GardaGourmet Food and Wine Tours Promote Lake Garda Cuisine Experiences

Gastronomic tourism is a trending topic. Cantine Aperte has drawn thousands of enthusiasts across Italy in recent weeks. This new tourism trend is also widely discussed on the shores of Garda. Now, the association I Ghiottoni and the Garda Veronese branch of Slow Food, in collaboration with Gruppo Italiano Vini and the tourist promotion company for the Riviera degli Olivi, are moving from theory to practice by offering a tangible experience of food and wine tourism on Lake Garda.

Holidaymakers vacationing along the Riviera are offered a brief course in traditional Garda cuisine. The initiative is called GardaGourmet and takes place every Wednesday morning, from June to September, at the Lamberti wineries in Lazise. The lessons are conducted in Italian, German, or English to attract the widest possible range of vacationers.

Program and Details of the Classes

The program includes participants arriving at 10:00 a.m., a guided tour of the wineries, and then, at 10:30 a.m., a lesson on preparing some Garda recipes (Garda trout in sauce, sardene en saor, potato gnocchi with tench ragù, carne salada, fogassin on la gradela). At 12:30 p.m., a tasting of the dishes demonstrated, along with other lake specialties, paired with wines from the Lamberti and Santi wineries, the two wineries of the Gruppo Italiano Vini in the Province of Verona.

Also in this case, typical wines will be offered, from Bardolino to Chiaretto, from Soave to Lugana. The course is led by two of the most renowned chefs of the Veneto Garda coast: Flavio Tagliaferro, culinary advisor at the Gardesana restaurant in Torri del Benaco, and Isidoro Consolini, chef at the Al Caval restaurant in Torri del Benaco.

Registrations and reservations can be made at the travel agency Gabritour in Garda. The entire initiative is coordinated by Angelo Peretti, Garda representative of Slow Food.

Gastronomic Tours and Additional Proposals

For organized groups seeking other food and wine experiences, I Ghiottoni and Slow Food are available to arrange additional gastronomic tours around the lake. The first option, titled “Olio, vino e cucina del lago di Garda”, involves a guided visit to an olive oil mill on the Riviera, tasting the oil, followed by a cooking class at the Lamberti wineries.

The second “package” is the rice itinerary in Isola della Scala, including a guided tour of the Melotti rice mill and a tasting of wines and risottos at an agriturismo in the Bassa Veronese. The third offer, “Parmigiano Reggiano and Mantuan Cuisine,” involves a stop at a Virgilio-area cheese dairy and a brief Mantuan cooking course at Opera Ghiotta, the Slow Food headquarters in Mantova.