OMG! I cant say enough about how great this store was! Friendly and knowledgeable tour guides, great wineries, and perfect for this lovely fall weather!

Had a fantastic week in Provence thanks to Food N Wine Vacations! Our guide, accommodations and excursions were all top notch. We really got to see the real Provence, its people and of course the legendary food. If you are looking for a great adventure, I highly recommend using Food N Wine Vacations to plan your trip.

Our group of friends travel with Food N Wine Vacations every other year. We have been to Provence, Italy and Spain. We always enjoy the settings of the hotels in the countryside, The activities and the wonderful tour guides. It takes a talent to put together these kind of vacations and we are so happy that Sam is taking care of us every time with patience and enthusiasm. Thank you so much!

Have you ever been on a vacation where anything you could possibly dream of was realized? For my husband and I, our trip to Provence was that vacation. From the moment our TGV train pulled into the station at Avignon, we wanted for nothing! Our tour guide was magnificent and knew so much-history, the best places for chocolate, places to stop and take in breathtaking views, even the insiders track for the markets. Our accommodations were beyond 5 star! Our personal chefs were dedicated to making each of our meals at the house quite memorable. And our cooking classes were so much fun! The wine, the food, the people, the beautiful villages, the weather. I could go on and on. And I could definitely go back! Thank you Sam and Food N Wine Vacations for the Trip of a Lifetime!

My investment club, VIC, which is seven women used our profits to take a trip with Smadar and Food N Wine Vacations. It was a wonderful trip and none like I have ever taken. Everything was beautifully planned and very authentically Italian. We loved the guides, the villas, and visiting the family owned, wineries, farms, and restaurant. We will definitely be looking into another similar trip.

We decided to book the ‘heart of Portugal’ after our friends were raving about the experience that Food N’ Wine vacations provides. They were absolutely right. You get to see places that you would not find on your own. Sam seems really devoted to finding these special activities.This organization put their heart in paying attention to details. We are going with a group of friends to Piedmont next year. Yay

Recently I was fortunate enough to go on one of the best trips Ive ever taken. This trip was in areas Tuscany and Umbria in Italy. For the first five days we stayed in a Villa and were treated to some of the best food Ive ever eaten in beautiful surroundings. We visited local wineries, cheese producing farms and olive oil production sites. If you wanted to be treated very well and see the countryside of Italy, this is the trip for you.

My family and myself had the best time in Amalfi. We got to visit places that locals know, Cooking at a family home with a garden and a terrace overlooking the Mediterranean, visiting a real buffalo mozzarella farm and eating fabulous meals. Grazie for a one of a kind experience!

More like Food and Wine CHEATERSShort Version:They are an overpriced over marked-up middle man website. Save yourself half the money (and I am not exaggerating) by finding the actual packaging/outfitting organization. In other words DONOT pay them a penny. Read the rest of it before you decide – and there isn’t really anything to “decide”.Long Version:I dont know about the rest of the reviews. I am not sure how people didnt see it, may be everybody was just in their vacation mood and didnt want to think about the price tag and its value. To me this whole Food and Wine Vacations Organization is a scam. This is how I think they work - They have a website where she lists a bunch of Packages that are actually packages by other outfitters, mostly local outfitters in France, Italy and other places. Theres one person, yes one person and her name is Smadar Palace and she sometimes uses the name Sam I think. She lists the exact same packages on her website that is actually offered by these local outfitters and marks up by, wait for it, 80%!!! Not only does she mark up, she also keeps you in the dark about where you are staying, and tells you that the info will be mailed to you - by snail mail! Really? Why you wonder - Answer is she wants to delay giving you this information as much as possible so you dont google it and instantly figure that the markup is 80% and this is coupled with a site wide 90 day NO MONEY REFUND policy to ensure you are cheated and there’s no way back. Also, we found that the actual local outfitters are similarly kept in the dark about the vacationers going to their place - reason for this - She doesnt want them contacting you. How do I know all this? Because my wife and I just experienced this whole thing.Heres our story:We booked the Taste Burgundy like a local package of hers which in turn is a package offered by a B&B place in Beaune, France called La Terre dOr. The whole package - Breakfast, place to stay, your personal guide, all the tastings are provided and already pre-packaged NOT by Smadar or Food N Wine Vacations but... “La Terre dOr” (who by the way is awesome) and guess what?? It costs half the price on their website. Just go book it. Google their name and book with them, if you are looking for a burgundy wine experience that is. If its some other package/place you are looking for, then find the actual local outfitters. Cut the middle man and save 80%. My wife says she was told repeatedly by Smadar Palace NOT to call her, and whenever Ive tried to call her, there is a pretense of connecting to an Agent and then goes to voicemail. And by this I am guessing, she has another full time job and just has a website to make money by RIPPING OFF PEOPLE. Oh, I almost forgot - When you pay her money, she sends you an excel spreadsheet as receipt. Can you believe it?? It is a hand typed Excel Spreadsheet and she calls it a receipt! Smadar is a cheat and a crook.We were extremely anxious before the trip. Who wants to take a vacation being so anxious. We were anxious because Smadar withheld information from us and disclosed basic information such as where we were staying almost at the very end. This made us very uncomfortable and it was our 10th anniversary trip. But..... Many many thanks to La Terre dOr, they made our trip. It was fantastic. And Shame on Smadar Palace and Food N Wine Vacations for preying on peoples most treasured moments and making money off it! I cant say this enough.... STAY AWAY FROM THEM.

We went on a 2 weeks tour with a wine club, boy that was a lifetime experience. The first week was a wine tour in Rioja and Ribera del duero. This type of wine tour is exactly like Sam says: Its a cultural experience. We started in Bilbao, Visited a family of Shepherds i the mountains that live in a 500 years old house and make cheese, We had an unforgettable Riojan BBQ in the middle of the vineyards. Everyone we met were so welcoming and so passionate to tell us about the region. It is amazing to see miles of underground tunnels where they store wine. In Ribera del duero we stayed in a real castle. We had a private visit and tasting led by Ismael Arroyo and his wife. The food in Spain is phenomenal, The countryside, so many different wines to taste. Sam suggested that we add Andalucia and i am glad we did that. Sunny, Mediterranean, lots of character to this region. We stayed in Seville and took day trips. Again, it is not a typical tour but more authentic. We had a private Sherry tasting at a private Bodega. the day of cooking with two cheerful sisters was a highlight. We ended our vacation in Barcelona on our own, Where Sam arranged for us the hotel, flights and an introduction city tour. I can go on and on but you know what? Do yourself a favor and go on a tour!