A tailored trip for wine lovers and foodies: immerse yourself in northern Italy's Enogastronomic (the art of pairing wine with food) culture and enjoy "La Dolce Vita". You will visit the most iconic, award-winning wineries, picture-perfect towns and learn about the creation of the magical elixir called wine in its different expressions. You will savor the exquisite cuisine perfectly paired with these wines; visit a cheese Slow Food Presidium; admire Roman, Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque Architecture; get inspired from a cooking lesson, and other activities.
Northern Italy is an enchanting region, filled with historic towns and UNESCO heritage sites, as well as producing some of the world's best wines and foods, several of which are also UNESCO recognized. The tour starts and ends in two of these beautiful cities: Torino and Venice, which offers you the opportunity to extend your stay in Italy should you choose to do so. The other cities and towns we visit, each with its own history (several were independent principalities, republics, papal states) will astound you for their architecture, culture, gastronomy, and of course wine production, varying tremendously from one area to the next.
During the tour, you will learn the (often 2000-year-old) stories and essentials of grape and wine production in these areas, participate in wine tastings, and explore the concepts of pairing wines with appropriate foods. We hope to refine both your nose for wine and its many aromas, from roses to vanilla, from tobacco to leather, as well your ability to discern the varied flavors that the wine tasting will familiarize you with. We will experiment with several aromas and flavors starting the tour so that you may more fully enjoy the world renown wines and wineries of northern Italy.
Below is a brief description of the tour, a more detailed itinerary will be provided to participants. Most days will also include an additional activity such as those mentioned above or relax time. There will also be opportunities for shopping in various localities. After the itinerary, you will find a description of the most important wines we will be tasting.
Itinerary
Arrival in Turin (Torino)
You will be picked up from the airport/train station and taken to a 4-star hotel.
Barolo
After breakfast, we will leave towards Barolo where we will have a wonderful wine tasting followed by lunch with a view, we will visit two of the most renown and award-winning Barolo producers where you will have a chance to learn about the winery's history, production methods, and finish with a tasting of their top-of-the-line wines, including the Barbaresco wine. We will finish the afternoon with a visit to the Serralunga Castle.
Barolo
This morning, we will go truffle hunting followed by a delicious tasting in Alba. We will then visit one of the oldest and finest Barolo wineries in the area where we will have lunch paired with their extraordinary wines. After this, we will stop at Belvedere della Morra to admire the fabulous view of the whole wine producing area. In the afternoon, we will visit another iconic winery.
Franciacorta
This town produces one of Italy's most exciting Metodo Classico (Champenoise) sparkling wines. You will fall in love with the beautiful scenery of the hills covered with vineyards. After breakfast depart towards Iseo where we will have a fabulous lunch followed by an afternoon visit to a winery where we will learn about the production method of these elegant wines and taste their premium line.
Franciacorta
Today we will visit Brixia which is one of the most significant and best-preserved archeological sites in Italy, recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site and after lunch, we will visit one of the most renown wineries.
Valpolicella
In the morning, we will visit a winery, walk around their gorgeous vineyards, and learn about the complex process to create another iconic Italian wine: Amarone. We will have lunch at a fabulous restaurant followed by a second tasting at another winery whose villa dates to the Renaissance 1500's, with yet more top-of-the-line labels.
Valdobbiadene – Free Day in Verona
Free day in Verona. There is so much to see: Romeo and Juliet's houses, wonderful shopping, the Roman Arena in the center of town, excellent gastronomy, Lamberti tower, Verona Cathedral and much more.
Valdobbiadene
Today we will visit Valdobbiadene Valley where Venetian villas, beautiful wine growing hills and monumental trees create a unique scenario. We will visit a winery and will learn all about the production of the famous Prosecco, we will have a superb lunch and afterwards visit a cheese producer.
Valdobbiadene / Cartizze
After another wine tasting, we take a land rover ride through the Cartizze hills which is a small hilly area enclosed in 1 square kilometer, where the prestigious Prosecco DOCG Superiore is produced. We will have a superb lunch where we will say goodbye and around 4 pm there will be a transfer to the airport.
Understanding Italian Wine Classifications
To facilitate your understanding of Italian wines, here are the four main categories of label classifications, ranging from lowest to highest quality:
Vino da Tavola (VdT)
Wine without a geographical indication — "table wine."
IGT
Indicazione Geografica Tipica — the broadest category. Grapes must come from the IGT region but without strict style standards.
DOC
Denominazione di Origine Controllata — "designation of controlled origin." Rules on permitted grape varieties, yields and aging.
DOCG
The highest quality level. Only 74 exist in Italy. Must pass a tasting quality panel and adhere to strict production requirements. We will be tasting mostly top-of-the-line DOCG wines.
