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Food and wine education through structured in-person classes, immersive travel, and private or corporate events.

What We Offer

Immersive Study Trips

Our Tuscany food & wine immersion trip takes you to a renovated villa surrounded by vineyards and olive trees in the rolling hills of Chianti Classico in Panzano. We visit dear producer friends, eat at our favorite restaurants, and offer a life-changing view into Italian food and wine culture. Small groups foster connection with like-minded wine and food lovers, making every journey an opportunity to build lasting relationships.

Wine Education

Our wine classes take you on a journey of history, geography, and culture through native grapes, regionally-specific wine styles, and techniques. From our Sommelier Bootcamp to the Italian Wine Consultant course, we provide the latest insights to deepen your understanding of wine. We also offer private, tailored events for groups seeking an exclusive and immersive wine education experience.

Food Education

Our food classes explore climate-friendly topics, seasonality and food preservation techniques to make the best of our local food and reduce waste.
We strive to elevate the sustainability conversation through hands-on activities and in-class conversations that brings us together to celebrate food. In addition, we provide bespoke education for personal or corporate events.

Headquartered in Denver, we travel across the country, and the world, for food, wine, and culture.

Our Philosophy


Our mission is to make food and wine education enjoyable and engaging, celebrating the rich cultures behind every bottle and the people who grow and craft our food. We're passionate about connecting makers, regions, and the stories that make food and wine truly unique.

We’re dedicated to bringing people together through unforgettable learning experiences, cultivating a community that shares a deep love for gastronomy. After all, food and wine are cultural cornerstones worldwide—a passport to discovery, connection, and endless joy.

Check out all of our upcoming public classes on our events page

Immersive
Food & Wine Trips

Education Through Travel

There’s no better way to learn than to feel a place, to see the landscape, and to connect with the local community.

We call this tangible travel. Diverging from the books and placing our feet on the soils we’ve been reading about for years.

Our study trips focus on the cultural, historical and geographical connection of the wine and food of each region we visit.

Why travel with Grappolo Food & Wine School?

Paula and Scott Thomas spent more than two years living in Italy with time divided between Piedmont and Tuscany. This time allowed for a deep understanding of Italy’s many beautiful regions, all of which are rich with regional and cultural identity.

By traveling with us, you gain unique access to places that would otherwise be inaccessible. Over the years of visiting, we’ve forged strong relationships with producers, farmers, and business owners who share their stories of place better than anyone else.

Meet The Team


We strive to honor the people and land from where our food and wine come from, cherishing the cultural nuisances that make it worth sharing and preserving. To the farmers, growers, and producers who bring us the goods to build hospitality. We aim to be a force of change within the food and wine industries through education.


We Build Community

We are committed to building community, supporting a responsible food system, and giving back.

  • Since 2023, we have offered four full scholarships to Colorado women for our Italian Wine certification course, as part of a partnership with Women’s Wine Guild.

  • We supported Slow Food Denver by donating a Sommelier Bootcamp class. As well as, Denver Urban Gardens by donating two auction items, a pasta-making class and a wine dinner.

  • We ensured the food we sourced for any of our classes and events followed responsible production practices, following the seasons when purchasing local ingredients from farmers we know. For imported food, we followed Fair Trade, non-GMO, organic practices.


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