Veneto - Part Two: Prosecco Hills

Most Prosecco is produced by the fermentation of the Glera grape variety, which was formerly known as Prosecco until 2009, when the name was changed to protect Prosecco as the name of the geographic region.

The hills in this region are literally covered with acre upon acre of vineyards which, at this time of year, are just beginning to bear leaves.

On Tuesday, we set out on a 12.3 kilometer hike that took us on a circular route up into the foothills of the Dolomites just outside of Conegliano.

The weather wasn't perfect, and we had to open our umbrellas on a couple of occasions, but the spectacular scenery made the uphill climbs and wet feet well worth the effort.

There is nary an inch of hillside that isn't sprouting a vine, many on hills so steep it is incomprehensible how the day-to-day maintenance, pruning and harvesting is performed. Aside from the thousands of grapevines the hills support, there are also homes, churches, and all manner of very old buildings perched upon them.

Although we came across a couple of wineries along the route, neither of them was open. We did, however, manage to stop at the Enoteca in the oldest wine school in Europe to enjoy a glass or two of Prosecco.

So much wine, so little time.Leia mais