IN 6 LOCATIONS IN SEARCH OF 6 WINERIES
Italy, as you know, is famous for its wine. From north to south, throughout the islands, and over the rest of the country we produce excellent quality wines that are appreciated not only in our country but also around the world. We have produced an itinerary specifically for exploring really special wineries along the boot.
1. Starting from the north we chose the Veneto region. We are at the Galzignano Terme Spa & Golf Resort and we start at Arquà Petrarca to get to know the Vignalta Cellars. We are in the Euganean Hills and here, thanks to the thermal waters that flow underground, the climate is decidedly Mediterranean. The peculiarity of this winery is that it is completely dug into rock, something that ensures optimal aging of the wines that are stored in oak barrels. Besides the visit to this really particular cellar in a cave, we are invited into another exceptional location ... The tasting room Vignalta, the place where you can taste wines from the cellar that is located in one of the most important residences of pre-Palladian Veneto. The “Villa of Bishops” is just lovely ... as we walk through the halls, the atmosphere is magic as if we were a part of a novel from the year 600. Following the advice of Julia, a young sommelier, we taste a PINOT WHITE “Euganean Hills” and then a red, called “Gemola”. We relax with our goblets on one of the terraces of the Villa to enjoy spectacular views and contemplate the advice of Julia. The wines were spot-on!
2. It 's time to move so we have left the Veneto region and now find ourselves in Tuscany, another territory absolutely well-known for its prestigious wines. Here we will be spoiled by the choices... there are so many wineries and they all look interesting but we can pick just one ... We are at the Golf Hotel Punta Ala on the Tyrrhenian coast and we have heard so much about Massa Marittima as a beautiful rural village and it is here that we find the Moris Cellars, so we decide to go. This winery enjoys a long tradition of over two hundred years when the Moris family arrived in Maremma from Spain, this is the story of Moris Farms, once known as the Poggetti farm, where the view is priceless and you will be entranced by the panorama from Elba Island to the Gulf of Follonica. It's time for the tasting, I think that we will eventually have to call a taxi! We start with two white wines, delicious, Santa Chiara and Vermentino. Clearly, all accompanied by delicious bruschetta carefully prepared for us by Signora Paola. Then we move on to a pinkish wine called Mandriolo and we love it! The family continues to delight us with cold meats and local cheeses while we start tasting the red wines sequentially; Morellino, Barbaspinosa, Avvoltore and Mandriolo Red. What a riot! While we sit in the shade of the olive trees shading the beautiful terrace overlooking the view we decide to stop here for a while: It's all too wonderful...
3. We continue our wine tour and slip south to Salento. We arrive at the Acaya Golf Resort & SPA, and after a dose of healthy relaxation, we decided to try a new experience. We reach the Cantele Cellars where we attend a culinary lesson about traditional Salentine foods with the Chef. It starts from the selection and then the preparation of the ingredients. The session is conducted in a very charming place, it's called I SENSI (“The Senses”), it is a laboratory exploring the unification of the senses, (“Synesthesia”), searching for the perfect expression of the culinary tradition of Salento. It is as if all the senses are merged and become one, a unique experience: taste, smell, sounds, tactile and visual perceptions are transformed into a dish and tell the story of this wonderful land. The orecchiette pasta is exquisite and we are proud ... because we prepared it ourselves! What a fantastic cooking lesson! But let's not forget that we are at a winery and although the culinary experience was unforgettable, we cannot leave without tasting the wine, and so Angelo from Cantele offers us a typical Negroamaro del Salento: an excellent conclusion before our departure.
4. We fly into Sicily where we plan two stages. The first takes us to what was recently declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Mount Etna, the largest active volcano in Europe. We arrive at the Picciolo Etna Golf Resort & Spa in the early morning and are greeted by the warm temperatures of this period, so we relax a bit in the luxurious pool, and enjoy the privileged view of the volcano, not bad ... In the late morning we drive to the Alcantara Valley and reach the Graci winery where we're going to stop for lunch. We can see the vineyards that grow at an altitude ranging from 600 to 1000 meters above sea level. This land, thanks to the volcano, is particularly fertile and rich in minerals, it is precisely for this reason that some of the best wines in Sicily are produced. We visit the ancient wine cellar and barrel room and then go back for lunch on the terrace of the winery. The menu, very typical, is very rich. I am amazed by the bread baked in a stone oven topped with delicious extra virgin olive produced by Graci ... divine! But Carmen serves us more delights: An omelet with wild vegetables, peppered with fresh black pepper, seasoned olives and baked olives, grilled meat of black piglet, salad from the garden and last but not least a delicious almond cake. And everything is accompanied by wines from the Graci cellars, we taste two Etna DOC, a red and a white. At four in the afternoon we are still sitting at the table ... the beauty of Sicily!
5. From Catanese we move further south to reach Marina di Ragusa. We stay at the Donnalucata Resort overlooking a beautiful golden beach and a crystalline sea. We choose to visit the Cos cellar because we are intrigued by the principles of biodynamic viticulture that inspired the producers. The farm was founded in the 80’s by the hands of three friends: Giambattista Cilia, Giusto Occhipinti and Strano Cirino. The three tell us some details about the history of biodynamics, a technique that aims to help the vineyard to find and maintain balance in harmony with the surrounding nature. In this way the wine is able to perfectly express the depth of the character of its soils. WOW! It’s also the reason why the winery Cos uses terracotta amphorae, material which does not yield any characteristic aroma. We taste the Pithos, a Cerasuolo, fermented and aged entirely in amphorae. The Cos winery was a new experience, we leave satisfied and enriched ...
6.Island hopping, here we are now in Sardinia. Our starting point is Paradise Resort Sardinia, a beautiful structure built near the paradisiacal beach of Lu Impostu, located right in front of Tavolara. We save for last a stop on our wine tour a visit to the Tenute Olbios winery. Here in the field and in the cellar they use natural biological techniques: very limited treatment of the vineyards, harvesting the grapes by hand, winemaking immediately at harvest, refining and bottling directly at the winery. After visiting both the vineyards and the cellar, we are ready for the tasting of three wines: In Vino Veritas, Lupus in Fabula and Cavè , while we delight in typical Sardinian food products including a variety of cheeses, exquisite.
This trip through Italy led us to know splendid places and gave us an incredible experience of the culture of wineries and wines. And now, how do we go home and settle for any simple bottle?!
We could always leave for one of the resorts where JLive, the resorts’ Local Expert, (a HIGHLY professional concierge), and wineries offer tastings at least once a week ... why not ?! .