Wine tours from the charming city of Bergamo
Bergamo is a charming city located less than one hour northeast of Milan with interesting opportunities for wine tours. The historical city center was built on a hill and protected by powerful city walls still in place.
Nowadays, the older part is called Bergamo Alta (upper part) and is virtually car-free. Here you can take a nice walk among the picturesque streets and squares with its ancient palaces and nice little shops.
The newer part, Bergamo Bassa (lower part), with its large boulevards was founded around the turn of the last century. Between the upper and lower parts you can easily use the city’s funicular railway.
Valcalepio D.O.C
When talking about Bergamo and wine it’s first of all the excellent wines produced in the wine district of Valcalepio that you think about. Here on the hills east of Bergamo and below the mountains, the climate and soil are perfect for vineyards.
The wine produced in this are are Valcalepio D.o.c., red, white, red riserva and the sweet Moscato Passito.
About half an hour from Bergamo there is a small town called Grumello del Monte. In the outskirts there is a charming wine castle built on the remains of a medieval castle from the 13th century. One of the towers is still left of the historical building. Here we can do a walking tour at the winery and maybe even get up in the tower before it is time to visit the wine cellar itself. Under the old vaults modern technology is combined with classic wooden barrels and we can taste the excellent wines.
Acetaia – balsamic vinegar
In a small village nearby there is another nice vineyard that also has an “acetaia” that is unusual in this area. An acetaia is the name of the space where balsam vinegar is stored, which is a famous product mainly from Emilia Romagna and especially in the area of Modena. The owner of the farm was inspired by a friend from just Modena several years ago and can now proudly show his own “acetaia” where an excellent balsamic vinegar is produced.
Here we can taste both Valcalepio wines and balsamic vinegar.
Franciacorta
East of Valcalepio, the famous wine district Franciacorta expands south of the Iseo Lake. Some of Italy’s most famous sparkling wines are produced here in a relatively small area and Franciacorta is the name of both the area and the wines.
In 1995 Franciacorta became Italy’s first sparkling wine produced according to the traditional method with the nomination DOCG.
It all started with the nobleman Guido Berlucchi who produced wine for his own use and in 1961 he decided to start making wine for sale as well. It became the starting point for a transformation of a poor agricultural area into a wine region with world-class wines.
We visit one or two of the wineries and taste the sparkling wines but also some of the excellent red wines.
During a full day’s wine tour you can have a nice lunch in a winery or in one of the charming little towns of the beautiful Lake Iseo, where fishermen still play an important role in the local gastronomy.
We propose packages with nice hotels in Bergamo and wine tours for minimum 8 persons. Contact us for a proposal at:
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