New Tuscany Trip Announced!

Chef Leonardo Curti

I am thrilled to announce a new Tuscany tour, this one for September 5-11, 2011 called "Chianti to the Coast."  I will be co-leading this tour with Chef Leonardo Curti of Trattoria Grappolo and the focus will be on food and wine, of course!  We decided to hit some of our favorite spots in the heart of Tuscany - Chianti, Montalcino, Cortona, Radda, and then head over to the Bolgheri region on the coast.  This is an area of Tuscany that most tourists by-pass and they shouldn't.  It has rugged, beautiful mountains, inviting beaches and it is the home of the world-famous Super Tuscan wines.

We have planned some exciting events like two top-notched cooking classes with local experts, winery appointments at "hard-to-get-into wineries", a visit to a world-famous butcher in Chianti and more!  And with a maximum of 14 people, we have insured all participants of an intimate experience.

Please go to my website for a more detailed itinerary and further information.

Newly Announced Italy Programs

I represent two wonderful schools in Italy - one for cooking and one for language.  Both have announced some new programs and dates.

The Language Center in Todi, Umbria has announced special fall/winter deals called "Warm Up Your Winter in Todi".  Click here to read more details.

Toscana Saporita cooking school has announced their 2011 dates and prices.  I have those posted here.






And stay tuned...I am announcing soon a fall 2011 food and wine trip to Tuscany with a renowned chef.  If you want to be notified when I release the information, please click here.

Taste of Sta. Rita Hills

From Italy to the Central Coast of California...

My husband and I just opened a wine tasting room and retail store in the "Lompoc Wine Ghetto" on the Central Coast of California, not far from Santa Barbara. The store is dedicated to only Sta. Rita Hills wineries that do not have tasting rooms at all or their tasting rooms are not open regularly. My husband, Antonio, has been a fan of the wines of this area for some time and wanted to promote those gems that most people never get to taste. He has spent the last year and a half working with local wine people, searching for these hidden treasures of wine and learning about the unique geography and terroir of the Sta. Rita Hills.

These are some of the great wineries he is representing now: Seasmoke, Brewer-Clifton, Huber, Gypsy Canyon, Diatom, El Rey, Prodigal, Thorne and soon our own wines under the Moretti label.


By the way, the wine appellation of Sta. Rita Hills has to spell "Santa" as "Sta." by law (due to a law suit from the Sta. Rita winery in Chile.)

Antonio is planning to be open Thursday-Sunday, usually 11 am - 5 pm, or by appointment. Please see the website for more details and directions.

Come by to taste, learn and tell my husband you read about him on my blog!

The Undiscovered Heart of Italy

Announcing a July 2010 trip to Umbria and Le Marche! I'm calling this "The Undiscovered Heart of Italy". See my website for full details, but read here for the personal details behind it.

I love putting these tours together. This is my calling. I feel so fortunate to be able to follow my bliss and share my passion for Italy with others. For those of you who don't know, I have been in the Italian wine business for many years and have extensive knowledge of Italy, Italian food and culture from years of travel there and being married to an Italian. I have been privileged to see many wineries in Italy and meet wonderful winemakers through the wine business. I realized that most of these wineries are not open to the public and the few that are usually do not give much of a tour and tasting like California wineries do. I also have been fortunate to dine my way through many regions which fueled my desire to learn as much as I could about the distinct regional culinary traditions and artisanal foods. My tours were born from the idea that I wanted people to experience Italian wineries like I have been able to do, AND experience authentic regional cuisines of Italy.

This trip is especially exciting and personal for me for so many reasons. Umbria and Le Marche are two of my favorite regions of Italy. In the past, the demand for tours tends to be for the popular destinations, like Tuscany. Of course I do those tours and still enjoy them, but I always wish I could show those tour participants more of Italy off the beaten path. I figured this was the year to put this tour together because off the beaten path usually also means less expensive. And indeed, this turns out to be the least expensive tour I have ever done.

Another reason this trip is extra special is that my husband is from Le Marche. I have spent much time there that it has become my adopted second home. I have traveled extensively in Umbria and think it has much to offer in many ways. The two regions share some similarities - some of their cured meats are similar (and in my opinion the two regions make the best salumi in the country), their Central Italian terrain (both have the Apennines as their backbone and both have rolling green hills coming down from the mountains), and both have a "slow" feel to them, almost like stepping back in time.

I am thrilled that three of the nights on the trip will be at La Tavola Marche's Agriturismo in Le Marche. I met the one of the owners, Ashley, through LinkedIn and then followed it to her website and blog. I fell in love with what they have created in the countryside of Le Marche and was looking for a good excuse to bring a group there. Well, I found it! I have made sure to include a cooking class with Ashley's husband, Jason, a professional chef.

This trip is limited to 10 people. Nice and intimate! The better to really take in the culture and experiences in an individual way.

I hope you can join me on this journey!

Maori Follow Up

I got broken and ripped apart by the Maori healers. I have hesitated to write about it for fear of diluting its effect on me and for fear of not having words to describe the whole experience. It really is beyond words and our language cannot do it justice. I wholeheartedly encourage anyone to seek them out when they come to your area and give yourself over to their healing.

Here are my notes on the experience written one week after the healing:


My Maori Healing Experience

One week ago I experienced a session of traditional Maori healing and here I sit still not sure whether I can or should write about. I feel that somehow if I carry the experience just as that – experience – without putting words to it, then it might be more powerful. Certainly much of what I experienced there are no words for.

As a compromise, because I really want people everywhere to be aware of these healers and their work, I will paint some broad brushstrokes of a picture of their work.

There were three of them working in a studio at the same time – this is the way they normally work, side by side, talking, sharing, helping with each others’ clients. I was assigned to Manu – the big “scary” one who must weigh over 350 pounds. I knew him from watching him treat my husband and he also treated my friend and sister. I felt I was in trustworthy hands…hands that belonged to a man as wide as a doorway. No, nothing to be scared about, Jeni! I had filled out a health form prior, and I had written primarily mental/emotional/spiritual reasons for wanting to see them. Yes, I have a few physical issues, but nothing dramatic. Manu seemed to understand what I needed without asking me anything.

The sessions always start with the feet. (I’ll tell you right up front, I don’t have any knowledge of how their systems work, only that they do. Whatever I put forth here is my experience and perceptions. My words may not reflect the way that they would describe their work. ) Manu started with my feet, but then I don’t really remember what came next other than I was flipped over and he was sitting on top of me. Yes, all 350 pounds of him. He said he was opening up my circulation, and if the redness in my ears and face and pain in my neck was evidence, it was working. He stayed there for quite a while before he got on his knees and used his knees to walk all over my butt and legs. That is when I remember the pain starting. I had the gift of having my dear friend, Christina, with me to hold my hands and whisper soothing words in my ear, continually reminding me to breathe. At many points the lungs could simply not take a breath for the weight on them. The pain in my legs and knees was excruciating – definitely the most pain I ever felt in my life. I was letting the screams pour forth, the sighs, the cries. I let it all out. He was opening my shoulder blades, cracking my upper spine, bending my feet, stretching my arms backwards over my shoulders, poking my knees and getting all the pressure points where I felt pain. There were a few moments when I thought I couldn’t take any more and was just sobbing. One of them was when he was sitting on top of me, on my back and put his extra large hands on both sides of my skull and squeezed until I thought my skull would break. That was the only part of the treatment where I got worried. After all, how could one fix a broken skull? Or could my temporal arteries explode? I squeezed Christina’s hands with all my might, screamed and cried at the top of my lungs like a baby being born. Wait a minute! Was I being birthed here?

During the session, the woman who owned the studio that hosted them, Larisa Stow, was playing her harmonium and singing and chanting. Her music lead me deeper into my heart. It opened up wider and aloud more tears to pour forth with the sounds.

I was back over then on my back for more work on the legs, bending me in different directions, having an assistant sit on top of the back of my thighs with my legs over my head, and then to the abdomen. The navel area is sacred, according to them and many traditions. It is the link to our birth. Manu had his fist in my belly, like they do to many patients. This was probably the most powerful part of the treatment to me in terms of emotions. He put my hands around his wrists and he concentrated and pressed and pushed and then pushed harder. It felt very vulnerable. Then he moved up to the end of breastbone and did the same thing and then right between my breasts. Three pops in a row, almost like a release. This physical part of the session lasted about 45 minutes. Manu moved to my head behind me and spoke loudly for all to hear. “Fear is a choice. We cannot live in fear. We can let fear, anger, sadness control or lives, or we can choose not to.” And then, “Stop taking care of those who don’t take care of themselves.”

Then I was lead outside to lay belly-down on mother earth to somewhat return to “normal,” although I could never be “normal” after that. My girlfriend had her hand on my back and said, “you are buzzing.” It took me about 10 minutes to be aware of my buzzing body; I was vibrating very quickly, almost imperceptibly at first.

I’ve heard them say that the treatment is the equivalent of a “reboot” of our system. I think that is an accurate description. I also felt ripped apart, and when I told Ata, one of the other healers, she wisely asked me, “Do you want to put yourself back together with the same glue?” I said, “absolutely not.”

The after-effects of this treatment are still with me. Initially, for a few days following the healing, I felt stoned, spaced out; my head was in the clouds. I liked it that way as I tend to think too much and not let things just “flow”. This flowing has continued, but not as intensely. I feel an opening in my heart, both literally and figuratively. I am less afraid of feeling whatever comes my way. I am focusing on Manu’s words and repeating them to myself daily, knowing that I have a unique energy and I have to let it come forth. I can’t be afraid of showing my true self or letting my desires come to fruition. If I cut off those vital parts of myself out of fear, I will die. And lastly, despite it being the worst pain I have felt in my whole life, I would go through this invaluable experience all over again.