Lake Maggiore Wine Tours

Head to Stresa next to settle into your luxury palace hotel right on the lakefront. The rest of the late afternoon is yours at leisure to catch up on jet lag or keep going with a long promenade along the elegant shoreline. It’s also fun to take the cable car to the top of Mottarone (called the ‘Mountain of the Two Lakes’ because of the outstanding views over Lakes Maggiore and Orta). There is a stop on the cablecar halfway up the mountain at the Alpinia botanical gardens, which offer incredible vistas of the Swiss Alps and is a mega photo stop. Tonight we have an extraordinary dinner planned for you! You will travel to idyllic Isola dei Pescatori (Fisherman’s Island) by private boat and can rev up your appetite with a passeggiata before dinner. This darling spec of an islet is so cute it looks like a movie set! The narrow streets and alleyways are lined with red-roofed traditional houses with long balconies that the fishermen once used for drying the day’s catch. Fun fact: the island was featured in Hemingway’s “A Farewell to Arms” when the main character Frederic Henry stops here to have a vermouth. A candlelit table facing the water will be waiting for you at Verbano, where Chef Patrick Merlotti cooks flawlessly executed classics with a modern twist. Fish is on the menu, with local ingredients from the surrounding valleys and mountains, and the various courses will be paired with matching wines.  After a convivial evening, board your boat to take you right to your hotel’s jetty and have a restful evening.

After a stimulating morning of sightseeing and fresh air, you’ll be starving, and we’ll reserve a lovely table for you to order a la carte (as dinner is included tonight) in the darling village of Cannobio, which you will sail to in your private boat. The boat is available until the early evening, and your captain will assist you in getting you to your waterfront restaurant (such as Lo Scalo). After lunch, we suggest a stroll around Cannobio before sailing on to another adorable town like Locarno with its maze of cobblestoned streets in the ancient center. You will have many photo ops from the boat and the option to stop for visits to a few other locations, time permitting, of course. Our suggestions would include the medieval Rocca di Angera castle with its splendid collection of historic toys, curated and funded by Princess Bona Borromeo. Another possibility is the extraordinary hermitage of Santa Caterina del Sasso. This sanctuary is built directly into the mountain cliff and hanging right over the water, climbing the 80 steps up from the boat and seeing the porticos and convents up close are a “must,” and you will feel like an extra in a James Bond film.

Last but not least, you can visit the marvelous Villa Taranto gardens in Verbania. Built into the Castagnola promontory, the villa was originally built in 1875 by Count Orsetti but became derelict until a wealthy Scottish captain with a penchant for gardening bought the site. He proceeded to bring in over 20,000 exotic plants from the tropics, including giant Amazonian water lilies and lotus blossoms. Today, the gardens are meticulously manicured, and a walk through them is soothing and extremely pleasant.

Before dinner, you will have a few free hours at the hotel to relax, rest, and freshen up after a glorious day. You will love the two Michelin starred restaurant tonight. Situated on the itsy bitsy Mergozzo lake, you have a glamorous gourmet dinner. In store, the best table in the house at Piccolo Lago will be organized for you, and we hope the riveting views of lakes and mountains don’t distract you from your meal. Chef Marco Sacco cooks innovative, sophisticated, but also comforting cuisine. Creative dishes include his “Cacio e pepe di lago” (spaghetti flavored with Missultin, a local dried fish). The experience here is a significant memory maker!

Then it’s lunchtime, and you will sit down to a cozy meal at one of our fave eateries in the area, Ristorante Pinocchio. Talented, mustached chef Piero Bertinotti is a hoot, known for his refined versions of local specialties. Taste ingenious dishes like “Uovo in piedi con mandorle in bagna caoda delicata” (Standing egg with almonds in delicate bagna caoda) and “Taglierini alle more su pescatrice in carpaccio caldo, falso pepe del Perù e fragoline di bosco” (Blackberry taglierini with monkfish “hot” carpaccio, false Peruvian pepper and wild strawberries). The sunny dining room is ever so inviting with high, timber-beam ceilings and views of the garden. Following a delightful three-course lunch with excellent wines, of course, carry on to the Lessona/Bramaterra wine lands. A private tour and tasting await you at Tenute Sella, the oldest winery in the region. Established in the 17th century, this is a classy, family operation. Soak up the history of this atmospheric estate and the feeling of a “secret treasure.” Learn about the unique vineyard soils composed of Pliocene-era sand from marine deposits and marine fossils. This highly rated (90 points+ Wine Enthusiast) winery uses old-vine Nebbiolo as the main grape in their red wines (with smaller percentages of Vespolina, Barbera, Croatina, and Cabernet Sauvignon) in their red blends. They also make an exciting range of rosé (Nebbiolo), white (Erbaluce & Riesling Renano), and aged sparkling wines. Take a fun wine flight of their best offerings in each wine style. In the late afternoon, head back to Stresa for a free evening with our suggestions.

The rest of the afternoon will is dedicated to wine education, and you will be visiting two producers from the superb Ghemme DOCG and Gattinara DOCG wine appellations. These two high-quality wine zones make wines on a par with some of the best Barolo wines, and like in the Langhe, the Nebbiolo grape reigns here (where it is called “Spanna”). And like in the Barolo wine lands, the red wine made here is full-bodied, intensely perfumed, and long-lived. Your first stop is at the Antichi Vignetti di Cantalupo estatein the pretty hills of Novara (Colli Novaresi) in Alto Piemonte. The Arlunno family has lived here and worked the land since the 1400s, but it was only in 1969 when Ghemme gained DOC status that the family decided to build the new winery and replant the old vineyards. Since then, they have become one of the premier producers of this region, which later gained the maximum quality status of DOCG in 1997. Winemaker Alberto Arlunno is making some exciting cru wines here now, and on a private tour and tasting, you will have the chance to try their best bottles.

Finish the wine tasting afternoon, then in the Gattinara at the cult winery, Travaglini. Adored by wine connoisseurs across the globe, Travaglini is also known for its unusual and unique bottles. While this family-run winery was founded in the 1920s, it was in the 1950s that they came up with one of the most brilliant and practical marketing ideas- make the bottle function like a decanter. Due to the long aging potential, Giancarlo Travaglini created their signature curvy (or “crooked”) bottle shape, which ingeniously acts like a decanter when on its side. When you pour the wine “pancia in giù,” or belly-down, the dips in the bottle collect the sediment. It’s a great story, great wine, and a great family you won’t forget anytime soon. After a private tour and tasting, it’s back to your historic villa resort, and the evening is free at leisure with our suggestions for dining.

After this fascinating morning, you will be famished, and we have a gourmet extravaganza planned for you at one of the most special Michelin starred venues in Italy- Villa Crespi. On the shores of Lake Orta, this magical, arabesque villa is straight out of a fairytale! Inspired by Middle Eastern architecture, even including a Baghdad-replica minaret, this palace and the surrounding gardens were erected in the late 1800s by an extremely wealthy cotton merchant, Cristoforo Crespi. The villa houses a small boutique hotel and the two Michelin-starred restaurant where you will be dining today. Run by Chef Antonino Cannavacciuolo and his wife Cinzia, this is truly a remarkable experience. Get ensconced at your lake-view table, and take in the sophisticated ambiance. Lunch is the chef’s tasting menu, paired with an array of exciting Italian wines. Sit back and let yourself be pampered! After an unhurried meal, you might like to have a digestive stroll through the grounds. Your driver is at your disposal this late afternoon for sightseeing and shopping. If you love refined Italian design and homeware, there is a fabulous Alessi outlet nearby. And the cute village of Pella on the western shore of the lake is an excellent stop for an espresso or Campari spritz. The evening is free then at your resort, and we suggest a light dinner there; you won’t be starving after the terrific, long lunch.

Cheese lovers, you have found your paradise here in this glorious part of the world, and a cheesemaking tour will be included at one of our favorite artisan farm restaurants, Agriturismo Alpe Burki. They have been using the most natural and precious alpine ingredients for six generations and offering simple, sublime cuisine in a dramatic setting under the Monte Rosa glacier, where you are immersed in nature. The best part is getting there, as it is located at 1600 meters above sea level and only be reached by chairlift or on foot (30-40 minutes walk from the village). Here you will taste zero-mile farmhouse cheeses, as well as their charcuterie and famous polenta while gawking at those views. After lunch, there are a ton of entertaining possibilities. You can take the chairlift one more stop up and admire the views and have a walk. Or take a detour on the way back to Stresa for a wine tasting in lovely Domodossola. If you are interested in gold, a quirky visit is to the artisan gold workshops of the valley, reflecting the gold mining that took place in the Ossola valleys (particularly in Anzasca Valley) in the 18th and 19th centuries. So it’s your choice- shopping, hiking, or more wine tasting. The evening is free in Stresa to pack and relax, and to finish this tour on a high note; we will set up a fun rum and chocolate tasting at the villa resort!