From June 16 to July 3, 2025, Annette and I spent time in wine country Italy, by car.
For an overview of the whole trip, go here: Wine Country Italy - Lake Como, Tuscany, Alto Adige - in the Summer of 2025
Dinner at Sissi of Chef Andrea Fenoglio in Merano, Alto Adige
Following an 8-hour road trip from Montalcino to Alto Adige, we had our first dinner in Alto Adige at Sissi (1 Star Michelin) of Owner-chef Andrea Fenoglio in Merano. It was a memorable evening.
Sissi (1 Star Michelin)
As you cross the threshold into this restaurant, you come into an elegant Art Nouveau-style dining room with sparkling chandeliers, patterned flooring and other fascinating retro details that make this a real gem. Owner-chef Andrea Fenoglio is the heart and soul of Sissi, dividing his time between the kitchen and front of house so that he can take time to chat with guests. His cuisine has solid classic foundations with a contemporary and personalised touch, and a good choice of dishes on the à la carte, plus a tasting menu (“Settepiatti”) which changes every year (as does the ceramic tableware on which it is served!). The cuisine is comforting and full of generous flavours, yet also creative and always surprising with elegant presentation and unusual combinations. Whatever dish you choose, you can be sure of finding the perfect wine pairing for your meal thanks to friendly, knowledge sommelier Arianna, who will be happy to make recommendations from the wine list.
Sissi (Reporter Gourmet)
1991, a budding chef-patron and a Merano still completely unaware of the exponential culinary function it would take on in the 2000s. Andrea Fenoglio was only 23 years old when he chose South Tyrol's second-largest town, an unusual junction between spa hotspot and Alpine resort, to open a restaurant named after the empress who, by regularly staying in the city, in her time decreed its dazzling entry into the European holiday plan. Thus was born “Sissi,” an insignia-outsider ready to topple the absolute formalisms of the gourmet litany to dòmino.
No waiters in suits, gone is the aristocratic mise en place, no silent games in half-empty rooms. Gone are the long-winded explanations about cerebral dishes (or sold as such), there is no dress code , and the team has only one possible mission: to provide the customer with the right portion of live entertainment. The plan works, because "Sissi" today is full even on weekdays, with Fenoglio himself parading among the tables to season the sacred ritual of the meal with irony - only motto, better to fill the environment with laughter than with mechanical gestures without a hint of spontaneity.
The venue has since changed and, with his wife Katalin Huff, the chef has expanded his hosting track, creating a mini-curcuit of interconnected realities. Leavened hedonism, then, finds easy ferment at 357 Pizza & Food, a little place centered on long-rising rounds, homegrown regional staples and mouthwatering desserts ad libitum - see the gelato mantecato espresso. If not, the couple's latest venture also invests hospitality to the fullest extent, to baste a decidedly peculiar sojourn experience in Merano land.
Empress Elizabeth, aka Sissi, in Meran (merano-suedtirol.it)
The Sommerpromenade or Sissi promenade begins in the “Sissi Park”
in the centre of Merano. The park features an elegant, larger-than-life
sculpture of the Empress made of Lasa marble. Especially during the
year’s warmer months, you can stroll in the cool shade beneath Lebanon
cedars, sequoia trees and poplars.
After walking in Sissi's footsteps, you can (in classic Sissi style) simply relax and try, for example, Sissi's organic whey bath offered at the Therme Meran spa.
There’s no better way to get "Sissi-soft" skin and to experience
intimacy than in an imperial style bath. The high-quality whey protein
strengthens the connective tissue and promotes the metabolism. And as
you revel in this luxurious treatment, gain insight into how Sissi must
have felt during her daily milk baths. In general, the Empress attached
great importance to her beauty: her hair reached down to her ankles and
she cared for her skin with masks and creams.
During her stay in Merano, Empress Sissi bathed at Bad Egart in
Parcines/Partschins, the oldest baths in Tyrol. Today the baths are home
to the Bad Egart K. u. K. (Imperial) Museum, which
boasts the world’s largest private Habsburg collection as curated by
Uncle Taa. Uncle Taa, whose civil name is Karl Platino, is an
extraordinary personality. In fact, such praise is likely an
understatement for such a prolific artist, sculptor and collector. The
first two rooms of the museum are dedicated to the history of the
Habsburgs and feature a unique collection from the reign of Emperor
Franz Joseph I and Empress Elisabeth. Here you can also view an
authentic glove worn by the empress. By the way, this is also a
fantastic place to dine in style. At the restaurant, guests can sample
Sissi's favourite dishes such as Kaiser soup and violet ice cream – and
even homegrown vineyard snails are prepared here as they have been for
three generations.
Sissi also sought health treatments in the Ultental valley in the quiet and restful Ultental baths.
Otto von Bismarck and the author brothers Thomas and Heinrich Mann were
guests there, too. Water sourced from the springs in Mitterbad, which
contains iron and minerals, is still used today by locals as a cure-all
or simply to quench the thirst.
Trentino-Alto Adige has a very long history of winemaking, about 3000 years. Trentino-Alto-Adige’s vineyards are true Alpin vineyards on elevations of 700 - 3,300 ft on mostly gravelly soils. Because of the altitude of this region, even in the hot and sunny summers night temperatures are always cool and these diurnal temperature differences are excellent for the production of wines of great finesse. This makes the region famous for single variety crisp, beautiful white wines such as Pinot Bianco (Pinot Blanc), Gewürztraminer, and the indigenous grape Nosiola. In terms of quantity, more red wine is produced than white. More than 50 percent of all vineyards are planted with the light Schiava (Vernatsch in German). More and more vineyard area has been dedicated to Pinot Nero (Pinot Noir). The red Lagrein vine actually comes originally from Trentino, but the finest Lagrein grows in Gries on flatter, lower-lying vineyards directly near Bozen in Alto Adige. The often almost opaque, dark purple Teroldego Rotaliano, also an indigenous grape variety of the region, on the other hand, comes from one of the few rock-lined valleys in the northern part of Trentino. Trentino is also home of the production of modern style red blends.
Aperitif
Choosing
Amuse-gueule
Foradori Red Wine
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Wine Country Italy - Lake Como, Tuscany, Alto Adige - in the Summer of 2025
Lake Como
At Villa Almana in Cernobbio at Lake Como - Wine Country Italy (Lake Como, Tuscany, Alto Adige) in 2025
Bolgheri
Dinner at La Tana del Pirata in Marina di Castagneto Carducci, Bolgheri, Tuscany - Wine Country Italy (Lake Como, Tuscany, Alto Adige) in 2025
Winery Tour and Tasting at Tenuta Argentiera, Bolgheri, Tuscany - Wine Country Italy (Lake Como, Tuscany, Alto Adige) in 2025
Florentine Steak - Dario Cecchini Selection - for Lunch at Osteria Magona in Bolgheri, Tuscany - Wine Country Italy (Lake Como, Tuscany, Alto Adige) in 2025
Running into Marco Balsimelli, Production Director, Ornellaia and Masseto, at Osteria Magona, Bolgheri, Tuscany - Wine Country Italy (Lake Como, Tuscany, Alto Adige) in 2025
Vineyard Tour, Cellar Tour and Tasting at La Macchiole, Bolgheri, Tuscany - Wine Country Italy (Lake Como, Tuscany, Alto Adige) in 2025
Visiting Vigna Lodovico and Tasting Lodovico Antinori's Cult Wines Lodovico and Il Nicchio with his Assistant at Locanda dell' Aioncino - Wine Country Italy (Lake Como, Tuscany, Alto Adige) in 2025
Dinner at Locanda dell' Aioncino, Bibbona, Tuscany - Wine Country Italy (Lake Como, Tuscany, Alto Adige) in 2025
Tasting the Wines of Tenuta di Biserno and Staying at Relais di Biserno, Bibbona, Tuscany - Wine Country Italy (Lake Como, Tuscany, Alto Adige) in 2025
Tenuta San Guido (Sassicaia): Barrel Cellar Tour and Tasting - Wine Country Italy (Lake Como, Tuscany, Alto Adige) in 2025
Bistecca alla Fiorentina for Lunch at Osteria Enoteca San Guido (Sassicaia), Bolgheri, Tuscany - Wine Country Italy (Lake Como, Tuscany, Alto Adige) in 2025
Vineyard Tour, Cellar Tour and Tasting at Ornellaia, Bolgheri, Tuscany - Wine Country Italy (Lake Como, Tuscany, Alto Adige) in 2025
Dinner at La Pineta, with Chef/ Co-owner Daniele Zazzeri, a Michelin Starred Seafood Restaurant, at Marina die Bibbona, Tuscany - Wine Country Italy (Lake Como, Tuscany, Alto Adige) in 2025
Cellar Tour and Tasting at Grattamacco, a Benchmark Producer in Bolgheri, Tuscany - Wine Country Italy (Lake Como, Tuscany, Alto Adige) in 2025
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