Bologna, Parma, Modena food production tours with own vehicle

Do some local research on places to visit. A few years ago we spent a week outside of Florence visiting wineries. Three a day -- one in the am and two in the pm. The better wineries do require a reservation and a fee. We used as a base guide a rating of wineries by Wine Spectator plus some other internet research for wineries. Some of the wineries will offer wine pairing menus. Expensive but great experiences. But reservations are expect so don't just walk in.

The is nothing to see for balsamic vinegar. Just a bunch of old, dusty bottles in racks slowly evaporating. However a tasting can be very interesting since we had min experience with b vinegar. One location dispensed a tasting of one drop with an eye dropper on the back of a trip wood strip. It was so good but at a 150 euro a bottle we passed. It would have so good on ice cream.

PS Final thought -- you might be able to find a back issue of Wine Spectator with the rating. I doubt if there would be much change over time. Try their web site.

For Traditional Balsamic Vinegar in the province of Modena there are several producers where you can book a tour and tasting. On the website of the Consortium there is a map who show which one is available for a visit: https://www.balsamicotradizionale.it/mappa-acetaie/
The same for the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese: on the Consortium website can be found a list of all dairies and you can see which ones do visits: https://www.parmigianoreggiano.com/it/caseifici-trova-caseificio/
For wineries there aren't maps and lists easy to be browsed, but on-line is plenty of ones available in any province. If you like Natural wines try to have a look to this list: https://www.vignaiolicontrari.it/partecipanti-7a-edizione/

Thanks for your replies. I found one place that does a full day tour (cheese, prosciutto and vinegar) with our own car for 100 euro each. Add a driver and it doubles.

This is a splurge for my wife's sake. Food related tours are a must-do for her. I'll tag along and enjoy it.

Wine would then be a separate thing. I like the Wine Spectator idea. I'll try to find something near Montepulciano/Montalcino for that. I was thinking tastings at the fort in Monticchiello for Brunello or Rosso, and the Ricci cellars in Montepulciano for Vino Nobile, more for convenience than anything else. Wine Spectator will give me an idea of the best wines to try in the area.

At the moment the cost of transport is like the half of the cost in a tour. :-(
Working in a tour operator sometimes we suggest to rent a car to reduce the final price, but few tourists are willing to do it.
And several guides are not available to travel on a car driven by the tourists, especially if are involved wine tastings ;-)
In Emilia Romagna, for wines, you can add a stop at the regional cellar in Dozza Imolese: https://www.enotecaemiliaromagna.it/it/

I’m pricing this same general thing for an upcoming trip - but we won’t have a car -and I’m finding it to be really expensive. Lots of people recommend this tour https://www.italiandays.it/.

And when I price their tour for fall 2024 - which they call Extra Peak Season, or something like that - it’s 280 Euros a person. And it’s a group tour - up to 22 people!!!

Thank you for the suggestion Ricky; I'll check it out.

Brad

September/October is really a extra peak season in Emilia-Romagna. As a touristic guide I'm out almost all days, full day.
There are fairs (like CERSAIE in Bologna) who attract hundred of thousands of visitors; is a period of festivals (grape harvest, truffle, mushrooms, Philosophy....) who attract Italians; in the last years has increased a lot even the international tourism in these months.

@Valerie: yes, that are the costs here in Emilia-Romagna for a group food tour. There is even this cheaper solution: https://emiliaromagnatours.it/parma-tours/food-tour-full-day/ . Is from Parma, but the cost of the train ticket isn't so high.
Imagine: if that is the cost of a group tour, when you split the fixed costs to only 2/4 people how much is the total! Including a car with driver is probably close to 1000€.

@Ricky - thanks for posting that additional option! That's very helpful!!