Great Wines of Italy

Welcome to Venice’s Marco Polo Int. Airport (VCE). Your airport transfer will be waiting for you at 11:00 pm to take you to your hotel. Meet your travel companions and visit a local winery in the afternoon. Wrap the day up with a local dinner.  

Hotel: Voco, Cannaregio or similar (1 night)    

Leave the province of Venice to go to the province of Treviso and visit a winery in Valdobbiadene, the land of Prosecco, where this typical sparkling wine is made. Later go to the Bassiano del Grappa area to visit a distillery. Enjoy a short drive to the beautiful area of LakeGarda where we will spend the next three nights. Dinner will be served in the hotel.  

Hotel: Poiano Resort, Baia Verde, or similar (3 nights)  

Enjoy a walking tour with our Local Guide in Verona, the city famous for the love story of Romeo and Juliet. See the famous balcony from Shakespeare’s tragedy as well as the Roman Arena. In the afternoon, visit a local winery. The hills between the Alps and the Mediterranean Sea near Lake Garda’s East Coast are a prolific region of fine wines. Experience the famous labels of Bardolino and Valpolicella (a combination of grape varieties) or Recioto and Soave (delicate white wines). Tonight enjoy dinner in a traditional restaurant.  

Today experience the beautiful village of Sirmione at your own pace. In the afternoon there will be wine tastings and then a scenic drive through the area between Lake Garda and Lake Iseo where the Chiavennasca grape is grown and used to create the full-bodied and rich bouquet wines of Sfurzat & Valtellina. Dinner will be served at a local restaurant.  

Go west to reach Franciacorta in the province of Brescia where we will visit a local winery. Pinot Bianco, Pinot Nero, and Chardonnay grapes are traditionally used to create the wine “Franciacorta”. In the afternoon, reach our hotel in the Piedmont region where we will spend the next three nights. Dinner will be served in the hotel’s restaurant.  

Hotel: Spinerola, Tenuta la Romana, or similar (3 nights)  

Enjoy some free time in Asti city center for shopping. In the afternoon, drive through the area of Asti to reach a local winery where sweet Moscato grapes grow and are transformed into Asti Spumante. Right around the corner is where Brachetto and Barbera grapes come from. Tonight, dinner will be served at a local restaurant.

Experience some pearls of the beautiful region of Piedmont. The most common grape variety from Piedmont is Nebbiolo, known in this region since the 13th century. Barolo, Barbaresco, and many other wines are created from this variety. After a visit to the local winery lunch will be served at the local restaurant. Tonight is a free evening to enjoy at leisure. 

Leave the region of Piemonte for the beautiful Chianti area in the heart of Tuscany. Visit some small villages with free time to frequent some wine shops and taste local wine and food. In the late afternoon, take a short ride to our hotel where you are sure to be amazed by an authentic Tuscan dinner  

Hotel: CDH Radda, Tenuta di Ricavo, or similar (3 nights)  

Today, visit one of the most beautiful wineries of Tuscany to discover the secret of “Chianti Classico” followed by lunch. Enjoy the evening at your leisure. 

Take a walking tour through the medieval streets of Montepulciano and its several “cantinas”. Not far from here,  go to the small village of Pienza to discover its delicious homemade cheeses which pair perfectly with wine. Two important Tuscan red wines grow in this area. Brunello Di Montalcino is a strong red wine made exclusively of Brunello grapes which has a long life (the first official great vintage was in 1888 and 5 perfectly intact bottles have been kept). Vino Nobile Di Montepulciano is made from Prugnolo Gentile (a clone of Sangiovese) grapes, this wine is strong and sour when young and becomes increasingly smooth and spicy with age.  

Leave Tuscany for the Roman Castles (a group of villages southeast of Rome where the Pope spends his summers) to visit a local winery. Here the varieties of white grapes are cultivated as Bellone, Arciprete white (a Bellone biotype), and two varieties of Greek grapes, called Moro and Yellow (which had almost disappeared in the territory until they were recently revalued). In the afternoon, check into the hotel. Tonight, dinner will be served at a local restaurant to celebrate the success of our Great Wines of Italy tour.  

Hotel: Benito al Bosco, Castel Vecchio or similar (1 night)  

Arrivederci Italia! Your transfer will arrive at Rome’s Fiumicino Leonardo Da Vinci International Airport (FCO) at 7:00 am