Franciacorta and Lake Iseo:
sparkling wine, rolling hills and an island in the heart of the lake
The wineries of Franciacorta, Italy’s classic-method sparkling wine
Less than an hour from Lake Garda opens Franciacorta, the amphitheatre of morainic hills between Brescia and Lake Iseo where Italy’s most celebrated classic-method sparkling wine is born. Here Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Blanc undergo a second fermentation in the bottle for at least eighteen months, and the great houses as well as the small family wineries open their ageing cellars to anyone who wants to understand the difference between a Satèn, a Rosé and a Millesimato. The tour touches the symbolic villages of the appellation — Erbusco, Adro, Corte Franca, Rovato — among perfectly ordered rows of vines, restored farmhouses and manor villas surrounded by parks. Tastings take place in estates of contemporary architecture or in cellars carved into the rock, often paired with cheeses and cured meats from the Brescia area, and can turn into a gourmet lunch: the area counts some of the most awarded restaurants in Lombardy. Taking a wine tour with a private driver means being able to taste without limits and without worries. Gardrive’s chauffeurs know the wine road and its opening hours, arrange winery bookings on request and stow the bottles you buy in the boot of the Mercedes, for a food and wine experience truly without compromise.
Iseo and Monte Isola: Lombardy’s most intimate lake
In the afternoon the hills descend to Lake Iseo, less known than Garda and for that very reason more authentic. The village of Iseo welcomes you with its tree-lined lakefront, its arcaded square and the Oldofredi castle, among shops and cafés that invite you to slow down. From here, or from the nearby pier of Sulzano, a few minutes by boat take you to Monte Isola, the largest lake island in Europe: a world without cars, where you move on foot or by bicycle among fishing villages, nets hung out to dry, olive groves and the sanctuary of the Madonna della Ceriola which dominates the whole lake from the summit. It is the island made famous worldwide by Christo’s Floating Piers, which in 2016 connected it to the mainland with floating walkways crossed by more than a million visitors. Those who prefer to stay on the shore can continue to Sarnico, with its Art Nouveau villas, or to the Torbiere del Sebino, a nature reserve of ponds and reed beds. The return to Lake Garda takes place aboard our chauffeur-driven cars, with the option of stopping in Brescia for dinner in the historic centre. An itinerary that complements our wine tours of Lugana and Valtenesi and offers a day of wine, water and silence to those who want to discover the less touristy side of Lombardy.
