Tasteful escapes

100% of all travelers plan to eat while traveling, but a growing number of people plan to travel to eat. According to a just-released survey by the Travel Industry Association in conjunction with Gourmet Magazine and the International Culinary Tourism Association, 27 million travelers engaged in culinary or wine-related activities while traveling within the past three years—and 60% of all American leisure travelers planned to do so in the near future.

“Culinary or wine travel appeals to all the senses,” says Steen Hansen, Co-Publisher of Specialty Travel Index. “Flavors, fragrances, sights, and sounds all combine to make culinary travel a palate pleasing way to see the world.”

The Spring/Summer 2007 issue of Specialty Travel Index (STI) features a wide range of activities culinary and wine travelers can savor—from learning how to make bouillabaisse in France, tapas in Spain, chile rellenos in Santa Fe, hand-made pasta in Tuscany, or B’stilla in Morocco; to exploring the wineries of Burgundy by barge, touring Italy with an Italian sommelier, or learning to cook Italian food under the tutelage of Prince Aldobrandini’s personal chef in the Prince’s villa near Rome.

Here’s a taste of tours that tantalize:

Mastering Moroccan tangines. Watch olive oil pressed as it was hundreds of years ago, and see ouarka and couscous being made by hand, the methods unchanged for hundreds of years, in Morocco. Guests stay—and cook—in the Riad al Bartal, a traditional Moroccan home built around the turn of century, restored to it’s former splendor, and walk off the calories they’ve created by strolling the Fes el Bali (Old Fes). International Kitchen, theinternationalkitchen.com

Tasting Tuscan treats. Taste the famous Tuscan grape, Sangiovse, in three of Italy’s renowned wine: Chianti, Brunello, and Super Tuscan and discover some lesser known but equally delicious wines. Or try the traditional Tuscan dessert, Vin Santo with cantucci. And take advantage of a rare opportunity to visit a 12th century wine cellar in this cooking tour of Tuscany. Tastes of the World, tastestravel.com

Enchanting, delicious Vietnam. Vietnam, with its unique blending of Asian and French culinary influences has fabulous food, hospitable people, and amazing scenery. Where else can you take in the Mekong Delta by sampan, cruise Halong Bay in a private junk, crouch through the Cu Chi tunnels, learn how to make paper thin spring roll wrap, and feast like Nguyen Emperor Tu Duc, a picky eater who insisted every meal have 50 dishes and that none be served more than twice a year? Lemongrass Tours, lemongrasstours.com

The best of Bordeaux. Wine collectors can tour Bordeaux with a private host—a connoisseur who was awarded the coveted Master of Wine diploma (there are fewer than 200 Master of Wine diploma holders worldwide) and who is a contributing editor for England's leading wine magazine, Decanter. His inside knowledge of local wines, cellars, and wine makers, helps his guests explore the Bordeaux wine world in a way few outsiders ever experience. In-Touch Travel, intouch-travel.com

Wine Country pampering. The Napa Valley has hundreds of wineries—and thousands of wine lovers making the pilgrimage to visit them every weekend. Choosing the best sights, the best wineries, and the best places to eat takes an insider’s knowledge—which is just what wine and food connoisseurs get in Napa Insiders’ intimate and personalized tours of the Napa Valley Wine region. And this is pretty intimate—each tour accepts only 12 or fewer participants—enough to fill a limo, no more. Napa Insiders, napainsiders.com

Savory Seville. Seville and Western Andalusia are a gourmand's dream. Hams from Huelva, langostinos from Sanlucar, olive oil from the hills, and sherry in Cadiz are just some of the products for which Seville and its surroundings are famous. Visit local markets and enjoy hands-on cooking lessons, visit the best tapas bars in town, and explore a region known worldwide for its food and wine. Epiculinary, epiculinary.com

Cooking in the Italian countryside. Visitors stay in a luxurious villa owned by Prince Aldobrandini, who is a descendant of Pope Clemente II. The villa, surrounded by ancient fortified walls, has been visited by Pablo Picasso, King Charles III of Borbone and Chagall. Between tours of the countryside and Rome, guests may roll up their sleeves and learn to prepare traditional Roman dishes under the direction of the Aldobrandi family’s personal chef or they may stroll the villa’s gardens or the neighboring castle, and return in time for a glass of wine and the fruits of their companions’ labors. Alura Gourmet Tours, aluragourmettours.com/tours