Italy Wine Harvest Tours: In a country known for wine production such as Italy, the harvest season is an important time of year. The harvest is celebrated with festivals, tours, and tastings. Consider joining in the revelry and tradition by taking a wine tour of one or more of Italy’s wine-producing regions.
When to Go
Grapes are ready to be harvested in Italy in the early to mid-fall, most often during October. Occasionally, when the summers have been particularly hot, the grapes are ready in mid-to-late September. In the fall, most of the summer crowds have gone home and the land is ablaze with harvest color. The temperatures are mild during the day and cool at night. When you’ve tired of sipping wines and visiting vineyards, you will find the classical arts calendar in swing at this time of year, affording you the chance to take in an opera or ballet.
Where to Go
Every region of Italy grows grapes; and cities, villages, and towns across the country hold grape festivals to celebrate the harvest. The most popular and well-known regions for grape growing include Tuscany, Piedmont, Veneto, Puglia, Sicily, and Emilia Romagna. Grab a map and see if you want to go on a single region’s grape harvest or meander between two or more relatively close regions. The national train system is reliable and can get you from one region to another, or I can book a tour company for you that specializes in visiting multiple regions to get a taste of the variety Italy offers.
Festivals to See
If you are going to visit Italy during the wine harvest, it wouldn’t be complete without a visit to at least one wine festival. You can locate these festivals in the big cities like Rome and in towns like Bardolino near the shores of Lake Garda, Chambave in the Valle D’Aosta, and Cormons in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia regions. Grape and wine festivals usually take place in main squares or town centers. These usually include wine tastings, regional food delicacies, music, crafts vendors, and perhaps a fireworks display or parade.
Tours in Tuscany
Companies such as Italian Visits offer three harvest tours in the Tuscany region. Each tour is one week and includes wine tastings, vineyard tours, cooking classes, day trips, and cultural activities. I could book you with Italy and Wine, which has been planning tours since 2004, and bring visitors to the areas of Tuscany, Piedmont, and Veneto. The one-day trips include visits to at least two wineries, tastings, transportation, and lunch. To see several regions over the course of one harvest, we can book more than one hour.
Tours in Sicily
Another city on our Italy wine harvest tours is Sicily. A company called In Sicily specializes in food and wine tours of Sicily. On these tours of eight people or less, which last about one week, you will have the opportunity to visit several wineries, observe and possibly take part in the harvest, participate in wine tastings and discuss wine with the owners. I can assist in finding your ideal tour, or you can contact the tourism department of each Italian region for more information about harvest tours. I can find you a tour operator that suits your needs.
