Northern Spain & Portugal Food & Wine

• Jane was exceptional to work with from our first email onward. She understood exactly what we were looking for and was extremely accommodating. She answered question after question throughout the planning process and designed a trip so perfect for us, we couldn't have even dreamt it for ourselves! Her planning allowed us to explore northern Spain and Portugal almost as if we were friends with locals. Every guide was kind and personable. It was truly the VIP experience we hoped for.  Don't hesitate to take the leap and let Epicurean Ways do your trip the right way! – Christina & Taran, British Columbia

Galicia, Asturias & Cantabria Food & Wine

• Hi Jane, Thank you for helping to organize a great trip for us once again!  My fondest food memories are the Zamburinas in Santiago and at lunch in Sanxenxo,  just the freshest Spider Crab in Cudillero and best of all the Pulpo Carpaccio in Villafraca del Bierzo. For wineries, they all were special, but my fondest memories are the tastings in the vineyards of Cunqueiro with Evan and in the vineyards of Valdesil with Raoul. With Raoul, I would love to have stayed in his vineyard at his table under the tree there until sunset! And his wine O Chao, named for his uncle, is now my absolute favorite of all time. The sightseeing was outstanding and I especially enjoyed the Orellan viewpoint in Las Medulas, the Pena do Castelo viewpoint of the River Sil and the drive north of Leon through the limestone canyons to the Cuevas de Valporquero and the cave visit. Another favorite was to the cheese caves in Cabrales. The whole trip was excellent! – Marilyn, Richard, Marcia & Tamara, Oregon & NY

Basque & Rioja Food & Wine

• The five guides we had were all superb.  They were knowledgeable, convivial, accommodating, interesting people who were just fun to be with.  All spoke English very well. We learned a lot from them and were happy to get to know them.

  The experiences you organized were first class, including several unusual ones that we would not have had without them being organized and identified for us.  One example was cooking at the gastronomic club in San Sebastian.  Another was seeing the geological sites along the coast on our trip to Getaria.  All the lunches were excellent and interesting.  Well done

  My wife and I have led food and wine tours for friends in Tuscany, Provence, and Catalonia, so we know what it takes to put something like this together.  you did a great job, and we count it as one of our best personal trips.  We will surely recommend Epicurean Ways to our friends. – Ted & Betty, Maine

  Priorat Wine

• The guides were great. Very easy to talk to, very unassuming, and just generally quite lovely. We really appreciated the variety of Wineries/Vineyards we saw. Standouts included Ferrer Bobet, Merum Priorati, and Cal Pla. But they were all interesting and different. The lunches were all delicious as well! And we appreciated being able to choose what we wanted and the wine recommendations for lunch. And Mas d'en Bruno is a beautiful hotel, so certainly not a bad place to retire to every afternoon. – Rahim & Mark, NYC

  Northern Spain Food & Wine

• An extraordinary trip; the best-planned and executed we have ever taken. Thank you again for such detailed planning. This trip was well put together with everything that we wanted to do, eat, see etc. Everything was so well planned and coordinated! Drivers and guides always on time! It was an amazing experience! – Marilyn, Richard, Gloria & Tamara, Oregon & NY

  Lisbon & Douro Wine

• Thank you, Epicurean Ways, for setting up two amazing wine tours on our visit to Portugal. We opted for private tours in both instances, and the drivers were timely, friendly and very well versed in the areas we visited. In both cases, you arranged for lunch as part of the experiences. They were both unforgettable. In the first, we lunched with the matriarch of a family winery – in her home – as we tasted their beautiful wines. In the second, we were honored to share our meal with the harvest interns, listening to their wine journeys from South Africa, France, and Canada! As far as the wineries we visited, you curated the perfect range of experiences, from small, family-owned wineries to historic properties and even one new project that is a bit of a maverick. As a WSET Diploma student, I learned much more in these two days than from weeks of studying a textbook. Thank you for the excellent experience. We will definitely call you when we return to beautiful Portugal. Cheers~ Margaret & Karen, Napa, California

  Madrid Food & Wine

• Hi Jane, I know I speak for everyone that attended. Thank you for everything, your help, planning and executing this trip for our club was very well appreciated by everyone. You are a true professional. – Chef Roy, Los Angeles

  Andalucía Food & Wine

• The whole trip was wonderful, we really had a great time. Both the drivers we had the pleasure to travel with were brilliant, in particular the one who picked us up in Seville to go to Ronda, was particularly nice and providing lots of facts about Ronda having been living in the area all his life.

  In Sevilla, the hotel was great and in a perfect location to go everywhere. It was great to meet Marìa, she is a lovely and funny girl and very engaging. The flamenco show was mind blowing, absolutely loved it. The tour in Ronda was brilliant. The guide took me pretty much everywhere and her knowledge is outstanding. A special mention for your choice of restaurant in Ronda. We had a wonderful experience both in terms of food and service. The visit to the wineries (in Ronda and Montilla-Moriles) were all quite special and we really appreciated them all. In particular it was great to have our guide. Being a professional in the wine industry her knowledge was extraordinary and her way of sharing it very involving. The taberna tours with wine pairing was also great, we enjoyed every minute of it and loved all the places she took us to. Thank you for everything. – Donatella and Tim, London

  Northern Spain Food & Wine

• Hi Jane, We enjoyed our trip immensely! Everything was well thought out and executed to a tee. All of the guides were quite pleasant and well versed in their area of expertise. We wouldn’t have changed anything, except to add an additional day in Burgos...although we wouldn’t have wanted less time in the other locations. Staying in Valladolid was perfect because we were able to watch several Holy Week processions on Thursday and Friday night from our hotel room balcony. It was an experience we’re pretty sure we’ll never encounter again and it is a memory we will hold dear.

  We will definitely contact you again WHEN we return to Spain and/or Portugal and inform family and friends of your wonderful company. Thank you again for pulling together things so quickly for us. It is much appreciated. – Eileen and Charles, Pennsylvania

Rías Baixas Wine

• Hi Jane, Just wanted to let you know it was a fantastic trip. The hotel was wonderful. Every winery visit was excellent and we learned a lot in addition to trying all different types of Albariño wines. The winery guides were all terrific. And the lunch was fabulous. Miguel was so welcoming and knowledgeable. We were there probably close to three hours. Every person we met was so passionate about their work and happy to share and educate us. We loved this trip! Thank you. - - Ann and Bob, New York

  Northern Spain & Portugal Food & Wine

• Hi Jane, We are back, and what a wonderful trip it was! – Carol & Woody, Virginia

  Bilbao & Porto Port Excursions

• Hello Jane. Just a quick note as we leave Porto. The tours that you arranged for us this trip were top notch, as usual. Esther and Maria were knowledgeable and shared their passion for their respective cities. Esther was a standout as she guided us through the Guggenheim Museum, in particular, and we thoroughly enjoyed Maria’s tour of the market and tastings. They gave us many insights into the history and culture of the area. The transportation arrangements also went off without a hitch. Many thanks for steering us to some great tours, once again. – Cheryl and Tom, Virginia

  Barcelona Culture

• Ms. Gregg, Honestly, you & the guide handled the change to our beginning very well and it went smoothly. She is a wonderful guide, extremely knowledgable and easy to spend time with. After two days it felt like we were old friends. All in all we enjoyed every moment and cannot say enough good things about the guide. Thank you for planning this and we look forward to working with you in our future adventures. – Michael, Denver

  Basque Food & Wine

• What a great birthday trip! From the hotels and guides/tours to the cooking class and the drivers, it was seamless and wonderful. My family enjoyed it tremendously. - Nancy, Michigan

  Madrid & Northern Spain Wine

• Thank you for all the arrangements which were very professional. All the details were well taken care of. It truly reflects the high standard of service as a luxury trip organizer. - Stanley & Wine Group, Beijing

  Portugal Food & Wine

• Back from Portugal. The trip was truly enjoyable. Carole and I really enjoyed the private wine experience. This was a wonderful introduction and hands on experience into the culture, history and wines of Portugal. The "daughter" in the family showed her true passion for the family heritage, not only in wine but as a member of their community. The family home that they have now opened up for such experiences was a true living time capsule. Also, cannot forget "Mom's" home cooked dinner of traditional dishes. A special shout out to Luis, our driver but really guide to an introduction to Portugal. – Barry and Carole, Boulder, CO

  Portugal

• Jane, Beautiful ….. thanks for curating a wonderful experience for our clients. – Susanne, Pennsylvania

• Hi Jane, We're home from Portugal and we wanted to thank you for a fantastic trip. Portugal was even better than we expected. The people, food, wine and scenery were truly special and amazing. Our guides and drivers were great and very helpful. We made some great memories and we hope to go back soon! – Kelly and David, Portland, Oregon

• Let me start by once again thanking you for setting up an incredible trip. Everything you set up worked. Doesn't get any better than that. These trips can be difficult, since you don't really know us, our tastes, our style, etc, but somehow you nailed. it. The hotels you picked were great. The guide network you have is fantastic. Really great people. – Kenton, Barbara, Ted & Betsy, Colorado & NY

• What an incredibly orchestrated trip! – Nicki & Mark, NYC

  Barcelona & Priorat Food & Wine

• Our Priorat guide was absolutely terrific and I suspect that not a lot of people get the kind of tours we got with the winery owners. – George, NYC

  Barcelona & Andalucía

• Jane, While the trip is fresh in my mind, I wanted to thank you for having put together the most amazing trip. The activities were staged in such a way that the no one was burned out with too much touring. Everyone fell in love with the guides. Thank you so much for having organized the trip of a lifetime. – Pat & Family of 16, Baltimore

  Jerez Wine

• The day was perfect. We enjoyed every minute. Starting with a grower was exceptional. Getting his perspective was a great way to start the day because it put everything that followed into perspective. Understanding the differences and challenges of creating sherry expanded our wine knowledge and gave us an appreciation for the producers. It's a shame that the consumption of sherry has decreased. Everybody in our group felt your guide was one of the best guides we had during the four weeks we were traveling. My travel companions tend to be outspoken so that is high praise. – Group of 6 from California

• Hi Jane, The tour was absolutely fabulous. Each of the wineries was a great and different experience. I liked the wines at the first winery the best, the organic ones. Also, I have to tell you our driver was phenomenal. He took us on a little tour of his town before and after lunch and was so personable. All around a wonderful time. Thank you so much! – Jean and Sean, New Jersey

• Jane - our trip was incredible. All of the planning was perfect and the guides were exceptional. – Dave and Jennifer, Phoenix

• We had very good experiences at the wineries. The two lunches we had were wonderful. We were quite impressed with Maria in particular, as she was the owner of the winery and spent about two hours with us. Her story was very impressive and there was so much personal about the winery. I would say that was our favorite visit. The other wineries were very nice personal experiences as well. The Abbey was beautiful and it is quite an impressive property. We had a wonderful lunch there. Thanks for your help in setting all of this up. We are very happy that we made the trip. – Pat, Indiana

• You put together an A+ trip! Bravo and thank you!!!! – Sharon, Robert, Adam & Tracey, CT