Wishing for summer already? Well, our first destination will be somewhere with great food and wine, seeing that most of us have been stuck with home cooked food and store-bought wines for the best part of last year. And what better place than the Veneto, home to Venice, excellent wines and Antonio Vivaldi. Only 2 hours and a bit away by flight, this Northeastern corner of Italy stretches from the Dolomite Mountains to the Adriatic Sea, brimming with stunning scenery and delicious toasts. Here are the GLASS travel team’s five best Veneto wine and food tours.
A Half Week of Joy and Wine
Grape Escapes have a well-regarded Prosecco tour that was showcased in various newspapers but their exclusive three and four day Amarone wine and food packages offer the ultimate luxurious Veneto experience. Based at the superb 5 star Villa Cordevigo, guests will enjoy a flawless service and high-end facilities, as well as experiencing premium tours and tastings at highly-regarded local Valpolicella and Amarone wineries.
Villa Cordevigo offers a wide range of luxurious facilities, including an outdoor swimming pool, a lounge bar, and a wellness centre, nestled in the Veneto vineyards. Villa Cordevigo also boasts an on-site winery, and a tasting session of five of the estate’s wines, including an Amarone della Valpolicella Classico and a Soave Classico, will be arranged for you on the afternoon of your arrival. On the morning, after breakfast, you will be met at the Villa by a specialist driver/guide, who will accompany you throughout the day on a private basis. You will be taken to the renowned Valpolicella production area, and your guide will regale you with tales and anecdotes of the history of Veneto and its vineyards, introducing you to the particularities of the region.
Valpolicella wines are primarily made with Corvina grapes with small additions of other grape varieties, and range from light to medium bodied red wines with aromas of cherry, raspberry, plum and violet. The area also produces the renowned Amarone della Valpolicella; rich, dense wines with aromas of black cherry, figs, dark chocolate, molasses, wood smoke, orange and clove. You will visit two premium wineries for full tours of the wine-making facilities, learning about the local wine-making methods, and tasting extensive examples of the estates’ wines.
A delicious lunch of local dishes paired with Veneto wines will also be arranged. You will be taken back to your hotel at the end of the day. In the evening, a six course wine pairing dinner will be served in the hotel’s Michelin-starred Oseleta restaurant. Chef Marco Marras focuses on seasonal, traditional flavours whilst combining simplicity and the next day, your driver/guide will return, this time to take you to the beautiful Lake Garda. Your guide will firstly take you to the historic village of Sirmione. You will be taken on a tour of this charming, picturesque little village before enjoying a 30 minute private boat tour of the peninsula. At midday, lunch paired with wines will be served in a local restaurant. After lunch, you will have the opportunity to further explore the village independently, perhaps do a bit of shopping or enjoy a gelato by the Lake. You will be taken back to your hotel in the late afternoon. The remainder of the afternoon and evening will be free for you to enjoy the Villa’s luxurious facilities, taking a dip in the swimming pool or relaxing at the spa. As always, we would be delighted to reserve you a table for dinner if required.
See more at grapescapes.net
Day-trippery
If day trips are more your thing, you could base yourself in Venice, Verona or smaller towns and venture out to a different tour every day. Here are a selection of the highest rated food and wine tours from Trip Advisor.
- A sparkling day on the Prosecco hills by Yellowboot
Discover the Prosecco Hills with a morning visit to a winery where the secrets of Prosecco wine making will be revealed. A lunch visit follows at a family owned local osteria lost in the middle of the hills where traditional dishes are prepared using traditional recipes, and where the typical “spiedo” meat cooks slowly near the fire. A second winery is on the cards next, this time a DOCG (Denomination of Controlled and Guaranteed Origin, the highest official level of quality for Italian wines) Prosecco winery and that produce wines using ancient vines. Duration: 8h
Departure: Pick up from City of Venice
- Discover Valpolicella Vineyards and Wine Tasting Experience by Tenute Santa Maria Valverde
This is a guided tour of a family owned winery in Marano di Valpolicella where you will discover the family history of the estate, visit a 17th century cellar and see the special traditional room to dry grapes: the Fruttaio. You’ll see steps of the wine process and the refinement of great red wines in oak barrels. Finally, you’ll taste a selection of fine wines – Valpolicella Classico, Ripasso and Amarone – learning how to evaluate them by sight, smell and taste. The tastings will be paired with
Monte Veronese (a local cheese) and Soppressa (a kind of salami) from Valpolicella. Enjoy the view from our marvellous terrace where you can have the best view on the Valpolicella Hills! Duration: 2h 30m
Departure from Verona. Depending on the type of your ticket, follow these instructions: [Wine tasting at the Winery]: meeting point at loc. Gazzo 4 37020 Marano di Valpolicella VR [W.T. + transfer -> Winery]: 10am Verona centre; 10:15am train station
- Classic Private Wine Tasting in Castagnole delle Lanze by Tenuta San Mauro
This glorious tour through the UNESCO recognised Monferrato and Langa vineyards led by a sommelier is something else. You will be welcomed by Mauro, the owner and his family, in the nineteenth-century farmhouse from which you will start the visit, with the description of the vineyards, and then continue in the aging cellar. It will also be possible to visit a small collection of vintage motorcycles and tractors, which tell the long peasant tradition of the late twentieth century. A tasting of 4 wines will follow: Alta Langa DOCG, Langhe Chardonnay DOC, Barbera d’Asti DOCG, Barbera d’Asti Superiore DOCG all accompanied by combinations with typical local products, such as Salami and Cheese. Duration 1h 30m
Directions: Tenuta San Mauro – Winery, Località San, Via Fraschea-San Mauro, 2, 14054 Castagnole delle Lanze AT, Italy from the A21 exit at Asti-Est, towards Alba-Cuneo (A33). Continue for 15 km and exit ‘Costigliole Govone’. First roundabout Costigliole, second roundabout follow for Castagnole Lanze. 5km on the right you will find the advertising billboard to reach Tenuta San Mauro. 300 meters arrival.
- From Padua: Olive Oil & Wine in the Euganean Hills by Lovivo Tour Experience
In the middle of Veneto, discover the olive and wine excellences of the Euganean Hills. From ancient times, vines and olive trees have been cultivated in the territory. Olive oil is certainly a source of pride in this area: you will visit an olive oil mill, where the producers will show us the art of olive oil production and will guide us during the tasting of the final product. One of the best wineries in the area is also part of the itinerary, where after a visit to the cellar, you will taste the typical wines of the Euganean Hills. Duration 3–6 hours
Departure: Pick up from Padua
See tripadvisor.co.uk for more details of the above day trips
Be Bold, Go Unguided
You could, if you are feeling adventurous, do it all by yourself by following one of the famous Prosecco wine trails. The new “Strada del Prosecco e Vini dei Colli Conegliano Valdobbiadene”, built in 2003, is the direct heir of what was, in 1966, Italy’s first Wine Road. Its route begins at the School of Winemaking in Conegliano – do not miss the nearby small but fascinating nineteenth-century “Bottega del Vino” (declared a national monument) or the “Luigi Manzoni Oenological Museum”, which acts as an archive for the research carried out by the scholars who have attended the School at various times and have produced wines of international renown such as the Incrocio Manzoni. Then head towards San Pietro di Feletto, where the Romanesque 12th century Parish Church overlooks the valley below. Stop to admire the panorama of the gentle hills of Conegliano, as well as the delicate frescoes on the façade. Then descend towards Refrontolo: in the midst of woods and vineyards you will come across the Molinetto della Croda, a century-old gem of a little mill, set in the rock. Proceeding towards Solighetto, you will find the stunning 18th century Villa Brandolini, that often hosts interesting art exhibitions.
The hills become higher and steeper the closer you get to Farra di Soligo, where two mediaeval towers loom over a landscape of splendid vineyards: these are the Torri di Credazzo, remains of the Longobard dominion of the area. In nearby Col San Martino, another fascinating example of local architecture is the Chapel of San Vigilio, which we recommend you approach with a walk through the vine rows, Follow the hills, with their characteristic cone-like shapes, to Colbertaldo, where you will begin the climb towards the qualitative peak of the Denomination: Cartizze, where one of the finest viticultural landscapes in Italy will open up before you. The historic route of the Prosecco Wine Road ends in Valdobbiadene, the headquarters of many of the sparkling wine companies.