On the trail of Italian vineyards

Our first stop was two wine-steeped days at the 52nd edition of Vinitaly, an international wine and spirits exhibition in Verona. We started trying the varied wines divided as per the region of their origin, with Piedmont and Marche and then stopped at Sicily, enjoying different interpretations of indigenous Italian grape varietals. 

Following this, we stopped at our first winery visit, Astoria Wines. We were impressed to see the uber-chic packaging of their stylishly designed bottles — the gold, pink and black cut-glass bottles inspired by the canals running across Venice was a favourite. Later, we were driven up the steep slopes to the estate with the Alps as backdrop. After a private tasting of eight varieties of prosecco, we had lunch in a glass chamber surrounded by the lush vineyard greens. 

A stop at Val d’Oca, a cooperative with an aggregate of 600 growers in Valdobbiadene, gave us a peek into bottling and automated packaging. It was a different experience altogether to see the smart efficacy of the assembly line. 

We spent one afternoon with the Lorenzon family, who own a winery called I Feudi di Romans, where the owner and second-generation wine producer, Enzo, busied himself in the kitchen making our lunch of risotto and asparagus. His son, Nicola, entertained us over some local Friulano wine. 

The most memorable experience we had was at io Mazzaucato where we got to see their special chunks of cheese wheels, which were steeped in red wine for 40 days for the flavour to creep in before serving.

For a different perspective, we spent one morning at Scuola Enologica in Conegliano — a specialised school of wine studies that educates the next generation of wine growers. The school has about 12 hectares of vineyards in which the students pitch in and help and produces 40,000 bottles per year. 

Our trip ended on a definitive high at the last stop — Marco Felluga and Russiz Superiore wineries. The family controls over 250 acres of vineyards within Collio, the most important DOC area, ideal for white grape varietals. We were hosted here by Marco’s son Roberto and his beautiful young daughter and future heiress of the bounding vineyards, Ilaria, who was as much an elegant hostess as her father. A sublime dinner made way for grappa and everyone gathered at the family “fogolar” or fireplace. Peals of laughter, conversations and some old Hindi and Italian songs sealed the magical evening, providing a stellar parting shot of our Italian wine trip.