Ciao, I'm Ilaria Miele

Growing up in Tuscany gives you the chance to experience the simplicity of country life & its wonderful food & wine tradition.

I always loved cooking with my grandmas & since I was a very little girl, I’ve always been a very curious eater.

 

This is probably why, after my degree in Communication & Journalism, I decided I was not ready to look for a job & settle down right away (as Italian parents always hope!). My passion for traveling led me to buy a one-way ticket to Australia where I lived for about a year.

I couldn't have made a better choice! In Melbourne, the ‘Australian restaurant capital’, I started working at a renowned Italian restaurant where I got the chance to improve my English as well broadening my horizon of the wine world; even though I had always been intrigued by winemaking since I can remember. All I knew came from my uncle’s way of doing things at his little vineyard where he made table wine for family & friends (a pretty good wine though!). 

The time I spent in Australia made me finally understand what I wanted to do with my life: I wanted to work in the food & wine business, for sure!

So the first thing I did, after coming back to Italy was to try to follow my dream.

Life is like this; often, when you are moved by genuine love & passion, you happen to find the right people at the right time. 

This is how, through mutual friends, I met Rebecca, the founder of Grape Tours. We first became partners in the restaurant business, which we successfully owned for over 7 years. In the meantime, I took the WSET wine education to improve my knowledge of the wine business, while Rebecca & Pierre started Grape Tours, which I joined shortly after, becoming one of the first Grape Tours tour guides.

Over 15 years later, we’re still here working together, sharing our passion for food & wine with all our amazing Grape guests.

Long story short, I’m now also a mother of 2 wonderful girls & during Covid we decided that it was now time for me to slow down a bit with leading tours & that I would be better off giving a hand in the ‘backstage’.

I’m now the one that takes care of most of Grape Tours’ guests' emails, bookings & tour planning…even if during our busiest times I sometimes get back in the middle of the action to lead some of the tours.