Trentino hilltop vineyards

Cesconi, Trentino

Maso Toressella, Trentino

Trentino & Alto-Adige

27 May - 1 June 2012

This wonderful tour in the shadow of the Dolomites northeastern Italy visits the Trentino and Alto Adige regions to taste their great wines.

We start in style near Verona, with lunch at Serego Alighieri, a leading producer of Valpolicella Amarone.

We then continue to the beautiful but relatively unvisited town of Trento with its the spectacular backdrop of the Dolomite Mountains. Our first hotel here.

In Trentino, we start at Ferrari, where we enjoy a tasting of their excellent sparkling wines made in the traditional way and the perfect apéritif when matched with the local grana cheese.

Our next visit in Trentino is to Maso Toresella, the impressive lakeside castle and experimental vineyard of Cavit where we enjoy wines including their fragrant Teroldego Rotaliano over lunch.

We also visit the Oenology school of San Michele, which has educated many of Italy’s top wine makers, for a highly instructive tasting. We also visit the Oenology school of San Michele, which has educated many of Italy’s top wine makers, for a highly instructive tasting

We continue north up the valley to the Alto-Adige. This region is also known as Sud-Tyrol, and was part of Austria until 1918. Germanic influence is evident in the language, names and cuisine. Sadly these world class wines are not seen much in the UK as they have an insatiable market on their doorstep in Austria and Germany.

From our base at a lovely Belle Époque hotel in the heart of Bolzano for three nights we visit top estates of the region. At Alois Laegder we have a fascinating visit to this ecologically designed winery and taste their range including the local variety Lagrein. We start the next day with fine wines at Terlano and enjoy dinner at San Michele Appiano, one of the most historical but also innovative wineries of the region where we taste their wide range of stunning wines including fine Sauvignons.

Our last two visits in Alto Adige / Sud-Tyrol are to two outstanding star estates – first to Elena Walch near Lake Caldaro where she produces stunning Gewürztraminers, before continuing to the village of Montagne, home to the dynamic perfectionist who is Franz Haas. A first class grower, he is dedicated to quality and makes intense aromatic wines including a Moscato Rosa, which we will taste over lunch at his home with his very hospitable wife, Luisa.

Before our return journey to Verona, we pass through Trentino for our last two visits, starting with the family run Cesconi estate. The young brothers here produce fine wines including their outstanding Chardonnay and mouth-watering Merlot. Our last visit is at the family estate of Vallarom, which belongs to the son of Italy’s most famous Agronomist, Attilo Scienza. Here we will see that attention in the vineyard is reflected in the end product.

Our forays in the vineyards have the Dolomite Mountains as the spectacular backdrop. This is an unusual tour to a different part of Italy with wonderful scenery and time to relax!