The geography and climate are very variegated, for a small
country like Italy, almost as its history of invasions and
micro kingdoms. Thus Italy has various landscapes, from the
alps to Sicily, and many cities of art: Turin, Venice, Florence,
Siena, Naples, Palermo.... Each one an ex-capital, proud of
his castle and walls, churches, and of his wines and cuisine.
We try to be interpreter and host to initiate you to the secrets
and charm of every region.
THE WINE MAP
After
the Greeks, the vine followed and created business and civilisation;
not by chance, the vineyards surround the older settlements
and monasteries, the ancient roads, and the cities of art.
This allows each tour to join wine and culture, country and
city life at your pleasure.
Piedmont,
which of course evokes mind blowing Barolos, actually boasts
several fascinating wines, Nebbiolo, Barbaresco, the Asti spumante,
it is also the homeland of Martini and Cinzano, vermouths drunk
all over the world. The cuisine, hard to find out of the region
and, yes, without pizza or spaghetti, is a real discovery, a
magnum opus of quality and tradition.
The Veneto, or rather the “Tre Venezie”, Veneto,
Trentino and Friuli are known for the Amarone, their long-ageing
masterpiece, and for whites, as Soave, Sauvignon, but they also
grant exciting Cabernets and Merlots, selected for over hundred
years far before the recent world-wide cabernet fever. We can
swing between the sea and the Alps, we drive on the hills, border
the Garda lake and touch cities as Venice, Padova or Verona.
An Alpine detour can lead us to Trento, for great Spumanti,
or to the Dolomites, or to taste Riesling, Muller-Thurgau and
Gewurtztraminer while diving in the definitely German region
of Bozen.
In Tuscany, there is a lot to discover, not only Chianti, and
more than one Chianti. Where the so-called wine Renaissance
is happening, we propose three different trips and a Grand Tour.
Better look at the Tuscany page for more detail.
In the Sicily trip, across sunny vineyards, Greek vestiges
islands and volcanoes, you experience classics like Marsala,
Corvo di Salaparuta or Regaleali and the “new” wines
of some emerging estates like Planeta, jointly with one of
the tastier and more various of the Italian Cuisines.
