Taste Trails in December
- Ireland & UK
- Winter skies and oysters
- Portugal & Spain
- Olive harvest ends; oranges
- Italy & France
- Truffle season
- More of Europe
- Olive harvest and raki season end
- North America
- Planning month: icewine and sugar-shack trips
Trail of the month
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Alentejo Olive Morning
Hand-pick Galega olives, taste the farm's oil and sit down to an Alentejo brunch.
Half day · from Lisbon · October to December
Also in season in December
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Dublin Bay Forage & Feast
Forage sea beet and wild herbs on Howth Head, then eat them with today's catch on the pier.
Half day · from Dublin · Year-round, best April to October
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Truffle Hunt & Chianti Lunch
Hunt with a truffle family and their dogs, then a long lunch on a Chianti farm.
Full day · from Florence · October to December (white truffle season)
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Seascapes & Skies: Kerry Weekend
Seafood suppers, then a guided night in Ireland's Gold Tier Dark Sky Reserve.
2 nights, 3 days · Cahersiveen · September to March (darkest skies)
Day trip
Secrets of Dublin: Food & Beer
A craft brewery cellar tasting and an Irish farmhouse cheese pairing.
3 hours · from Dublin · Year-round
Day trip
Porto Wine & Dine
Bolhão market tastings, then a port lodge cellar.
3.5 hours · from Porto · Year-round
Day trip
Arrábida Cheese & Moscatel
An Azeitão cheese dairy, a Moscatel de Setúbal cellar and a coastal lunch.
Full day · from Lisbon · Year-round
Day trip
Flavours of Faro
Olhão market, Ria Formosa clams by boat and the orange groves of Silves.
Full day · from Faro · Year-round; oranges December to April
Day trip
Lisbon Wine & Dine
A petiscos crawl through Alfama that ends with fado.
3.5 hours · from Lisbon · Year-round
Day trip
Bilbao Tapas Trail
Old-town pintxo bars and a tasting at the Ribera market.
3 hours · from Bilbao · Year-round
Day trip
Santiago Food & Wine
Shop the Abastos market, then cook what you bought.
3 hours · from Santiago de Compostela · Year-round
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Orchards of Valencia
Pick oranges in a 19th-century grove, then paella by the Albufera lagoon.
Full day · from Valencia · November to March
Day trip
Fruits of the Costa Tropical
Cherimoya, avocado and mango farms in the hills above Almuñécar.
Full day · from Málaga · October to May
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Sóller Orange Valley
Ride the vintage train over the mountains, then pick oranges and juice them in the grove.
Full day · from Palma · November to May
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Puglia Olive Press Day
Pick olives in the morning, follow them to the frantoio and taste the oil as it comes out.
Full day · from Bari · Late October to December
Weekend
Puglia Olive Harvest Weekend
Two harvest mornings, your own oil from the frantoio, Ostuni and the Adriatic coast.
2 nights, 3 days · Ostuni · Late October to December
Day trip
Aegina Pistachio Island
Take the ferry from Piraeus to a working pistachio farm and taste the island's famous nuts.
Full day · from Athens · Year-round; harvest in late summer
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Raki Season in Western Crete
Stand at the copper still on the night a Cretan village lights it for the season.
Full day · from Chania · Early October to December
Weekend
Messinia Olive Harvest
Harvest Kalamata's olives, follow them to the mill and learn to taste oil with a certified taster.
2 nights, 3 days · Kalamata · November to December
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Ston Oysters & Ancient Salt
Rake salt by hand at dawn in 4,000-year-old salt pans, then eat Mali Ston oysters on the bay.
Full day · from Dubrovnik · Oysters year-round; salt harvest July to September
Weekend
Istrian Truffle Weekend
Follow a truffle family and their dogs into the forest below Motovun.
2 nights, 3 days · Motovun · White truffles autumn into winter; black truffles in summer
Day trip
Stone Barns Farm Day
Walk a working farm with the people who grow for one of America's best-known farm-to-table kitchens.
Full day · from New York City · Year-round; best spring to autumn