Bardolino, a town with a wine named after it, is a pretty and popular town on the shores of Lake Garda, in northern Italy. One of the southern Alpine lakes, Lake Garda and Bardolino are especially crowded in the summer. But in October, it is much quieter, and the weather is cooler, yet still sunny. In other words, ideal for hiking.
East of the built up stretch along the waterfront, the land rises, and grape vines begin. The town of Costermano, set in an area of rolling ridges, was previously drive by territory for me, as I headed to the lakeside towns. Big mistake! Costermano, beyond its main street, has timeless farm villas set in quiet scenery, nice restaurants, and beautiful vistas of Alps and lake, if you know where to go. Costermano also has a trail for wine enthusiasts that provides the perfect opportunity to explore this area beyond the waterfront, where the landscape retains its bucolic setting, and grapes for Bardolino wine grow as they have here for centuries, if not millennia.
Trail Name: Giro dei Vigneti
Trail Type: Medium distance circuit; well-maintained and almost all hard surface (either paved or hard packed earth); Marking on the trail is rather good.
Length:
Total – 10 kilometers/ 6 miles
Convenient to: Bardolino, Italy
Marking: Stylized black hiker on white background, on brown signs with trail name in white letters
Prosecco is a wonderful sparkling wine from northern Italy. So, when passing through Valdobbiadene, famed for its Prosecco, I decided to complete the eponymous circuit, which incidentally, touched on some of the finest vineyards known in the world of Prosecco.
I must confess though, both this circuit, the towns, and even the famous vines of the Cartizze, are a bit remote, and relatively unknown to most wine hikers. What a shame! This is primarily an agricultural area, rather rural and a bit wild, backing onto some of Italy’s most rugged mountains outside the Dolomites. This creates in part an atmosphere of isolation, but for those determined to visit, it is only about 90 minutes from Venice, in a district known as the Marca Trevigiana, today practically identical with the Province of Treviso.
What I Learned
The region producing Prosecco DOC wines maybe be found throughout northeastern Italy in the provinces of Belluno, Pordenone, Treviso, Padua, Gorizia, Udine, Venice and Vicenza. However, two major production districts within the Veneto region, in the Province of Treviso, are particularly well-known: Conegliano and Valdobbiadene (stress on the second “A”, in case you wondered). This is the designated Prosecco DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata) area, a higher quality level than the Prosecco DOC. Conegliano anchors the eastern part of the area.
Trail Name: Anello del Prosecco (Prosecco Circuit)
Trail Type: A short to medium distance circuit; very diverse surfaces (asphalt, trackless, cart trail, dirt), somewhat maintained; the route itself is marked diversely, and sometimes not at all.
Length:
Total – 15 kilometers/9.33 miles
Segment – 8.5 kilometers/5.25 miles
Convenient to: Valdobbiadene, Italy
Marking: Varies, sometimes following different CAI numbered paths (1019, 1014), and the occasional large iron stands with yellow and white signs waxing poetic on the wines and vines of the area.
I love sparkling wine, so a trip to the land of Prosecco in northeastern Italy was perhaps inevitable. This circuit hike focused on a component of the mix that can constitute a Prosecco cuvee, the Verdiso grape. The village where it began and ended, Combai, is a real cheerleader for this varietal: having fought to gain IGT status for its wines made exclusively from this grape.
As I approached the village by car through the lovely uplands of the Veneto Region, I noted the extremely high hills Combai was located in. High hills mean great views, and this trail offered many. Even approaching the trailhead from the main square, the view down the valley toward the town of Miane was spectacular.
What I Learned
The production area for Prosecco DOC wines maybe be found throughout northeastern Italy in the provinces of Belluno, Pordenone, Treviso, Padua, Gorizia, Udine, Venice and Vicenza. However, two major production districts within the Veneto region, in the Province of Treviso, are particularly well-known: Conegliano and Valdobbiadene (stress on the second “A”, in case you wondered). This is the designated Prosecco DOCG area, a higher quality level than the Prosecco DOC. Conegliano anchors the eastern part of the area. Valdobbiadene is located in the western part of the area. Wines from there may carry the Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore, DOCG label if they meet the higher quality standard regulations. The wines in this post focus on the Valdobbiadene district of the Veneto’s “Prosecco” region.
Trail Name: Anello del Verdiso
Trail Type: Short distance; very diverse surfaces (asphalt, cart trail, dirt), somewhat maintained; the route itself is marked fairly well.
Length: total: 8 kilometers/5 miles
Convenient to: Valdobbiadene, Treviso Province, Veneto Region, Italy
Marking: Signs bearing the number “1025”, (or red and white horizontal bars)
