Friuli Venezia Giulia Deluxe Wine Tour

We will meet at the Udine train station and provide private transfer to your elegant hotel, in a beautiful building in the center of Udine. We can organize alternate transportation upon request if you arrive from other places. Venice is one hour and thirty minutes driving.

Upon arriving at the hotel, settle into your rooms. In the late afternoon walking in the center for a short sightseeing of the charming city. Aperitif at a traditional bar, your introduction to the best white wines of Italy.

In the evening, we'll enjoy a welcome dinner together at a great Osteria in the center. The menu will be on traditional foods and some of the local wines.

In the morning a short drive to Cividale, a very pretty little town very close to the border with Slovenia. It was founded by Giulio Cesare in the Roman period, then it had a very intricate and interesting history. Since 2011 it is a UNESCO site.

A guided walk in the town center, then departure to visit an amazing historical winery with an incredible panoramic view on the valley. Wine tasting.

Light lunch at the winery.

After lunch we drive to another winery for another wine tasting.
We proceed to Gorizia for a walk through the pretty town, that was divided into two parts -Slovenia and Italy- by a wall, that was destroyed on 2004, when Slovenia joined the European Union.
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Back to Udine, where we will have dinner at a delightful trattoria.

Morning free in Udine, plenty of elegant shops.

In the late morning we drive to a big and beautiful winery to taste several wines and lunch at the winery.

Proceed towards Venzone a small town, that was completely destroyed by an earthquake in 1976 and completely rebuilt stone by stone exactly as it was before. Nowadays Venzone is a jewel, awarded as “Borgo dei Borghi” in Italy for 2017. A short walk in the village surrounded by the Alps, guided by a local.

Dinner at a typical trattoria in the center.

Back to Udine after dinner.

Departure to San Daniele del Friuli, a little town very famous for the Prosciutto di San Daniele. Visit to a factory, to see all the steps for making the prosciutto so delicate, then lunch based on prosciutto and other local delicacies.
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In the afternoon drive to Spilimbergo, a little gem awarded in 2012 as “Gioiello d’Italia” (Jewel of Italy). Besides the beauty of the little town, Spilimbergo is world famous because of its prestigious mosaic school with students arriving from all the world.
Visit the mosaic school, where you will see the students working.
Then proceed to a typical restaurant for our cooking class, followed by dinner of our creations. As the owner is a grappa expert, if you like, you will taste some grappas guided by him.

Back to our hotel in Udine.

On the way to Trieste, we stop in Duino we'll take an hour's panoramic walk along the shore of the Gulf of Triëste called Rilke Path.

We drive to a winery in the “Carso” area (that means rocky) a narrow strip of land between the hills and the sea. The soil is very rocky and full of minerals that, together with the special microclimate, give to its wines a strong personality.
The winery produces great wines and there is an amazing view from the hills to the Adriatic sea.
Lunch at the winery, tasting all the wines.

Then drive to Trieste, the Italian coffee capital. Trieste, due to the fact that it was the port for the arrival of colonial goods (among others, coffee) is famous for its antique and fascinating café/bars and our lunch will be at one of these.
After lunch, a guided walk in this unique city, with "mitteleuropean" -Central European- traditions.

Then we drive to Castello di Miramare, a wonderful white castle on the sea, built in 1860, that stands on the peak of the rocky promontory in the Gulf of Trieste. a great spot for photographs.
Drive back to our hotel in Udine.
Dinner on your own.

In the morning we leave to visit a family-owned charming winery that produces great wines. The property is beautiful and they are very good hosts. we drive to Palmanova, UNESCO site, ideal city of the Renaissance, a nine-pointed-star shaped fort of the late Renaissance, with a strict geometric street plan, part of the defense of Venice against the Ottoman Empire
There is an incredibly huge square in the center of the little village. We will do a short walk around. Lunch in Palmanova.

After a short drive we arrive to Aquileia -another UNESCO site- to visit the Basilica and its magnificent 4th-Century Roman allegoric mosaics.
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After this we drive to Grado, a little town on the Adriatic sea, surrounded by an extended lagoon, that offers a special landscape full of beautiful colors. After a walk along the canal that leads to the center of the small town, we will have a fantastic farewell seafood dinner with local fresh seafood.
Back to our hotel in Udine.
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