Full Day

Food Tours · Emilia-Romagna

Emilia on a Plate

See Parmigiano Reggiano made by hand, from the morning milk to wheels aged for years, then taste traditional balsamic vinegar where it has rested in wooden barrels for decades.

Emilia's two great slow foods in one private day: a working Parmigiano Reggiano dairy at dawn, then lunch and a tasting at a family acetaia. Pick-up in Florence or Bologna, same price.

Private from €280 per person for a group of 8 · €400 per person for 2 · from Florence or Bologna

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Your group:2 guests€400 per person · €800 total for 2 guests

Private tour, the whole day just for your group. The more you are, the less each person pays.

✓ Reserve with a 30% deposit · ✓ Free cancellation up to 48 hours before · ✓ Balance on the day

Cheesemakers at work beside the copper vats of a Parmigiano Reggiano dairy, the curd wrapped in linen

Young wheels of Parmigiano Reggiano, the dotted rind stamped with the dairy number and date

Aged wheels of Parmigiano Reggiano, one opened to show the crystalline grain

A wedge of Parmigiano Reggiano aged over 24 months

Traditional balsamic vinegar of Modena, dense and dark, poured from a spoon

The Experience

🥛 Watch the milk become curd in the copper vats, early in the morning
🧀 See the curd lifted in linen, shaped in moulds and salted in brine
🏛️ Walk the ageing room among thousands of wheels, from 12 months to over 36
🍯 Lunch at a family acetaia and a tasting of Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale

Your Day

Early pick-up in Florence or Bologna

Parmigiano is made in the morning, so the day starts early: around 8:00 from Bologna, earlier from Florence, to reach the dairy while the cheesemakers are at work.

From milk to curd

Last night's and this morning's milk meet in the copper vats with rennet and whey. You watch the curd break into grains, settle, and be lifted out in linen cloths, two twin wheels from each vat.

Moulds, brine and the ageing room

The young wheels go into moulds that stamp the dotted Parmigiano Reggiano rind, then into brine for about three weeks. In the ageing room you walk among thousands of wheels and learn how the inspectors test them with a hammer.

Tasting the ages

Parmigiano at 12, 24 and over 36 months, side by side: the same cheese, three very different flavours.

Lunch at the acetaia

In the attic of a family farmhouse near Modena, rows of small barrels of juniper, cherry and oak where traditional balsamic ages for at least 12 years. A guided tasting, then a long lunch from the family kitchen, before the drive back.

Good to Know

⏱️Duration & group size

Duration: a full day, about 10 hours from Bologna, a little more from Florence, with an early start. Group: private, 2 to 8 guests. Guide: an English-speaking local guide. Season: all year; the dairies work every day.

🚐Pick-up & drop-off

We collect you at your hotel or apartment in Florence or in Bologna, or at Bologna Centrale station: the price is the same. From Florence the day starts earlier and ends later, by roughly an hour each way, and we confirm the times when you book. Some central streets in Florence fall within the ZTL limited traffic zone: in that case we agree on a nearby meeting point in advance.

✅What's included

Private, air-conditioned minivan with driver for the whole day
Guided visit to a working Parmigiano Reggiano dairy and ageing room
Parmigiano tasting at three ages
Acetaia visit, balsamic tasting and lunch
An English-speaking guide

Purchases of cheese, balsamic or wine
Tips and gratuities

💶Prices

Private tour, price per person by group size:

GuestsPer personTotal

2€400 €800

3€380 €1,140

4€360 €1,440

5€340 €1,700

6€320 €1,920

7€300 €2,100

8€280 €2,240

Same price with pick-up in Florence or in Bologna.

↩️Booking & cancellation

To book: a 30% deposit, paid online by card through a secure SumUp payment link we send you by email or WhatsApp. The balance is paid on the day of the tour, by card or contactless (every van carries a card reader) or in cash.

If you cancelWhat happens

More than 48 hours beforeFull refund of your deposit

Within 48 hours, or no-showThe 30% deposit is kept; nothing else is owed

Will we really see the cheese being made?

Yes. We arrive in the morning, when the cheesemakers are working the curd at the vats. Making stops by late morning, which is why the day starts early.

Why such an early start?

Parmigiano Reggiano is made with the morning milk. From Florence we leave about an hour earlier than from Bologna, at the same price.

What is the difference from the Parma tour?

Parma: Parmigiano & Prosciutto pairs the dairy with Prosciutto di Parma and the city of Parma. Emilia on a Plate goes deeper into the cheese and ends at a balsamic acetaia instead, with no city visit.

Dietary requirements?

Vegetarian and gluten-free guests are easy: tell us when you book and we arrange lunch with the family. Note that Parmigiano Reggiano is made with animal rennet.

Can we bring cheese home?

Yes. You can buy vacuum-packed Parmigiano and bottles of balsamic at the dairy and the acetaia; both travel well in checked luggage.

Check availability

Bookings open in January 2027. Send us your date and group size now: we reply personally with availability, usually within 24 hours.

1 · Send your requestTell us your preferred date and group size. No payment now.

2 · We confirmWe check the estates and reply personally within 24 hours with your programme.

3 · Secure itPay a 30% deposit by card through a secure SumUp link. The balance is paid on the day.

Meet Andrea & Lorenzo

Your guides: Andrea, a WSET-trained sommelier who spent years working the land as an agricultural technician, and Lorenzo, who brings years of experience leading tours, a love for experiences that are real rather than staged, and the warm, accommodating way of reshaping the day around his guests that they mention in their reviews. Every route on this site is one we've driven, walked, or eaten our way through ourselves.