The new European vacation? Travelers are returning for trips that are all about food and wine

When Colin and Jenoa Matthes near their location authorities of Utah to embark connected a satellite circuit successful 2019, they recovered themselves drawn to the nutrient scenes successful places similar France and Italy.

"We truly loved, especially, the nutrient successful each of these antithetic countries … and however section and specialized they were successful antithetic regions ... That's not truly thing that we get arsenic overmuch successful the U.S. wherever we're from, wherever it's much of a smorgasbord of cuisines from astir the world," Colin Matthes told CNBC by video call.

Last year, the mates acceptable up a circuit institution called Stay Awhile, which organizes trips "designed astir food," according to the company's website.

Stay Awhile's archetypal destination was Bologna, Italy, wherever guests took portion successful a month-long nutrient tasting and remote-working trip, trying the section mortadella sausage, tasting almond and pistachio granitas (a benignant of sorbet) and eating authentic tagliatelle al ragu, a pasta served with a accepted beef and pork sauce.

While boulangeries (bakeries) and patisseries (cake shops) are seemingly connected each country successful Paris, it tin beryllium hard to find authentic recipes to cook pastries astatine home, said Matthes, who is besides an amateur baker. "I consciousness similar truthful galore of them person been adjusted and possibly simplified and … I don't consciousness similar I'm getting similar a existent French eclair recipe, for example," helium told CNBC.

To marque definite guests navigator authentically, Stay Awhile hired pastry cook Jennifer Pogmore, who trained astatine the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu cooking schoolhouse successful Paris. Pogmore volition instruct participants from an flat with a ample room successful the city's 11th arrondissement, a territory known for its restaurants, bars and opera house.

Along with learning to marque French classics, the itinerary includes a day's wine-tasting successful the Champagne portion arsenic good arsenic a guided circuit of Parisian territory Le Marais to effort delicacies specified arsenic cheese, cured nutrient and chocolates.

There is besides plentifulness of clip for radical to research the city. Matthes recommended visiting Brasserie Bellanger for accepted French main dishes and family-run bakery Poilane for "arguably the champion croissant successful each of Paris."

Stay Awhile's Parisian baking circuit starts astatine $5,400 per person, excluding flights. The mates has plans for an Italian cooking people astatine a villa successful Tuscany, and a gourmet gastronomy acquisition successful Spain's Basque Country, celebrated for its bite-sized dishes known arsenic pintxos.

"The main nonsubjective is for radical to ... person these in-depth experiences with nutrient and cuisine, and specifically section and determination cuisine," Matthes told CNBC.

Pintxos are a staple successful San Sebastian, 1 of the astir fashionable places for foodies successful Spain's Basque Country. The metropolis is simply a item of bluish Spain for luxury circuit relation SmoothRed. It organizes bespoke vino and nutrient trips to the area, with income manager Adam Stebbings recommending flying to Bilbao, and past experiencing the cuisine of San Sebastian and the vineyards of Rioja.

"The … Bilbao-San Sebastian-triangle with Rioja is precise popular. It's not conscionable doing a vino circuit … it's a gourmet getaway," Stebbings told CNBC by phone.

A four-day travel mightiness see 2 nights astatine Hotel Marques de Riscal, a luxury spa edifice successful Rioja, with an eight-course repast astatine its Michelin-starred restaurant, followed by a nighttime astatine the five-star Hotel Maria Cristina successful San Sebastian and meal astatine steakhouse Casa Julian de Tolosa. Prices commencement astatine £2,289 ($2,650) per person, including transfers but not flights.

For pintxos, Stebbings recommended Borda Berri and MendaurBerria, some tiny bars successful San Sebastian's aged town. For lunch, helium suggested food edifice Elkano, astir a half-hour thrust westbound of San Sebastian. Reservations are indispensable arsenic it was named 1 of the world's 50 champion restaurants successful 2021, Stebbings said.

Interest successful food-focused trips is rising, said Stebbings. Sales are up 60% twelvemonth implicit twelvemonth from 2019, though immoderate of this summation is owed to bookings delayed from 2020, helium said. The French regions of Burgundy and Champagne are particularly popular, helium said.

Tuscany is good known for cities specified arsenic Florence and Siena, which are some adjacent to Borgo San Vincenzo, a caller luxury boutique edifice named aft the patron saint of winemaking.

The edifice encourages travelers to get disconnected the beaten way and acquisition the portion successful a much authentic way, done olive lipid tastings from tiny producers to a cheesemaking objection astatine a adjacent farm.

Truffle-hunting adjacent the historical municipality of Montalcino and a cooking people astatine a 13th-century castle with section chefs are popular, according to a edifice representative, portion an e-bike circuit to sensation Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, a section wine, was besides a deed with guests this year.

This fall, Borgo San Vincenzo volition motorboat winemaker dinners, with a assortment of producers providing backstage tastings. One of the dinners volition diagnostic dishes created by the hotel's caput cook Giulio Lombardelli, which volition beryllium matched with vino produced by his brother, Amadeo Lombardelli, from adjacent vineyard Icario.

Local ingredients are astatine the bosom of the cooking schoolhouse astatine Daylesford, an integrated workplace and upscale property successful the Cotswolds, a picturesque portion celebrated for its rolling countryside and villages with honey-colored chromatic buildings.

Half- and full-day classes astatine the schoolhouse — which scope from artisan breadmaking to a butchery store — supply a mode for guests to larn astir the portion via its produce.

Participants tin besides slumber connected the workplace successful 1 of its cottages, converted from the archetypal 19th-century farmhouse, oregon they tin enactment successful adjacent Kingham, a colony wherever Daylesford owns cottages arsenic good arsenic The Wild Rabbit, a pub with accommodations.

Daylesford besides has a workplace shop, plot and antiques center, vino store and restaurants, positive a spa and a scope of integrated skincare products.

But contempt its enlargement implicit the past 20 years, Daylesford remains an integrated workplace "at its heart," according to cook James Devonshire, who oversees its cooking school.

It "either rears oregon grows a immense magnitude of varied ingredients," helium told CNBC by phone. Travelers mightiness find a treble Gloucester food produced astatine its creamery oregon a carton of practice tomatoes grown successful the garden.

"We usage arsenic overmuch arsenic physically imaginable from the plot passim the full year," Devonshire said, adding that the plot is different not unfastened to the public.

People prime nutrient for their people from the garden, with recipes precocious including a fillet of beef with potatoes, capers and rocket and an bulb bhaji with charred cauliflower.

Classes are held successful a high-ceilinged chromatic barn, and immoderate of the astir fashionable classes see canape-making, a seasonal meal enactment people and a summertime barbecue and firepit class.

While Daylesford's shops and restaurants tin get busy, the cookery schoolhouse is quieter, said Devonshire.

"It's similar a small oasis," helium said.