Wine tasting in the historic Italian countryside

On Thursday, before the Alpe Adria races, Team Canada was specially invited to the Giusti winery in Conegliano. The owner of the Winery has a brother in Canada (in Calgary, to be specific), so he was excited to host some Canadians.

 

The scenic Giusti vineyard

They began by recounting the history of the region, which was an important battleground in WWI. The tragedies that occurred are still present in the memories of the local people. They also wanted to take our visit as an opportunity to honour a 17-year-old Canadian pilot who was shot down during the First World War, over the land that is now a Giusti vineyard.

The Giusti winery is a family business that is currently being expanded. The plot that we visited was  newly planted last year, and the owner was proud to show it off. He was also excited to show us photos and maps of their other plots and the historical structures that remain on them. They have been restoring the old buildings, turning a dugout into a wine cellar, and building new tourist amenities, like the lookout tower that we got to climb (but only after balancing our way across an unfinished bridge).

The geometric viewing tower, one of the current construction projects.

Making our way across the bridge

After our tour of the vineyard we mingled and tasted their wines and some Italian cheese. Also in attendance were several of the Alpe Adria organizers, and the commandante Of the Forest Guard.

We felt honoured to be welcomed so cordially and treated as special guests. They were very excited to have us there, and we were happy to get this classic Italian experience!

p.s. If you want to check them out, here's the website: http://www.giustiwine.com/ 

Their wines are available in some locations in Canada, and if you are coming to Italy, they do tours and have accommodations on their plots.