+Program Leader(s)

Flavors of Northern Italy

Chiara Sanguineti.

Chiara's opinion is that wine and food are the best ways to understand and get to know a country.

Chiara is Milano-born and has lived in Northern Italy for many years. After studying art and literature, she relocated to Tuscany where she worked with the producer of the famous Chianti Classico in the hills between Siena and Florence. In charge of export, grape harvest, and olive oil production, she is expert in her knowledge of Italian foods and wine. Having owned an Agriturismo working farm in the Siena countryside, she understands what people appreciate most about the significance of Italy’s ‘slow food’ roots. Speaking five languages and a gifted sommelier, she is among the founders of the national association “Donne del Vino” (women of wine). Chiara loves nothing more than imparting to travelers her wealth of knowledge.

Doumina Whyman

Understanding the ingredients of an extraordinary and authentic Italian experience, Doumina aims for ‘la dolce vita’—intimate adventures that are perfectly balanced with culture and education, food and wine, and the opportunity to relax and truly enjoy a moment.

With a successful catering background, Doumina decided to pursue her love of cooking and Italy by learning the language and constructing tours for adventures in this country that she now calls home. Her presence always adds a chef’s knowledge of food and wine, an infectious passion for living life fully, and a connoisseur’s ability to gather the beauty of all senses to a traveler’s experience in Italy. Doumina owns a pastoral Italian villa and lives there half the year, and otherwise resides in the Pacific Northwest.

Gabriella Cavalieri

The magic of the food and wine of Northern Italy was taught to Gabriella by her mother, and it has become as much a part of her as her hometowns of Verona, Valpolicella, Soave and Lago di Garda.

Gabriella’s years at the University of Padova near Venice sharpened her understanding and developed her appreciation of the art and history around her. And, for many years, while working for a multinational company for which she traveled extensively throughout Europe and the U.S., she developed her love and understanding of Italy’s charms, realizing its unique qualities in the world. Finally settling in Rome in 2003, she began guiding tours both in Italy and in other European countries. Now Gabriella divides her time between Rome, her adopted city, and Verona, where her heart remains.

Stefania Meloni

Stefania's love for the food, wine, and places of Italy can only be compared with her enthusiasm for sharing new and enriching experiences with others.

Stefania was born in Cortona, an ancient town in Southern Tuscany. She spent her young adulthood on the magnificent island of Elba, rich with the remains of ancient populations, sparking her passion for classical study and research. After pursuing her degree in Italian, foreign language, and literature, she started working in tourism. In Cortona she handled public relations in the internationally acclaimed Il Falconiere while soaking in art history and gastronomic traditions. In her free time, she guides wine tours, conducts cooking classes, and leads hikes through the Etruscan tombs.