Food and wine tourism: finding tastes
Italy offers different tours to live food and wine tourism. Institutions and association often organized guided tours through wineries and farms. Moreover restaurants propose menus based on the local cuisine, becoming another important element of these tours.
In Italy, the favourite areas are the territories where the best Italian wines are produced. Langhe, Chianti, Valpolicella, Valdobbiadene and Franciacorta are on the top of the most wanted places as they are the ambassadors of the Italian wine production in the world. In the wake of their success, other less famous realities are emerging.
Wine routes
“Wine routes” are tours organized in a given territory, that aim to manage the tourists’ income in order to let them know the local wine. Wineries often use to work together to satisfy the needs of the tourists that are looking for a warm welcome, as they are the main character of an event. In this situation, restaurants and farms are important characters that cooperate together to attract the eno-tourist thanks to their tastes.
Barolo Route is a typical example of how this type of tourism involves all the land.
Barolo is one of the most known wines in Italy. From spring to fall, the small villages on the wonderful hills of Langhe are crowded of people walking around, eager to taste food and wine. Restaurants are equipped with menus that allow the tourist to taste different dishes paired with wines that show the real identity of the place. Alba White Truffle Exposition is the most famous; here in fact, each year tourists and visitors come in Piedmont from all over the world to taste this precious fruit of the land.
The same happens in Veneto, where there are plenty of wine roots according to the different type of wines. Soave, Prosecco, Valpolicella and Torcolato Route are the most famous, together with Vialone Nano, Red Chicory and Asparagus Route. Hotels, restaurants and agritourism make part of this perfect organization.
In Alto Adige, Speck Festival in S. Maddalena (Val di Funes) is really famous: here the famous cold cut is the main character of the festival. Its organizational machine is huge in fact the tourists are involved in tastings of recipes with Speck, shows and performances with a wonderful Alpine landscape in the background.
Franciacorta Festival is held at the end of September, attracting each years thousands of tourists interested in different fields. Wine lovers could amuse themselves attending vertical tastings of Franciacorta, whereas the foodie can taste plenty of dishes created by famous chefs. Food and wine tastings are spaced out with horseback walks and visit of vineyards in close contact with the nature.
The Peninsula is a big puzzle of tastes
The list of festivals and fairs about food and wine can continue forever because of the different regions that compose this country. They are different for their history, their traditions and cuisine but they are able to entertain the tourists stimulating their palates. The concept of holiday, today has changed: in the past it foresaw some weeks at the seaside or in the mountain without moving, focusing on rest and relax. Today, festivals and fairs give the possibility to rest from work during the weekends taking a trip to attend a tasting or a festival. Sometimes the events are organized in particular moment of the production, for example the grape harvest or S. Martino are perfect occasions to involve a tourist in the harvest of the grapes and the opening of the new wine.
The Wheat Fest, the Crop or the Bread Festival, hold between June and August are usually organized in Campania and Puglia and are connected with ancient peasant traditions.
Tuscany hosts the Oil Festival in autumn that enhances the quality of this product and the tourist is entertained with medieval shows that evoke the past history. These festivals allow the region to express all its essence, its work and its aim involving the visitors.
