Americans in love with the Italian wine tasting. Franciacorta success and history.

Italian restaurants, parks, and grocery stores d’elite are the environments where the Italian wine events take place in New York City as well as Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Miami, and now even in a few major cities in Texas.

An Italian wine tasting is a beautiful opportunity for the Italian wine producers – who travel in the States for a small amount of time – to talk about the history of their vineyards and the area in which they grow their vines.
Trying delicious wines from beautiful and relatively unknown places, is the best introduction the Americans could have because it kindles interest in planning a trip to these place which they would otherwise never known.

For instance, everyone know Franciacorta but not his origins. The most resounding success during these events it is indeed dictated by this sparkling wine. Sales are now at more than one million cases in the U.S. and growing by about 35% annually.
Franciacorta, named for the region from which it hails, and other sparkling wines are some of the finest and most expensive presently being produced in Italy. These wines have reached the highest quality demarcation of DOCG and are made to tempt the palettes of champagne connoisseurs.
Surprisingly, Americans often know of Franciacorta wine – at least in the Big Apple – but what they don’t know is that Franciacorta is part of the Province of Brescia, located in the northern region of Lombardy. The city and his province – one of the largest in Italy – has about 1,200,000 inhabitants.

New Yorkers are fascinated hearing about the region’s tradition and culture, the surrounding lakes, and also the museums, castles, and beautiful mountains in the area. This is just a taste of what can be seen there…

Lake Iseo is very close to the Franciacorta area and its vineyards. The little island the middle of the lake, called Monte Isola, can easily be reached by boat within fifteen minutes. To the east of the region is Lake Garda, the largest and most visited Italian lake in Europe. It has a diverse landscape with beaches along the southern shores and rocky cliffs above the northern shoreline. Windsurfing, sailing, and hiking in the lake’s many parks are popular activities, as well as visiting the spas and hot springs. Lake Garda is also known for its clear water and its Mediterranean climate. One of its villages, named Limone – the Italian word for “lemon” – is home to many lemon trees that grow easily in the area, thanks to the good climate. This lake has also little medieval villages with craft shops and and typical restaurants.

A thirty to forty-five minute drive north leads you to the Garda Prealps – mountains of the Alps – that surround the lakes and the city, where you can get a real feeling of the region’s history.

Brescia, also known as the Lioness of Italy, has a historical area, Santa Giulia, that became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2011. This area includes the Basilica of San Salvatore, The Oratory of Santa Maria, the church of Santa Giulia and its museum. Inside the rambling complex of the Basilica is the Museo della Città, where artifacts from the Roman town are on display, including some intricate mosaics.

The most compelling of all Brescia’s religious monuments is the 11th-century Duomo Vecchio, which is just fifteen minutes walking distance from Santa Giulia. Close to this church is the Duomo Nuovo, a newer cathedral built in 1604. Both of these cathedrals face each other in a beautiful square, which is also a location for the many events that happen throughout the year.

Among the many avenues found throughout the old city, one stands out in particular, the Via Musei, the Street of the Museums, where one can find many wine bars, trattorias and various stores. Traveling along the Via Dei Musei leads to the stairs and climbs that lead to the castle of the city located on the hill, the Colle di Cidneo, where people can take in the breathtaking overview of the city.

Brescia is very active city and it hosts many events. The most famous one, which has been mentioned also by the New York Times, is the legendary Mille Miglia http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/16/2013-mille-miglia-features-record-entry-numbers/

The Mille Miglia is an open-road endurance race which started to take place in Italy in 1927. This race is open to owners of vintage cars that brought out an estimated five million spectators who every year see the older Targa Florio, the Carrera Panamericana, the MM made Gran Turismo (Grand Touring) sports cars like Alfa Romeo, BMW, Ferrari, Maserati and Porsche.

To know more about Brescia, the little jewel of Italy, you can contact Brescia Tourism, a non-profit company which promotes tourism in the city and province, at this web site http://www.bresciatourism.it/en/.
….And with a fresh flavour and an intense perfume of a Franciacorta’s glass of wine, it will be even easier to appreciate this lovely city.