Peter Mondavi Jr. to Host Food and Wine Week in Tuscany

Peter Mondavi Jr.'s Club Salviatino program will include an intimate and personal salon-style discussion and sampling of his family's Reserve and Limited Release wines on Tuesday, March 23, and Thursday, March 25, 2010, for guests of the Villa and Club. On Wednesday, March 24, he will lead a wine tour to the nearby estate of the Principe Corsini family, royalty dating to the 12th century Florence.

Club Salviatino Firenze (Florence) was created by Stanford alumnus Jeff Burton to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Stanford's Overseas Study Program. The Stanford-in-Italy program was housed at Villa Il Salviatino from 1973 to 1988. The purpose of Club Salviatino and this, its first annual "Festivale," is to gather Stanford and associated university alumni, faculty and their families together to enjoy intimate presentations by accomplished experts from the worlds of politics, film, food and wine, all in a spectacular location. The "Festivale" runs February through April, 2010.

Activities are open to Club Salviatino members and Villa guests, allow for ample free time to explore, and participation can be tailored to suit guests' desires. Most participants will arrive at Il Salviatino on Monday morning; Tuesday afternoon through Thursday will comprise activities hosted by Peter Mondavi Jr., including a gala dinner on Thursday evening.

Situated on the slope of Fiesole's elegant hillsides, Il Salviatino offers stunning views of Florence and the surrounding countryside. The aristocratic villa was built by a Florentine banking family among the vineyards of Tuscany in the 15th century and has undergone renovation after grand renovation over the last five centuries. During the most recent and extensive restoration, the property revealed extraordinary frescoes hidden underneath false ceilings, a sarcophagus belonging to a previous owner born again as a spectacular bath, and an intricate network of old pathways through the estate buried beneath years of undergrowth. Acclaimed Italian architect Luciano Colombo has finished the restored villa with impeccable art and furnishings.

As one of only three (among 400+) Napa wineries from the early post-prohibition era still in the hands of the same family, Peter Mondavi family's Charles Krug Winery has pioneered many of the groundbreaking techniques embraced by the American wine industry today. Peter Mondavi Jr. proudly extends his family's winemaking legacy by employing the latest strategies in sustainable agriculture while constantly enhancing the superb quality of his family's wines. Charles Krug Winery will celebrate its 150th anniversary next summer, and Peter seeks to ensure that his family's winery will endure 900 years, like the family wine estates of Tuscany.

Il Salviatino is located at Via del Salviatino 21, Florence 50137, Italy, telephone: +39 055 9041111. To reserve for the Peter Mondavi Jr.-Charles Krug Winery experience at Il Salviatino, and for more information, contact Jeff Burton at jeff.burton@clubsalviatino.com, or by telephone at (U.S.) 650.868.5437.

Hotel Profile: Il Salviatino