Wine Tasting - Wine Tours in Italy

By taking day trips from Rome late August, you can enjoy some wine festivals in the surroundings of the Eternal City.

Last week-end of August, the town of Olevano Romano hosts the Cesanese Wine Feast, a wine festival dedicated to the “Cesanese of Olevano Romano“, a red wine, with delicate aroma, produced in an area between Rome and the city of Frosinone — better known as Ciociaria.

When: Aug 2008 last week-end (annual)
Where: Olevano Romano
- Getting there
By car (from Rome): take the GRA (Gran Raccordo Anulare) to the A1, direction E821. Exit a few minutes later at San Cesareo. Follow San Cesareo signs until you see signs for the SS155. Take SS155 for about 15 minutes, then follow Olevano Romano signs after that.
View Olevano Romano on the interactive map.

Another major wine and grape festival in the last week-end of August is held in the Etruscan town of Cerveteri, which celebrates the local grapes and its DOC wine — the ‘Cerveteri‘.  

The varieties include the red Cerveteri, a ruby red wine, dry still or sweet still, and the white variety, a golden yellow, dry still or sweet still.

- Getting there
By bus: Cerveteri can be reached by COTRAL bus (station ‘Via Lepanto’).
By Car: take either the Via Aurelia (S1) or the Civitavecchia motorway (A12), it is approx. an hour’s drive from Rome
View Cerveteri on the interactive map.

Italians celebrate the night of August 10, Feast of St. Lawrence, with wine tastings throughout the Peninsula.

In what is also known as the “night of the shooting stars“, as people hope their wishes will come true, one of the major annual wine events, brings together in some 200 locations people who enjoy wine and delicacies tastings as watching the falling stars.

The event is known as Calici di Stelle — Goblets of Stars; the locations involved are squares in historic cities and towns, villas, castles, vineyards and cellars throughout Italy.

In order to know more about the locations involved in this edition of Calici di Stelle, visit http://www.cittadelvino.it/node/5801 or the page of Wine Tourism Movement (MTV)a>.

The Prosecco Doc Spring Festival is a wine event taking place in a production zone of Prosecco — Treviso Altamarca, in Veneto, 50 km North of Venice. The festival features several Prosecco wine shows, held during the week-ends, from early March through June, in many towns located inside the Treviso Altamarca.

It is an opportunity to get to know the wines of the Treviso Altamarca. Among them, the most known Prosecco Doc and Cartizze, but also outstanding local wines such as Colli di Conegliano, Refrontolo Passito, Torchiato di Fregona and Verdiso.

This event offers wine tourists the opportunity to participate in excursions and guided tours to the Altamarca hills.

Next Prosecco Doc Spring Festival date, is “Wines of hills Show“, taking place from May 31 to June 15 in the town of San Pietro di Feletto.
- Map of San Pietro di Feletto and Altamarca hills.

A ten day Chianti wine fair-festival is held late in late May in Montespertoli, Tuscan town in the heart of Chianti area.

The fair, featuring selected Chianti wineries, is also a festival with wine tastings, food stands and music. The 2008 edition is taking place from May 24 through June 2.

Chianti Colli Fiorentini and Chianti Montespertoli are the most known wines produced in the zone including the hills of Montespertoli. The town also boasts an important wine museum.
(View Montespertoli map).

The 2008 edition of “Cantine Aperte” — “Open Cellars“, traditionally taking place last week-end of May in Italy, kicks off next week-end (May 24-25). Many wine farms and wineries open the doors to public, with free tasting sessions across the country.  

Several wine-themed events are scheduled in this week-end. To locate a farm or winery offering free tasting during this edition of “Cantine Aperte”, consult the list of farms and wineries joining to “Cantine Aperte” on the website www.movimentoturismovino.it.