The Great Wines of Northern Italy

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The Great Wines of Northern Italy

The Great Wines of Northern Italy

30 September - 6 October 2007

This superb tour covers the great wines of Piedmont, Veneto and Franciacorta. We begin with a tasting over lunch at one of Verona’s classic wine-bar restaurants. After lunch we check into our traditional hotel in central Verona. From here we visit some of the outstanding estates of the Veneto.

We taste with several Valpolicella producers starting with the relatively unknown Ca’ La Bionda, (the Amarone is superb). We continue for formal tasting at the trail-blazing firm of Masi, to taste their range including wines from obscure grape varieties and their Argentinian wine as well. The Serego Alighieri estate is next door to Masi, indeed Masi commercialise their wines. This was the estate given to the great Renaissance poet Dante Alighieri by the rulers of Verona after his exile from Florence. We enjoy dinner at this historic estate accompanied by their exquisite ‘meditation wines’ of Amarone and Recioto. Amarone served with Parmigiano cheese is a favourite after-dinner treat!

We visit Pra in Soave and then enjoy a tasting lunch in Soave with wines from all the top producers.

We head west from the Veneto into Franciacorta, that has the reputation for producing Italy’s best sparkling wines. Asti Spumante from Piedmont may be better known, but it is Franciacorta that wins the national accolades. There are also good red wines from international varieties here. We will stop for a tasting and lunch at one of the top estates, Ca’ de Bosco.

In Piedmont in North West Italy, we stay at the architect designed winery-hotel above the cellars of Ascheri, one of the movers and shakers in the Barolo wine region. Our Barolo tastings start with the small estate of Vajra, where the vineyard is all important and the hands-on wine making proves that small can be very beautiful. Lunch today is as guests of Cordero di Montezemolo who have some outstanding vineyard sites resulting in impressive wines such as Enrico VI.

In Barbaresco we visit the Produttori di Barbaresco, whose outstanding quality belies the cooperative nature of the winery. There is almost nowhere else in the world where the best wines from a great appellation are made at the local co-op. We spend lunchtime, which is market day, in Alba. Here you can wander from stall to stall: cheeses, sausages, fruit and most importantly, truffles!

Our final dinner will be with our charismatic host Matteo Ascheri at his family’s welcoming Osteria. Here we will experience traditional dishes served with his unusual Viognier and stunning single vineyard Barolo. Our last day rounds up with a visit to the Antinori owned Prunotto who have some of the best sites in Barolo and Barbaresco, from which they make some of the most sought after wines in the region.