success our tours.
Our guides are all locals and are extremely knowledgeable of the history of their cities and more importantly they have wonderful people skills and love what they do.
Tasting Tuscany Tours focuses primarily on Tuscan food & wine, but occasionally tours will go outside of my beloved Tuscany to include north eastern Italy (Venice) and central-southern Italy (Amalfi Coast). We do everything to ensure that our guests truly experience my love for Tuscany and Italy.
