Coconut Grove, FL -- (SBWire) -- 12/10/2010 -- Tuscan Way, a specialized provider of cooking vacations and custom tours to Italian destinations, is kicking off the 2011 season with a wonderful offer on its Villa Gaia property – saving guests 15% off the price of a seven-day stay, Saturday to Saturday. Guests at Villa Gaia, a charming luxury country estate set amid olive groves, grape vineyards and medieval forests outside the town of Seggiano, enjoy a week of hands-on cooking classes in the style of “La Cucina Povera Toscana,” as well as excursions, private-cellar wine tastings, and incredible meals, in groups of four to 14. The savings, effective for the weeks of April 2, 9, 16 and 23, 2011, reduces prices to €1,857 ($2,490*), per person, double, space available.

“La Cucina Povera Toscana” is the simple and flavorful style of southern Tuscan dishes, a peasant culture tradition where ingredients are born from the local lands.

Guests learn to cook by doing – visiting the markets, indulging in tastes of ingredients, and getting to work immediately in the well-appointed kitchen of the estate, always within reach of a glass of some of Italy’s best wines, incredible Pecorino cheeses and cold-pressed olive oils. The informal cooking lessons are mixed with daily excursions: wine tours include visits to the wine towns of Montalcino (Brunello wine & ceramics), Montepulciano (Vino Nobile di Montepulciano), medieval Sienna and the Etruscan villages of Pitigliano and Sorano; traveling the “Strada del Vino” (Road of Wine); enjoying wines and olive oils from private cellars; and experiencing local markets and festivals.

Villa Gaia borders an ancient monastery founded by San Bernardino and offers accommodations in two buildings: the main villa has two large apartments both with fireplace-equipped living rooms and kitchens – Amiata offers two bedrooms with a large bathroom, and terrace, while Le Rondini has three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and large terrace with wood-burning stove; the second house, La Foresteria, has four double rooms with private bathrooms, a shared living room with fireplace, kitchen, laundry and summer porch. Guests have use of the swimming pool, satellite television, mountain bikes and the many trails winding through the estate's rolling hills, vineyards and olive groves.

The seven-day cooking vacation includes all meals, groups of no more than 14, cooking lessons, wine tastings, guided excursions and transfers to/from Rome or Grosseto. Single supplements are available. Reservations, brochures and information can be obtained from Tuscan Way, 2829 Bird Avenue, PMB 242, Coconut Grove, FL, 33133; telephone (800) 766-2390 or (305) 598-8368, fax (305) 598-8369, website: http://www.tuscanway.com.