La Dolce Vita Wine Tours

Amarone & Alto Adige

A wine tour spotlighting the cult reds of Valpolicella & alpine whites of Alto Adige

Slide Show:

First stop: FERRARI, a top sparkling wine producer in Trento
Our line-up of FERRARI sparklers.
Then we move north to the weinstrasse (wine roads) around LAKE CALDARO
At lunch on the lake, Italian and German — prosciutto and speck — mix freely.
Alto Adige vineyards are tiny plots of one acre or less. Thus the rise of cooperatives.
We visit some of the best coops, such as CANTINA TERLANO
Showcase vineyards at CANTINA TERLANO
The top family-run wineries are also on our program, such as TIEFENBRUNNER...
...and HOFSTATTER, which makes some of Italy’s best pinot noir.
In the alpine soil, Pinot Grigio develops beautiful aromatics and minerality
Dusk falls over the Adige valley.
On Day 3, we transfer to Valpolicella and visit either Stefano Accordini of ACCORDINI…
…or TOMMASI, both excellent family-run estates
Finally, we arrive at our accommodations: MUSELLA, a winery and cozy B&B.;
MUSELLA’s line-up includes a delicious Amarone
Thumbs-up to relaxing at the end of a long day!
Hope you’re hungry! There’ll be platters of grilled meats to accompany our Amarone.
Day 4 begins with a walking tour of VERONA
Our guides shares a bit of Roman history
The Romans left behind a coliseum, which now hosts opera singers rather than gladiators.
Renaissance frescoes dress up the palaces facing VERONA’s Piazza delle Erbe
And VERONA’s famous pink marble is embedded with sea fossils everywhere.
“Yep, Verona’s my kinda town!”
Next we visit ALLEGRINI’s splendid Villa della Torre
Cat got your tongue? Or guide Claudio Bisio?
At ALLEGRINI, we get briefed on the valleys of Valpolicella…
…and explore the villa’s cellars
Comparing notes
So many wines. But fear not! We provide a list of everything you drink during the entire tour.
Day 5 takes us to the eastern hills, the new zone for Amarone.
Harvest at TRABUCCHI, on the eastern side
The estate manager at TRABUCCHI welcomes our group
Harvest workers lay out the clusters to dry
Fill 'er up!
Then we continue to the town of SOAVE, with its fab castle…
…and fabulous winery: PIEROPAN
Our host is co-owner Teresita Pieropan
PIEROPAN still uses the old-style bamboo racks to dry their grapes before pressing.
This drying technique goes back to Roman times
These grapes are destined for their divine passito Soave.
The stoney soils that make PIEROPAN’S single-vineyard cru so exceptional
Yours for the night! The villa grounds where we have our farewell dinner.
Asparagus risotto, perfect with minerally Soave
Here’s to old Amarone and new friends!