5 Authentic Food & Wine Experiences in Italy You Can Enjoy With Exodus
While each region of Italy has its own delicious and distinctive flavours, the essence of Italian cuisine is timeless.
It’s a deep respect for fresh, seasonal ingredients, simplicity in preparation, and the joy of gathering around the table to enjoy every bite and sip with gusto.
When you’re on an Exodus adventure, our expert local guides don’t just show you where to eat and drink – they share the stories behind each dish and how these time-honoured flavours have shaped Italian culture itself.
Here are five of our favourite food and wine experiences in Italy.
1. Find Florence’s Secret Wine Windows
In Florence, even the walls have secrets. The city’s buchette del vino – tiny wine windows – emerged in the 1600s, when noble families sold their vintages straight from their palazzi to avoid taxes and reduce contact during the plague.
Forgotten for centuries, these little portals are now enjoying a renaissance revival, serving chianti to curious passersby.
On our Discover Tuscany: Culture, Food & Wine trip, you and your group will toast to tradition at a wine window, discover Siena’s neighbourhoods, master pasta-making in Chianti, and savour Tuscany’s finest vintages against a backdrop of rolling hills and timeless towns.
Experience it on:
Discover Tuscany: Culture, Food & Wine
Join expert guides, wine makers and our welcoming hosts to explore this intoxicating region of Italy
2. Press for Prosecco in Veneto
High on the Colline del Cartizze, where the finest Superiore di Cartizze Prosecco is harvested, your guide will lead you to a vending machine with serious flair that dispenses chilled bottles of premium fizz at the touch of a button.
Just past the rustic Osteria senz’Oste farmhouse, it’s the perfect spot to gather with your group, pop a cork, and savour the sweeping vineyard views together.
Later, you’ll explore hidden Venice by gondola workshop, hike up Monte Cesen for panoramic views, and taste your way through hilltop villages few tourists ever reach.
Experience it on:
Walk The Prosecco Hills & Hidden Venice
Unveil one of the world's best wine regions in Italy.
3. Mozzarella Meets Margherita in Amalfi
Our Highlights of the Amalfi Coast trip is a feast for the senses.
In Bomerano, you’ll visit a traditional cheesemaker to watch centuries-old techniques transform rich buffalo milk into the region’s iconic mozzarella – fresh, silky, and impossible to resist.
Later, at Hotel Due Torri, your family-run base for the week, perfecting pizza for over 40 years, you and your group will get to grips with cooking traditional Neapolitan pizza from their cherished recipe.
Between culinary exploits, you explore Amalfi’s sunlit alleys, cruise to Capri’s glamorous shores, and walk the legendary Path of the Gods.
Experience it on:
Highlights of the Amalfi Coast
Discover one of the world's most fascinating destination
4. Discover Street Eats in Sicily
Sicily’s culinary charms start strong in Palermo, where your expert guide will lead you straight to the sizzling stalls and crumb-crusted kiosks locals swear by.
Sample street food icons like panelle, arancini, and sfincione, all beloved staples in a typical Sicilian diet.
From there, swap the markets for a cookery class in hilltop Erice, taste Marsala’s famous fortified wines, and wander the Valley of the Temples.
En route, you learn about olive oil production, savour farm-fresh ricotta, and sip Etna wines at the foot of the volcano. In Sicily, every day is a feast.
Experience it on:
Sicily Food & Wine
Enjoy world famous Sicilian food while visiting heritage sites
5. Roll Pasta in Puglia
Puglia’s tastiest moments unfold in a traditional masseria, where you’ll roll up your sleeves to master the likes of orecchiette – small, ear-shaped pasta that’s one of the hallmarks of Apulian cooking.
Guided by local chefs, you’ll turn water and flour into perfect little shapes, then sit down to taste your creations over a leisurely farmhouse lunch surrounded by ancient olive groves.
Afterwards, sip regional wines in Alberobello, sample golden olive oil, and explore Matera’s cave dwellings and Lecce.
Experience it on:
Discover Puglia: Italy's Ancient Heel
Discover Puglia's traditional farmland, coastline and Baroque cities
Meet the Guides Who Bring Italy’s Flavours to Life
The Amalfi Coast has lured traders, sailors, and dreamers for centuries – and with good reason.
This rugged coastline has a long tradition of turning the freshest local ingredients into dishes and drinks worth travelling for.
And while the spectacular coastal trails get plenty of attention, our Amalfi Coast expert, Veriano Verde, who grew up nearby surrounded by the region’s beauty (and more than a few sweet temptations), will tell you there’s much more to la dolce vita than soaking up the panoramic views.
“I make it my mission to tell all my groups to visit L’Alambicco in Agerola – an exceptional family-run limoncello business where three passionate brothers turn lemons into something far better than lemonade. And if you don’t have a sweet tooth, try Scialatielli all’Amalfitana, a fresh, thick pasta swimming in a rich seafood sauce you’ll never forget.”
That same sense of pride runs deep in Sicily, too.
Francesco Genzone, born and raised in Palermo, is passionate about sharing the true soul of Sicily with Exodus groups.
“When I give my group a piece of cheese, a glass of wine, I’m not just sharing food,” he says. “I’m sharing the stories of all the peoples behind this island – the richness, the flavours, the traditions that make Sicily what it is. Every single town, every single corner, every single person is part of its heart. And this is what I want to give to my group – the history of an island, one of the best places in the world.”
It’s this connection between plate and place that turns a simple tasting into something far more meaningful – and exactly why exploring Italy with those who call it home makes all the difference.
