Parma Parmigiano Balsamic Prosciutto Tasting Tour: Private Guide

Taste cheese at the dairy, vinegar in its aging rooms, and ham straight from the plant.

A private full-day food and wine tour in Parma where you visit a Parmigiano Reggiano dairy, a Traditional Balsamic Vinegar producer, an organic winery, and a Prosciutto di Parma plant, tasting at each stop with a dedicated local guide. The tour includes transportation from your hotel (within 15 km of central Parma) or you can self-drive and follow the guide in your own car. Both options cover all producer admissions, tastings, and a meal with regional wines.

Step-by-step itinerary

Food and wine tasting tour in Parma

• Visit Parmigiano Reggiano dairy
• Watch cheese production process
• Taste Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
• Visit Traditional Balsamic Vinegar producer
• Taste aged balsamic vinegar
• Visit organic winery
• Enjoy light lunch and wine tasting
• Photo stop at Torrechiara castle
• Visit Parma Ham plant
• Taste Prosciutto di Parma and cured meats

The Experience

Start early at a small Parmigiano Reggiano dairy between Parma and Reggio Emilia, a 20-minute drive from the city center. Your private local guide walks you through the entire production process (from how the cows are fed to how the cheese ages), and you'll stand beside the master cheesemaker as he scoops the huge cheese mass out of the kettle. The visit ends with a vertical tasting where you learn to analyze the cheese like a sommelier, moving through sight, smell, and taste across multiple ages of Parmigiano Reggiano, fresh ricotta, and other regional cheeses.

Ten minutes away, you enter a Traditional Balsamic Vinegar producer's aging rooms to discover how this hidden jewel of the Reggio Emilia and Modena area is made. You taste balsamic vinegar aged 12, 20, and 25 years, plus younger condiments at 3 and 10 years. From there, a 20-minute drive brings you to an organic winery where you learn the bottle-fermented method used for sparkling wines and still wines typical to the region, followed by a light lunch with fresh homemade pasta, focaccia, and five different regional wines. A photo stop at the medieval castle of Torrechiara (admission separate) sits 30 minutes ahead.

The final stop is a Prosciutto di Parma plant, reached by crossing the Parma hills. You walk through the salting machines, the first and second salting rooms, the resting and curing areas: each step revealing why the ham tastes as it does. The tour closes with a tasting of Prosciutto di Parma, other cured meats like Spalla Cotta di San Secondo and Mortadella, and a glass of DOC Parma hills wine. If you choose the transportation option, your guide arranges pickup and drop-off within 15 km of Piazza Garibaldi in central Parma. If you self-drive, you follow the guide in your own car and meet at the starting point.

Options for this experience

4 options

Up to 10 per booking · Guide in English or Italian07:30

Up to 8 per booking · Guide in English or Italian07:30

Up to 10 per booking · Guide in English or Italian07:30

Up to 8 per booking · Guide in English or Italian07:30

You pick the guide language when booking. Options with the same name differ in details you'll see when you pick a date.

You see the exact price of each option when you check availability.See dates & prices

What’s included

• Admission to the Parmigiano Reggiano dairy, Traditional Balsamic Vinegar producer, organic winery, and Prosciutto di Parma plant.
• tastings of Parmigiano Reggiano at 12, 24, 30 and 36 months old plus fresh ricotta and regional cheeses.
• balsamic vinegar aged 12, 20, and 25 years plus 3 and 10 year condiments.
• five regional wines.
• fresh homemade pasta, focaccia or home-made bread with olive oil, cured meats including Prosciutto di Parma and Mortadella, coffee or tea, and homemade dessert.
• professional local guide in English or Italian.
• bottled water.
• hotel pickup and drop-off within 15 km of central Parma (transportation-included options only).

Days and timesDaily · 07:30

AgesAges 5+ · Under 5 — Free

Meeting point and pickupPickup optional · ends where it startsMeeting point, per the operator: “If you are not staying in Parma the night before the tour, we could meet near the highway exit Terre di Canossa at 7.50 am. Please let us know so that we can ar…”

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24h before the start. After that, no refund.

Prices and times updated yesterday

Good to know

Easy physical levelStroller friendlyInfant seats available

Operated by ARTEMILIA Guided Tours

Is this one for you?Book the transportation-included option if you want to focus on the tastings and let the guide handle the route between stops. Choose self-drive if you prefer to follow in your own car and set your own pace between the four producers.

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Top questions

What languages is the guide in?

Live guide in English and Italian.

Can children come?

Under 5, free.

What exactly do I see at the Parmigiano Reggiano dairy?

The Parmigiano Reggiano dairy shows you the full production chain from cow feeding through aging, and you stand with the master cheesemaker as he scoops the cheese mass from the kettle, then taste multiple ages of the finished cheese along with fresh ricotta and other regional varieties.

How many tastings of balsamic vinegar are included?

Traditional Balsamic Vinegar tastings include three aged varieties (12, 20, and 25 years old) plus two younger balsamic condiments at 3 and 10 years, all sampled at a small family producer in the Reggio Emilia and Modena area.

What's included in the lunch at the winery?

Lunch at the organic winery includes fresh homemade pasta, focaccia or home-made bread with olive oil, and a tasting of five different regional wines. The winery visit also covers the bottle-fermented method and production phases of sparkling and still wines.

Do I need my own car, or is transportation provided?

You can choose: the transportation-included option covers hotel pickup and drop-off within 15 km of central Parma (Piazza Garibaldi), or you can self-drive and follow the guide in your own car, meeting at the starting point.

How long is the full tour?

The tour runs 10 hours total, with travel time built in between the four producer stops. Shorter 7-hour and 8-hour options are also available, both with and without transportation.

Is the castle of Torrechiara included?

Torrechiara is a photo stop at the medieval village and castle, but admission is not included in the tour. You can photograph it from outside during the 30-minute drive from the winery to the Prosciutto plant.