As part of every Adventures in Italy tour, we invite you to tempt your tastebuds when you spend an evening at the family owned and operated Ristorante Bartolomei for olive oil tasting and wine pairing, featuring local specialties.  Leading us in our exploration is Graziella, our sommelier and the only non-family member of our Bartolomei evening.

Graziella explains the timing of olive and grape harvest

Bartolomei has been producing olive oil since 1890, handed down one generation to the next. The olive oil is produced at the farm, Frantoio Bartolomei, and we start our evening by comparing the two oils, with olives picked earlier and later in the season.

tasting olive oil on toasted bread

The next course is antipasti.  Always grilled or roasted vegetables in oil, olive paste on toast, truffle paste on toast, and if we’re really lucky, garlic.  The garlic is soaked in milk so it’s less pungent, and delicious!

local specialties, including garlic soaked in milk

Usually a pasta course follows.  Umbrichelli is the Umbrian specialty, like a thick spaghetti.  You can find the same shape of pasta all over Italy but it’s called something different in every region. Truffles are also popular in this region, the mushroom kind, not the chocolate kind.  Shaved truffle on top of pasta is a treat.  Wild boar, cingale, is also popular, and will sometimes find it’s way into our pasta course.

Umbrian pasta, umbrichelli

We are often fortunate to sample local cheeses and honey for dessert.  If you’ve never tried honey, also produced locally by Casa Parrina, on your cheese, you’re really missing out!  Life changing, for real.  There’s also biscotti, with dessert wine, or sometimes pie or a torte.

fruit and cheese served with local honey

biscotti with dessert wine

All of this is expertly paired with whites, reds, and dessert wines from Bartolomei and other wineries around Orvieto.  Lucky for me, Graziella keeps track of everything and I’ve never had the same meal twice.  Everything served to us, both food and wine, is available for purchase in their shop, and they ship, too.  One last note, they also have a line of soaps, lotion and shampoo, made with extra virgin olive oil. Treat yourself to their lip balm, the softest, most amazing thing ever!

skin and hair care products made with extra virgin olive oil

For more about Adventures in Italy tours, you might enjoy these previous posts:

Have An Italian Adventures in 2023

Travel Through Time

Gather Together Again

Michelle Logue leads cultural and creative adventures in Orvieto, Italy. With a mandate to provide "travel that transforms", Adventures in Italy gives guests an immersive experience. After more than 15 years of return trips, Orvieto has become a welcoming home base surpassing the typical Italian vacation. Adventures in Italy operates trips in May and September, with two options: Artistic Enrichment nurtures creative expression, while Discover Orvieto invites visitors to focus on the history and culture of Orvieto and live as locals. Find out more about tours and special offers by following Adventures in Italy on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and visit www.adventuresinitaly.ca Slow Travel Tours is an affiliation of small-group tour operators who offer personalized trips in Italy, France and other European countries.