European Hopscotch

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Next, we were led back upstairs for a brief look at the modern automated bottling equipment area. Humming machines quickly and efficiently filled and corked an endless stream of bottles. Next was a walk through the loading dock, where double-person high cellophane-wrapped pallets of wine boxes awaited shipment to far-flung destinations.

Modern Bottling Facility

Shipping Dock

Back at the central courtyard, Michela ushered us through a glass door into one of several wine-tasting rooms, where a selection of Bertani wines sat on a shelf and a table prepared with five sets of placemats and wine glasses waited for us.

courtesy JInnes

Heading to tasting

Wine-tasting room

Since 1857

Much like we'd done three years before, Michela led us through the tasting of the wines. Rather than a simple sampling of a broad spread of wine types, we had chosen a tasting more focused on the wine types that we liked: Valpolicella classico and Ripasso, and Amarone. In fact, we had two types of Amarone to sample (Amarone is a relatively high-end wine, more expensive, that I find is personally the best wine that Bertani makes). Considering that Amarone is a fairly expensive wine, the per-person 23-euro price of this tour+tasting was more than reasonable.

courtesy JInnes

Surveying the selection

Bertani wines

Preparing to taste

In addition to the wine-tasting itself, we had a very interesting talk with Michela about various wine-related issues: proper storage, whether to and/or how to decant, and wine intolerances/allergies. Michela also expressed an interest in trying certain Canadian wines - wines that are quite difficult to obtain in Italy.

Tasting underway

Wine tasting with Michela

After several glasses of excellent wine, we were feeling satisfied, if not slightly buzzy. We had gone over our alloted two-hour time slot, and it was time to be off. Michela took the remainder of the wines we had sampled (basically you get the entire contents of all of the bottles of wines involved in the tasting) for boxing, and then escorted us to the final phase of our visit: the wine shop, where if we wished we could buy selected Bertani wines at lower-than-retail prices (well, certainly lower than you could buy them for in Canada, at any rate). It was here that Bertani certainly recouped any lost costs: several of us bought several bottles of wine, including some of the more expensive Amarone.

The store

Heading out

Bye bye, Bertani

Daniel and Hanne were waiting for us outside, and soon our sober driver was guiding us back to Riva del Garda. We had one more appointment left today: a reservation at a very special restaurant on the eastern shore of Lake Garda.

The Belvedere bar/restaurant/pizzeria is an unassuming little place tucked away on a side-street in a small town on the eastern coast of Lake Garda. We had stumbled upon it during a 2009 visit with Asmir and Miriam, and it had turned out to be a rare combination of restaurant goodness: excellent food, low prices, and a spectacular view (in this case, out over Lake Garda). Even though we had been unable to secure a seat on the scenic terrace, we had so enjoyed the place that we vowed to return again. On a subsequent visit in 2010, our timing was such that the restaurant was closed on the day we wanted to visit. This time, there would be no stopping us: I had successfully made a terrace reservation for 8pm.

Ristorante Belvedere

Finally on the terrace

Stormy evening

During our drive to the restaurant, the weather - which had up to this point been pretty much perfect, began to turn. The skies darkened, the wind picked up, and rain began to fall. By the time we arrived at the restaurant, it was accompanied by occasional lightning. As a result, our prime lake-view terrace was less than ideal: a sheet of transparent plastic separated us from the elements, mostly blocking out what would have in any case been a fairly misty view.

Still, the real reason we had come here was for the food. I was slightly nervous that after three years of hyping-up this restaurant in our minds, that our re-visit would be a letdown. It turned out not to be the case. The seafood salad that Asmir had swooned over was, as he put it, even better than the first time. The home-made pasta dishes that Luke and I ordered were every bit as superb as I remembered. And the prices? they were still quite reasonable. A place like this in a city like Verona or Venice would surely command prices twice as high.

Stormy evening

La famosa insalata

Excellent homemade pasta

We drove back through gusty, wind-driven rain for a good night's sleep in Riva. Apart from stormy evening weather and a few sickly passengers on the morning ride to the boot factory, it had been a well-coordinated, event-packed day. Tomorrow: Venice!

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