One of the treats on the road as I drove the van in one day from Saint Remy de Provence to Frankfurt airport to return it. I had picked it up on March 16.

After overnighting in Franfurt at a hotel near the train station, I took the morning train 08:04 departure, arrival at 15:55 at Porta Garibaldi in Milan, 1st class. After arriving in Milan with the train from Frankfurt, I booked a private transfer to Venice La Noghera B & B to meet up with Manlio.

Pizza Margherita

Special treat on our first night together, Pizzalonga Da Pino, in Mogliano Veneto

Manlio and the van for this tour

The team

La Tordera Prosecco

The winery was founded in the hills of Valdobbiadene, the heart of the Valdobbiadene Superiore DOCG production area. Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG, which spans 15 hilly municipalities between Valdobbiadene and Conegliano, is the historical area that produces this sparkling wine. The steep slopes, the characteristics of the environment, the composition of the soil, as well as the history and tradition make this territory unique and perfect for the production of the Glera grape variety.

Athos our wonderful host

Villa di Maser

Villa Barbaro, also known as the Villa di Maser, was designed and built by the Italian architect Andrea Palladio, with frescos by Paolo Veronese and sculptures by Alessandro Vittoria for Daniele Barbaro. The villa was probably built between 1558 and 1570. After the Barbaro family died out, the villa passed through the female line into the ownership of the Trevisan and then the Basadonna families, followed by the Manin. Ludovico Manin, Venice’s last doge, sold it to Gian Battista Colferai who had rented for some years. Having been allowed to become ruinous in the villa was purchased in 1850 by the wealthy industrialist Sante Giacomelli who began to renovate it, making use of the work of artists like Zanotti and Eugene Moretti Larese. During the Great War, the villa was used as a headquarters by General Squillaci of the Italian Third Army. In 1934, Count Giuseppe Volpi di Misurata, founder of the Venice Film Festival and father of Giovanni Volpi, acquired the villa for his daughter Marina, who continued the restoration. Marina’s descendants still live there today. In 1996 UNESCO declared the villa to be part of a World Heritage Site, 'City of Vicenza and the Palladian Villas of the Veneto' which includes more than twenty villas. It is open to the public. The complex is also home to a farm that produces wine named after the villa.

Tour and tasting at Acetaia Midolini

The founder Lino Midolini, starting from a first battery of 25 barrels of selected fine woods, began to cook and age grape musts – a Friulian tradition dating back to the colonies of the ancient Romans of Aquileia. Their vineyards are cradled in the eastern hills of Friuli, where the grapes of Refosco and Friuliano are traditionally processed, giving life to the magical drops of their Balsamico. The unique Balsamic is conserved in fine woods, such as mulberry, ash, locust, cherry, oak, chestnut and juniper.

Located in a historic castle, Castello di Buttrio offers elegant country-style accommodations in the countryside of Buttrio. With a garden, the property is a 20-minute drive from Udine.