“Andalucia, when can we see you?” The answer is in September 2023

One of my favorite songs of all time is John Cale’s “Andalucia.” Cale, who will turn 80 this coming March, is a classically-trained, avant-garde musician who went on to play bass, viola, guitar, piano, and organ in the anything-but-classical Velvet Underground. When the band broke up, Cale started a solo career as a musician and producer, as well as becoming a contributor to a host of other musicians’ work. He played on Nick Drake’s second album, Bryter Layter, and also produced Patti Smith’s first album, Horses. Although I like all of Cale’s solo work, I have a particular affection for Paris 1919. The album, which came out in 1973 (it will be 50 years this coming February), featured members of the band Little Feat and the UCLA Student Symphony Orchestra. Every song on the record is really good, but “Andalucia,” the fourth cut, remains my favorite. The first line is the lead-in for the wonderful, world-class Food Tour that this piece is actually about.

Andalucia when can I see you?

“Andalucia,” the song, is a delicate and gentle piece, both lovely and lush. The feeling it gives me is what I imagine it will be like to walk through the lush late-autumn week when our annual trip to the region commences on September 30 of next year. Andalucia, the region, is one of the most magical places I’ve been, filled to the brim with great food, wonderful wine, rich culture, and fascinating history.

There are a thousand good reasons, in addition to my affection for John Cale’s song, to go to Andalucia next fall with Zingerman’s Food Tours. One is that you’ll get to travel with John Cancilla and his amazing wife, Ana. John has worked for decades with Marqués de Valdueza, our long-time olive oil (and vinegar and honey) supplier in western Spain. He’s originally from Los Angeles, spent his junior year abroad at Hebrew University in Jerusalem (as I also did), and ended up finding what might well be a dream job working with the Valdueza family. John is one of the smartest, funniest, and all-around kindest food people I’ve had the pleasure of working with. Ana’s exceptional network of friends produce some of the most precious gastronomic treasures one can find on the Iberian Peninsula. Between Zingerman’s Food Tours guide (and long-time IT Director) Elph Morgan, John, and Ana, you are guaranteed to eat well, drink incredible wine, see beautiful scenery, laugh a lot, and learn some of the very special history of the region. You’ll be invited far off the beaten track to hidden places even very few Spaniards are likely to know. John says,

This trip is all about the local gastronomy, but it’s also about the local economy, the social structure of Southern Spain, the role of women in agriculture, and the Jewish and Arab legacies in the Andalusian kitchen. All of this was planned with very close friends who have done their best to help us show the hidden face of Andalusian gastronomy and experience Spain off the beaten track.

The tour itself will spend a lot of time exploring the gastronomic world that sprang up in Andalusia, drawing on the springs that include the Roman, Arab, Jewish, and Christian kitchens that flow in the region after centuries of conquest, domination, and not-always-so-peaceful cohabitation. We will visit Sherry wineries and enjoy professional tasting for what amounts to a Master Class in the region’s wine. We will also learn about certain aspects of Andalusia’s unique, local food production with visits to a Retinto beef producer, a seawater-based vegetable producer, the remains of the original Roman fish conserves and garum factories, and a superb, Iberian ham producer in Jabugo. Also, tuna is king on the Mediterranean coast of Andalusia and we will learn about the ronqueo, or the carving of a tuna, in the hands of an expert chef in Barbate.

The hotels are great, too: Las Casas de la Judería in Seville is a hotel created in the old Jewish quarter of the city, in actual houses of the former Jewish residents. The streets, patios, and gardens of the quarter have been maintained, and staying at La Judería is really like flying back in time to experience life in what was one of Spain’s most vibrant Jewish quarters. The other hotel, in Jerez de la Frontera, is a five-star deluxe–it’s pure elegance and exquisite service. Our guests are going to love it!

Add in some long walks, great talks, terrific tapas, and a healthy dose of history, and this is a seriously awesome opportunity for a literally once-in-a-lifetime culinary travel opportunity!

Cale’s “Andalucia” is a song of unrequited love. In the lyrics, his unnamed lover chooses not to meet up with him. I have a feeling she might still be kicking herself all these years later for missing out on a special opportunity. The Food Tours are much the same. If you’re game for an exceptional week of eating, drinking, learning, loving, and laughing, book your spot today! It’s hard to convey the quality of connections and camaraderie that come together on one of these tours. Kristie Brablec, managing partner at Zingerman’s Food Tours says, “We find special humans doing really amazing things. It’s connecting people, and when you break bread with people, you have opportunities to grow tight bonds. It’s pretty special.”

Book now to get someone you love one of the most special gifts they’ll ever get!

P.S. If you want a bit more music to listen to while you consider coming on this world-class Food Tour, Yo La Tengo (in 1990) and Andrew Bird (in 2020) both did terrific cover versions of Cale’s classic song.

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September 21 – 23—A weekend of great eating, drinking, laughing and learning

One of the little-known secrets of the Zingerman’s world is…well, if I tell you, it won’t be such a secret anymore…but then if I don’t tell you…well, that’s clearly no good, either. So here’s the deal—just don’t tell everyone because seats are limited and we’ve chosen to stay on a relatively small scale. But the secret is: we do Food Tours!

There’s a terrific tour to Hungary early in September, but it’s already sold out. Then we have one going to Croatia—I haven’t yet been but it’s been near the top of my list for a long time. I hear nothing but great things. Only two seats left on that one!! Coming after that, with a few more seats still remaining is a shorter, more economically and schedule-friendly little jaunt up to northern Michigan—a weekend culinary tour of the Grand Traverse Bay region. (If you’re looking ahead, early October is Tuscany—also sold out but you can ask to be added to the waitlist; and then France, which is almost sold out!)

This little weekend wonder of a food tour should be pretty terrific! Traverse City scored high—in the top five!—of food towns in the U.S. I can’t really think of a better place to put autumn into action. It’s three days of eating artisan food and drinking craft beer and carefully made Michigan wines. All of which will be led by co-managing partner and chef at Cornman Farms, Kieron Hales—you’ll get to talk and taste food with an expert throughout the trip, and you’ll surely be charmed by this Brit and his old-world outlook.

If you don’t know it, the region has a really special microclimate that makes for great agricultural activity. It’s at about the same latitude as some of northern Italy’s and France’s great wine regions. Lots of snow keeps vines safe in the winter; the late spring means there’s low risk of buds coming out too soon. This cooler micro-climate allows for later harvests as early frosts are held back, deep lake-effect snow helps to insulate the vines in the winter, and early budding is rare because of the chill off the lake in the spring. All this helps to create clean, fresh wines, which rival those grown in hotter regions. My friend Justin Rashid from American Spoon Foods calls it, “One of the premier microclimates in the world!”

In case you needed further persuasion, the trip happens to take place on the Autumn Equinox. The sun should, if I understand the science, be shining directly over the equator. You, on the other hand, can mark this special day by being up in Traverse City eating great food, drinking delicious wine, and having a grand old time. The vernal equinox is the day that there’s roughly the same amount of sun and dark. If you’ve been working hard, or if you didn’t quite get in that long summer vacation you were going to take (or even if you did), this is a great way to rebalance and re-center. It could be the ideal opportunity to get a few days away, learn, laugh, eat and drink well.

Book today before this special little culinary field trip fills up!

While Michigan’s Grand Traverse Bay has long been known as a four-season recreational destination, it’s booming food scene is also something to celebrate—Bon Appetit named it one of its top five foodie towns in America. The freshwater lake breezes that draw thousands of visitors to this charming lakeside community every year also create ideal conditions for some of the best farms, orchards, wineries, and fishing in the midwest.

And that’s where Zingerman’s Food Tours come in. Join us next month, September 22-24, when we travel to Grand Traverse Bay to explore the bounty and the beauty of this robust food region—easily, one of the most interesting in the US—with a 3-day trip that includes a visit to Traverse City’s gourmet food truck hub, our favorite breweries and distilleries, family-style farm spreads, foraging for ramps and mushrooms, and a sunset sale on the bay. And that’s not even the whole itinerary!

This is an annual trip for Zingerman’s Food Tours, and every time we return, we’re more and more impressed by the vibrant community of chefs, artisanal food producers, farmers and distillers we visit. Those who’ve taken this trip with us, have this to say:

“I thought I knew the Traverse City area, but this trip was full of wonderful surprises of food and scenery. We got to learn and understand how all of the chefs, farmers, vintners, work in harmony, and we got to really see behind the scenes in a new way.”

“It was very hands-on, interactive and also lovely to have access to so many personal stories behind where the food/wine/beer comes from.  We thoroughly enjoyed every minute.”

This is a great trip for adults of all ages. We keep the group small, so everyone can get the most out of the experience—you’ll be able to ask questions at every stop and really learn about the food you’re eating. Zingerman’s very knowledgeable Tour Guides will handle all the details, so you can enjoy yourself worry free.

 The Grand Traverse Bay Tour includes 3 nights a the beautiful new boutique Traverse City Hotel Indigo, breakfast, lunch, and a nightly family-style dinner with special guests to liven up the conversation, and much more. Check out the whole itinerary here and secure your spot soon. The trip takes place September 22-24, 2017!