Wine Tastings and Winery Visits in Iseo Lake

Lake Iseo wine tasting: which wineries to visit

Lake Iseo sits between Bergamo and Brescia, about 90 km east of Milan, and most of its wineries lie to the south, where the hills of Franciacorta begin. The wine tastings on this page take place at nine wineries, from Paratico and Iseo to Corte Franca, Adro, Erbusco and Monticelli Brusati: most last an hour and a half or two hours, usually with 3 wines, and guests have left more than 300 reviews of them on Winedering. The most booked is Il Dosso, in Borgonato di Corte Franca, which takes more than eight in ten bookings.

Which wine region is near Lake Iseo?

Franciacorta, the moraine hills left south of the lake by the glacier that came down Valle Camonica, out to the Oglio river and Monte Orfano. The area makes Franciacorta DOCG, a traditional method sparkling wine, and still wines labelled Curtefranca DOC or Sebino IGT, Sebino being the lake's other name. West of the lake, on the Bergamo side, lies Valcalepio, known for its Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon reds, though none of the wineries on this page is there. To the north, in Valle Camonica, Cultivar delle Volte, in Piamborno, walks you from its 15th-century cellar to the Davine waterfall and the vineyard of its Impervio red and Supremo blanc de blancs, then back to the old cellar to taste 3 wines.

Which Lake Iseo wineries are worth visiting?

The closest to the water are Vinea Ventis in Paratico and Bonfadini in Iseo; five more are in the hills just behind, Il Dosso among them:

• Il Dosso, in Borgonato di Corte Franca: the Archetti family's winery, which calls itself a place of work, not a showpiece. The producer welcomes you and pours 4 wines, Franciacorta and house reds, then shows you the cellar; there is also a version with 6 wines.
• Vinea Ventis, in Paratico, across from Sarnico: a member of the family walks you through the vineyard, inside the Oglio Nord park, and round the cellar, then pours the Cuvée 21 and the Satèn Celaris with cured meats and cheeses; in summer the tasting moves to the veranda among the vines.
• Bonfadini, in Iseo: the Tour Perlage takes in the fermentation tanks, the barrique cellar and the riddling racks, then you choose 3 Franciacorta wines from a Brut, a Satèn, a Rosé and a Nature.
• Ronco Calino, in Adro: organic Franciacorta. The tour goes from the press to the barrel room and the historical archive, then a Satèn, a Brut and a vintage Nature with Parmigiano Reggiano.
• Villa Franciacorta, in Monticelli Brusati: in the hamlet of Villa, which the Bianchi family began restoring in 1960, the winery has made only vintage Franciacorta since 1978; you taste 3, from vintages spanning about ten years.
• Camilucci, in Erbusco: 2 Franciacorta wines from the classic Ammonite line side by side with 2 from the more selective Anthologie line, with local cured meats and cheeses.
• Le Vedute, in Corte Franca: a vineyard walk, the cellar and 2 Franciacorta Dosaggio Zero wines, a white and a rosé.

What else is there to do on Lake Iseo?

Start with Monte Isola, Italy's largest lake island, which is car-free: the ferry from Sulzano takes about five minutes and leaves every 15 to 20 minutes. The Torbiere del Sebino reserve, a few minutes from Il Dosso and Le Vedute, protects about 360 hectares of wetland. Then the lakefronts of Iseo, Sarnico and Paratico, where the lake turns back into the Oglio river, and Lovere at the northern end. To see several wineries in a day, or the wineries and the lake together, there are more than ten wine tours: about half visit 2 or 3 wineries, one from Milan crosses to Monte Isola by ferry, and from Lovere there is a boat trip with a bottle of Franciacorta.

How do you get to Lake Iseo from Milan or Bergamo?

From Milan it is about an hour's drive, on the motorway towards Brescia; Bergamo is about 30 km away, with buses to Sarnico and Lovere. By train from either city, change at Brescia for the Brescia-Iseo-Edolo line, which after Iseo follows the eastern shore: get off at Sulzano for the Monte Isola ferry. The nearest airport is Bergamo Orio al Serio, about 30 km from the lake; Milan Linate is about 85 km by road and Malpensa about 120 km. Between wineries, though, a car or a tour is the easiest way to get around.

Looking for a gift? Many of these tastings can be given as a voucher, and whoever receives it picks the date.