Friday 7 July 2023
In the morning at check-out Giselle talked us through some wine makers we might want to try for tastings (especially smaller ones). You can’t get much better advice than the sommelier of a Michelin 2* restaurant in the area you want to go tasting! Mmm… also need to note the lovely breakfast, including apple souffle, cured char, amazing local cheese and more.
The first winery we tried on our way down to Lake Garda. Called De Vigili, its only seven years old and run by Francesco, also young and a bit of a hunk. We now know why Giselle has his Chardonnay on her tasting menu! I’m joking, it’s extremely good Chardonnay (we bought some).
Lake Garda hadn’t been on our itinerary at all, but then Maureen noticed that its northern end is only just over an hour’s drive from where we’re staying in Bolzano. We’d set aside today for wine tasting, but having done two yesterday and having more time tomorrow… why not visit a lake?
We chose Limone sul Garda as it’s meant to be a bit smaller and less tourist-laden than the more famous towns on the lake. Well, I’m here to tell you that if Limone is less touristy and July less busy than August, then August on Lake Garda must be terrifying. That said, it’s a very pretty town and Lake Garda surrounded by mountains is a beautiful setting. So I can see why it’s attractive. You really do feel as though you’re on the Mediterranean, everyone swanning about in shorts and sunglasses, boats and cocktails and sun-washed walls. We sat and watched the world go by while eating licquorice gelatos.
We could relax: our car was in an underground car park, our wineload was safe from the sun!
Back in Bolzano our accommodation tonight was a superbly equipped and decorated apartment called Maison My Life, in the oddest place – built as some kind of random annex in amongst the bins in the yard behind a parade of shops?! Once inside, though, all very nice.
After takeaway pizza we wandered the 20 minute walk into the old centre of Bolzano. So strange… after all the industrial outskirts and non-descript roads we’d driven down coming to and from Terra and then the Adige valley, I wasn’t expecting much. But it’s actually a really beautiful old town, very pretty lit up at night, a sort of Gothic-Italian crossbreed with atmospheric arcades of shops with brass-and-glass display cases outside (proof that there are few yobs in Bolzano, I guess, as they’d be so easily smashed up!). We wound up with a quick glass of bubbly at a neighbourhood wine bar. Note to self: Trentodoc is another style of fizz we should try more of.
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