La Dolce Vita Wine Tours

The Italian Alps & Dolomites

Hiking the wine roads & alpine trails of Alto Adige & Trentino

Slide Show:

Alto Adige / Südtirol is ground zero for alpine wine
Part of Austria until 1918, its culture is very Germanic. Ja!
Trail signs are bilingual
And German speck shares the plate with Italian prociutto
Day 1 begins with a tasting of Trento DOC sparkling wine
We’ll visit either Ferrari, the regional giant
Or boutique winery Maso Martis, where owner Roberta Stelzer will be our host
Our warm-up hike goes through vineyards and apple orchards on the valley floor
Grape growers own tiny vineyard parcels. Thus the rise of cooperatives.
Lake Caldaro is at the epicenter of this wine zone
And here we dine, overlooking the lake as the sun sets
Our first hotel is in the center of Caldaro
Day 2: We go up 3000’ on the cable car to hike on Mt. Vigiljoch
Clouds and cows towards the summit
Making friends with the locals
Come and get it, hikers! Canederli at lunch.
Beer is allowed on this wine tour. And there’s good beer aplenty.
Instead of canederli, a blueberry crepe could nicely refill the hiker’s tank
Post-hike, we visit Martin Foradori, owner of the excellent Hofstätter winery
The best pinot noir in Italy comes from these parts
Day 3, we hike again in the Adige valley
Today’s endpoint is Tramin, possible birthplace of gewürtztraminer
In the vineyard with Christof Tiefenbrunner
As cozy as a ski lodge: the Tiefenbrunner tasting room
Our final night in the Alps. Cheers!
Before leaving Alto Adige, we visit one of the best winery coops, Terlan
A bracing minerality characterizes these alpine whites
Part 2 of this tour is in the Dolomites
View from our hotel of Canazei, in the Val di Fassa
A meadow trail on Sasso Piatto, one of our hikes
Trails range from easy to excruciating. We opt for the former.
Austrian flavor in one of our lunch spots.
At the Ladini museum, a local culture that speaks a form of living Latin
At the trailhead: guides Pat Thomson & Claudio Bisio and their trusty 9-seat steed
Trekking up the Pordoi Pass
Whew! Now continuing on the Viel del Pan
Claudio, our guide, sniffs the wind
Yessir, it’s time to refuel.
A Kodak moment
Breathtaking. And no special gear required! Mere mortals can do these trails.
A Sound of Music moment.