Italian Wine and Food......and lots of tourists!
Our Eleven Winery travelers at the 4 Madonne Dairy in Lesignana di Modena
Summer travel is in FULL swing! Our recent journey to Italy with Eleven Winery took us from Milan in the North, through Piedmont and Genova to Emilia Romagna, and ended in Siena and Florence in Tuscany. Italy in the summertime, post-pandemic, post-flooding, and during an excessive heat wave (we just made it out before it got really hot), is not for the faint of heart! As with every tour, we learned a lot and will make a few adjustments to the planning of tours of this kind.
The group of 20, mostly wine club members from Bainbridge Island-based Eleven Winery, along with its founder Matt Albee and his staff, were all interested in the productions of organic wines and local food systems. The middle of our tour was led by Confcooperative Emilia Romagna official Davide Pieri, who took us to the 4 Madonne Dairy in Lesignana di Modena. Here, we learned about the intricate process of producing Parmesan cheese. The cooperative, which in recent years has opened its facilities for private tours, is becoming increasingly well-known overseas. Our travelers were amazed and fascinated by the sheer number of cheese wheels on the shelves! Our visit ended with a tasting of four different types of aged Parmesan cheese, paired with local Lambrusco.
Pieri, who enjoyed the company of his second CCJ group in five years, mentioned our visit in his recent newsletter: "The stars and stripes guests continued the tour by visiting Francesco Liuzzi's vinegar factory in Albareto di Modena, partner of Acetaia La Tradizione, which produces traditional balsamic vinegar of Modena; the result of the work and passion of Mr. Francesco, who in the attic of the house is dedicated to the care of 25 batteries of barrels."
The CCJ Foundation plays a key role and provides a vehicle for CCJ to contribute from the proceeds of each journey. We also identify opportunities for travelers to donate directly to the CCJ Foundation to support various projects at home and around the world. To this end, we stopped at the Anima di Bentivoglio social cooperative, just outside Bologna, for lunch at the Locanda Smeraldi. The restaurant, surrounded by greenery, features dishes of typical Bolognese cuisine while providing employment opportunities to young people with disabilities, hardships, and other disadvantages. The Cross Cultural Journeys Foundation contributed $1,700 to this project, directly from the proceeds of this tour.
Pieri continued: "Before continuing their Italian tour in Tuscany, the American guests also visited the Arceto plant, in the Reggio area, of the Emilia Wine cooperative winery, learning about the production techniques of highly appreciated wines such as Lambrusco and Spergola."