Prosecco Hills
Welcome to the World Heritage region of Prosecco wines
We drove quite the distance across northern Italy to arrive at Follina in the world heritage renowned Prosecco hills where vineyards of Glera grapes ripened all around us. They were days away from the harvest, so we arrived in the area just in time.
A bunch of Glera grapes used in the production of Prosecco
Our hotel, Villa Abbazia in Follina, hosted a Michelin star restaurant which made our dining options interesting to say the least. We didn’t quite know what to make of our accommodations (the mix of classical and ornate furniture everywhere) or our hosts (a bit eccentric but knowledgeable and always friendly), but they certainly had the best grappa in the area. We looked forward to a glass in the evening after a day’s exploration. And I never saw as elaborate a breakfast spread in any hotel. Everything from smoked salmon to homemade jams were bedecked on a series of tables for their guests.
Walking along a ridge through the vineyards of Prosecco
We followed a recommended hike through the foothills and along the vineyards that brought us into the heart of Prosecco country. Fields of ripening white Glera grapes surrounded us as we climbed a narrow path towards our destination, an Osteria in a neighboring village. After all, hiking was the theme of our vacation.
The osteria was everything you would ever want in a cozy Italian restaurant. Their main focus was grilled meats and along with a platter to share we enjoyed some red wine and vegetable sides. Lunch was hearty and plenty to keep us sated on our long trek back to our accommodation.
We stopped for gelato on our way back to the hotel. Once back, we relaxed in their garden with an aperol spritz and a tray of nuts.
A view of Follina from the Castle spa fortification
As an alternative to hiking, we spent an afternoon at the spa of a neighboring hotel built in a castle in the nearby mountain and only accessible via funicular. There we relaxed in a variety of available steam rooms, saunas and outdoor hot tubs and pool. It was quite the laid back alternative to the long hike from the prior day.
Map of the production zone of Valdobbiadene Prosecco
We booked two Prosecco tasting tours for the next day, one at 10:30 and the other at 2 and if that sounds like a lot, well, what were we thinking?
An in-depth special report of the first tasting at Bortolomiol can be found here but in summary it was the best wine tasting experience in my life. A private tasting for just the two of us, our host corked four different bottles of their bubbly, which they prefer to call Valdobiaddene Spumanti rather than Prosecco as the latter has become known more generically for the entire region and doesn’t cover the quality of their specific vineyard.
We managed to navigate through the rolling hills and curvy streets to our second tasting despite the quantity of sparkling wine sloshing around within us by stopping first for a pizza lunch. After the storm passed and sated by lunch we made it to the second tasting which was more traditionally hosted and less involving a tour of the facility. Still, with the weather as it was we returned to our lodgings rather than continue driving through the hills.
We enjoyed several dinners out as well.
One Osteria specialized in appetizers. Their appetizer plate was unusually priced and we asked why and found out it was their specialty and one order should suffice for us both. We chose it and got so many different plates of food served that we thought we would burst. And then we discovered we were only half way through the meal. We shouldn’t have emptied the plates as we did but the food was so delicious.
Italy was proving not to be good for my waistline. All that work at the gym back homeundone by an appetizer platter.
