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Italiaoutdoors: Bike Tours Italy - Bicycle Holidays
Primavera del Prosecco Bike Tour April 2012
Join Italiaoutdoors as we welcome spring with a bike tour of the Prosecco, Piave and other Veneto wine regions of Italy. We will visit the province of Treviso, where spring is welcomed with the Primavera del Prosecco festival, a celebration of the wine, food, art and culture of the region. We will join the local celebration as we cycle each day through a different wine region, discovering the unique products of each, from the world-renowned sparkling wine Prosecco, to lesser known regions such as Piave, Colli Berici, and Breganze. Wine Enthusiast named the Veneto one of the Top 10 Wine Destinations for 2012. Come visit with us!
Our daily rides explore vineyards, wineries, larger cities, and small hamlets of the area, with new discoveries around each corner - unknown wines; regional foods; history and local culture. Our afternoons provide an opportunity to relax and explore our new destination, with evening wine tastings and wonderful meals featuring the best in local cuisine. Each Italiaoutdoors tour is designed to introduce our guests to the truly authentic Italy we visit; we are unique in our local expertise, from the biking routes and water stops, to the history, foods and wines we find along the way.
Our eight day/seven night Primavera del Prosecco bike tour adventure in Italy:
April 1- April 8, 2012
$3495 ppdo*
Limited to 8 participants, for a highly personalized experience, and the best access to small local producers
Have a small group of 4-12? This trip can be run as a private bicycle tour for your group, for the same price. We can customize the rides for the skill and fitness level of your group, from expert climbers to casual tourist riders. Pick your dates and contact us!
See our YouTube video on Biking the Prosecco Wine road. Now imagine a week of cycling, filled with a different wine road every day, and new regional wines and food each evening!
Day 1:
Morning arrival at Venice Marco Polo airport. Transfer to the historic city of Oderzo, a beautiful town rich with archeological ruins, and a notable crossroad in the Roman Empire.
Each guest will be individually fitted for their bike, and we enjoy an introduction to the foods of the region as we review the bicycle routes for the week.
A welcome wine tasting will introduce wines from each of the areas we will explore, followed by dinner at a trattoria in Oderzo.
Day 2: 
The first bike ride of our tour is through the Piave river basin as we explore this little-known wine region. We will discover its wonderful indigenous varietal, Raboso, an ancient wine grown here since before the time of the Roman Empire. This ride is relative flat, allowing us a day to get used to our bikes and the fact that we are on vacation!
Our destination is the city of Conegliano, the easternmost border of the premium quality prosecco region, Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco DOCG. We will have some time to relax in our hotel before our daily wine introduction, where we will taste some Raboso and other wines from Piave and Marca Trevignana IGT zones.
We will finish with dinner in Conegliano.
Day 3:
We will bicycle through the Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco DOCG today. We will find a few hills today along our tpur, but the wines we discover along the way will be our reward! Our travels will take us through this amazingly picturesque region, where the prosecco grape has been cultivated for centuries. Famous prosecco producers will dot our path, but we will stop for a taste and a snack at a small, family run producer that makes a wonderful prosecco not sold outside of the region.
Our return to Conegliano will allow us some time to explore the city before our wine tasting this evening, where we will taste some mouthwatering proseccos from the Grand Cru area of the region, the Cartizze area. DInner this evening is on your own in Conegliano.
Day 4:
Today our cycling tour will explore another wine region just south of the prosecco hills as we head to our next destination: Bassano del Grappa. The Montello and Colli Asolani region is another wine area relatively unknown outside of the Veneto. It is an area of gently rolling hills and plains that runs from the Piave river to the mountains. We will stop in the lovely hill town of Asolo for lunch, “The Pearl of the province of Treviso”.
After arriving and relaxing at our hotel, we will visit yet another beautiful city, and our home for the next two nights, Bassano del Grappa. We will have a grappa tasting at a local distillery, before some free time in town, followed by dinner at a wonderful traditional osteria.
Day 5:
The Breganze wine region is our cycling destination today, home to the Macaulan winery that distributes quality wines to the US, but also many other lesser known producers. We will have an opportunity to tour the ancient walled city of Marostica, home to the historic annual human chess tournament that takes place every other year, as well as the center of local cherry production.
We return to our hotel, and after some down time we transfer to a local winery for a tasting of their wonderful wines, and a elegant dinner at their small, renowned restaurant. We will dine on their locally raised beef and products from their garden, and hopefully have an opportunity to sample the wonderful white asparagus of Bassano del Grappa, a local delicacy available only in this region for a few weeks each spring.
Day 6:
Our next destination is the City of Palladio, Vicenza. We bike south, through the Montello and Colli Asolani wine DOC, and then into the Vicenza DOC. Along the way we will visit two beautiful walled cities, Castelfranco and Cittadella. 
Our hotel tonight is right in downtown Vicenza. Before our daily wine tasting, you will have an opportunity to explore this beautiful city, and admire the architecture of Palladio, and the Teatro Olympia. Dinner is on your own in Vicenza, after our evening wine tasting, as tonight we explore the wines of Colli Asolani and Vicenza.
Day 7:
Our final day of bicycling takes us into the Colli Berici DOC, among the picturesque hills. This day can be challenging or easier, depending upon the mood of the group; both flatter rides as well as rolling hill routes are possible. Both cycle routes explore the smaller producers of this region, known for the local varietal Tai Rosso, as well as international favorites such as Cabernet and Merlot. We will also pass olive orchards for the local olive oil, and view the caves of Lumignano, famous for their spring peas.
Our last evening wine tasting will feature the wines of the Colli Berici. Our farewell dinner will take place on the outdoor patio of a beautiful trattoria in the Berici hills, and we will be sure to try local specialities like Gnocchi with the local black truffles.
Day 8:
After breakfast at our hotel, we will transfer you to Venice Marco Polo airport for flights home.
Our tour includes:
- Limited to 8 participants maximum
- 7 nights accommodations at 3 star or better hotels
- All ground transfers
- All breakfasts, snacks on the road as we bike, 5 dinners; the dinners include local wines
- Daily wine tastings
- Bike rental, equipped with water bottle, bag, and GPS
- Support along bike route
- All tips, gratuities, and local taxes
- Any entry fees to museums, villas, other venues we may visit
- Services of two guides throughout the trip
To sign up, send us an email. We personally work with each and every guest to answer all questions, and make sure our trip is customized to your abilities and preferences. We're also happy just to chat, and hear how you would like to travel.
* Single supplement of $600
Learn More:
- Chefs on Bikes 2012 Bicycle Tour Itinerary
- Bike Tours for Wine Lovers: Bike the Wine Roads 2012
- Winter in Italy - Ski, Food and Wine
- Private Travel - Custom Bike Tours for all levels of Cyclists: Easy tourist routes to the most challenging climbs in the Dolomites
- Italiaoutdoors: Who We Are - your expert guides
- Testimonials
- Contact Us
