A good place to buy wine is Enoteca Il Cantinone in Cerredolo. They also hold wine tasting evenings – check out the website for more information.

Le Strade del Vino e dei Sapori is the collective name for the routes throughout Italy that lead to and through leading food and wine production areas. All the routes across Emilia Romagna are detailed here. Those in Reggio Emilia can be found here and here.

A wine producer that we have visited is Venturini Baldini, near Parma. It’s a small organic producer based on a beautiful estate with woodland, open meadows and a lake. They also produce traditional balsamic vinegar. Tours are possible but must be booked in advance (especially if you wish to find someone who speaks English!)

A balsamic vinegar producer that is Acetaia Dei Bago in Vignola (also famed for its cherries). It is a small, family-run company. Visit to buy direct and learn about the process – be aware, though, that REAL balsamic vinegar – aceto balsamic tradizionale – is extremely prized and expensive! Contact them in advance for a tour, but an English-speaking person will not always be available.

To avoid language issues, the best option is to book via a tour company such as Parma Golosa (obviously you will pay more for this). They organise customised tours of culatello, Prosciutto di Parma and balsamic vinegar producers in the Parma/Modena area, which can be conducted in various languages including English, French and German. Prices start at around €20 per person (1 product, 8 people per group).

They also do Parmesan tours but we would recommend keeping it local – there is a Parmesan producer just outside Quara. If you would like to watch the artisans at work, you’ll have to get up relatively early – they have finished making the day’s cheese by lunchtime. There’s no obligation to buy Parmesan at the end of it but it would be a shame not to!