From Bologna: Food Valley Parmigiano Reggiano Dairy, Balsamic Cellar and Lambrusco Winery Tour with Lunch

Your experience

Explore Emilia-Romagna's food valley on a guided factory tasting tour with lunch, tastings, and round-trip transfers from Bologna.

Getting started

Begin your day in Bologna, where you meet your local guide and driver and board your vehicle for the drive into the Food Valley. After a short briefing about the day's schedule, you set off with round-trip transfers from and to Bologna taken care of. The first destination on your route is a traditional Parmigiano dairy.

What to expect

Parmigiano dairy

Your first stop is a working Parmigiano Reggiano dairy, where you see how this iconic cheese is made from milk to aging wheels.

Features

• Witness the magic of cheesemaking at the Parmigiano dairy as you walk through production areas and aging rooms filled with wheels at different stages of maturity.
• Enjoy guided food tastings of aged Parmigiano, comparing textures and flavors, with bottled water provided during this first tasting stop.
• Your local guide and driver share insights into Modena's food traditions as you move through the dairy, helping you understand how this cheese shapes the region's heritage.

Balsamic acetaia

Next, you visit a traditional acetaia, a vinegar loft where authentic balsamic vinegar is patiently aged.

Features

• Explore the balsamic acetaia and learn about barrels, aging times, and grape must as you walk among the casks.
• Take part in a sensory food tasting of different balsamic vinegars, noticing how aging affects aroma and density, with your guide explaining how locals use each variety.
• Coffee is available during the visit, giving you a short pause between tastings while your driver handles all logistics to the next stop.

Lambrusco winery

Your final production stop is the oldest Lambrusco winery, where regional wines take center stage.

Features

• Visit the Lambrusco winery and stroll through historic cellars, seeing where the region's characteristic wines are stored and prepared.
• Join tastings of Lambrusco and other regional wines, guided by on-site experts, while your local guide helps interpret labels, grape types, and tasting notes.
• Bottled water is available alongside the tastings so you can pace yourself comfortably throughout this part of the tour.

Traditional Modenese lunch

After exploring factories and cellars, you sit down to a meal that brings all the flavors of the morning together.

Features

• Enjoy a true Modenese feast with lunch included, featuring handmade pasta and traditional dishes that highlight Parmigiano Reggiano, balsamic vinegar, and local wines.
• Lunch is paired with tastings drawn from regional bottles, so you can taste how Lambrusco and other wines work with each course.
• Savor homemade desserts at the end of the meal, accompanied by rich Italian coffee, a final tasting moment before you start the return journey.

Wrapping up

After lunch and your final coffee, you rejoin your local guide and driver for the comfortable ride back, with round-trip transfers returning you to Bologna, where the tour concludes.

Highlights

• Spend a day tasting Parmigiano Reggiano, balsamic vinegar, and Lambrusco right at their source, immersing yourself in Modena's food traditions.
• Meet your local guide and driver in Bologna, then relax on round-trip transfers into the countryside as you head to your first tasting stop.
• Tour a Parmigiano dairy, a balsamic acetaia, and a Lambrusco winery with your guide, watching production inside the aging cellars.
• Enjoy lunch with pasta and local dishes, then sample tastings, finish with desserts and Italian coffee, with bottled water all included.