Our latest wine tour to Italy was a real Tour de Force: Lombardy, Veneto, Piedmont and Trentino! Four different wine regions in one wine tour.
One of the great memories from this trip wine tour was the spectacular vineyard picnic we had at La Spinetta in Piedmont. The daughter in the family that owns the winery, Manuela Rivetti, greeted at the estate and took us around the cellars and to the picnic. Her aunt, Giovanna, had prepared all the food… Plenty of wonderful Italian preparations that we enjoyed together with the wines from La Spinetta, sitting on a traditional picking blanket with a view over the beautiful Piedmontese landscape. There was even a peach tree giving us some well needed shade this hot spring day.
But don’t be fooled that it was all leisure and relaxation. When we were finishing lunch aunt Giovanna told us that now it was time to get to work!
Our task was to remove unwanted buds and shoots from the vines so that the remaining branches would get more strength and eventually better fruit. That is a task that may look simple but that requires both precision and experience. We did our best. Giovanna seemed happy with what we had done but we only had time for a few rows of vines so perhaps she was just being kind or diplomatic.
In any case, it was certainly fun and an very different experience. Not your average wine tour visit! Not even in Italy
