Lake Garda Wine Tours

Lunch is in a brick-vaulted trattoria in wine country, one of our favorites, known for its superb local cooking. Specialties could include Risotto al Franciacorta in cialda di Grana (risotto slow-cooked in Franciacorta wine).

After a lingering lovely lunch, completed with excellent local grappa to wash the meal down, head to your villa hotel on Lake Garda.

Your hotel is the subject of many local legends and anecdotes. It was initially a mansion belonging to an eccentric businessman, and acted as a hideaway in later years for Mussolini! It has been an ultra-luxury hotel for the last decade, with all the creature comforts you may require. The setting is just gorgeous. Enjoy a free night tonight to get settled in, and dinner at their 2 Michelin starred restaurant on site.

Lunch will be at spectacular La Speranzina, where Stefano and his team of 14 chefs will pamper you. You will enjoy dishes like Crispy scampi and sea bass, lemon, chive, salad of fruit and vegetables, Octopus “devil-style,” turnip greens, clementine; Tortelli with gorgonzola and mascarpone, lobster, walnuts; Morone fish, grilled potato, king trumpet mushroom, black truffle.

Enjoy some free time in lovely Sirmione, after lunch. On the way, back to the hotel, stop for a late afternoon aperitif in the Taverna San Vigilio with its million-dollar views. Free evening tonight.

Next is Conti Thun estate, where you will tour the vineyards and taste wines paired with traditional local products: cold cuts and cheeses like Bagòss and Tremosine, locally-sourced vegetables and fruit, bread and focaccia.

These genuine flavors are the result of craftsmanship, inspired by respect and love for nature.

After lunch, your next port of call is an Extra Virgin Olive Oil producer. Learn about Italian Olive Oil, traditional and contemporary methods of production, and finish your visit with a fantastic tasting of extra virgin olive oils.

You will visit the beautiful town of Salò next for some free time to relax at a wine bar, go gourmet shopping, visit an art museum housed in an old church, or soak up the atmosphere.

On the way back to the hotel, stop for a visit to a traditional “limonaia.” Lemons and citrus have been cultivated on the western shore of Lake Garda, since the 14th century. Enterprising Franciscan monks exported the fruits and citrus to northern Europe. This business started to decline at the beginning of the 20th century. However, today you can still see how lemon orchards work and taste lemon-infused products like exquisite Limoncello, with beautiful views across Lake Garda.

Tonight you have a real gourmet highlight: dinner at Michelin starred Lido 84, who were included in “the 50 Best One to Watch Award”. Chef Riccardo Camanini previously worked with chefs Raymond Blanc and Gualtiero Marchesi and now uses creative cooking techniques to capture the flavors of the surrounding area perfectly.

Next, a real one of a kind experience: a caviar tour and tasting at a top producer. Since 1977 over 150 acres of freshwater ponds are dedicated to the farming of different species of sturgeons, generating more than 15% of the world production of top farmed caviar. You will learn what caviar is, the malossol technique, how to taste these precious eggs, and how to assess the quality.

If you are a history, literature, or architecture buff, on the way back to the hotel, we recommend a visit to the Vittoriale degli Italiani in Gardone Riviera. Once the private estate of Italian poet and military adventurer, Gabriele D’Annunzio, this villa is famous for its Italian Art Deco interior. In the summer, an exciting music festival takes place in the panoramic amphitheater. Do not miss botanical garden Heller: within 10,000 square meters, there are herbaceous species from all over the world.

Transfer back to the hotel and free evening.