When travelling rhymes with rows, tastings and wineries
In the Aosta Valley amidst Alpine vineyards and wine and food treks
A region that notoriously has other prerogatives, yet Valle d'Aosta is also rich in small oenological treasures, most of them consisting of unique indigenous grape varieties, even though there are only about 500 hectares under vine. Cases of excellence to look at are, for example, the vineyards of Prié Blanc, in Valdigne, in the districts of La Salle, Arvier and Morgex, where a classic method sparkling wine, Glacier, is produced at an altitude of 1,200 metres. Brought together under a single DOC (Valle d'Aosta or Vallée d'Aoste), the tasting of labels of Malvoise and Muscat de Chambave, of Neyret and Majolet, of Petit rouge and many others is an experiential journey that from the French border touches the capital Aosta, continues along the Central Valley furrowed by the Dora Baltea river in the municipalities of Chambave and Nus and ends in the Lower Valley, south of Saint-Vincent and at the gates of Pont-Saint-Martin, where the vines are planted at an altitude of around 300 metres. And for those who love wine and slow travel, the Cammino Balteo is a ring-route of almost 350 km that crosses the region from east to west among rows of vines, ancient castles and small villages, offering the possibility of tasting wines and typical products in the wine cellars along the way.
