Raise your glasses travelers! Today, we’d like to introduce you to our special friend from the region of Emilia Romagna in Italy – Stefano from WineDering. We invited him to our #ExperienceOfTheWeek series to talk us through what he and his team in WineDering are doing and why there’s no better tour than the one including wine. We even made him reveal his 2 favorite wines to us! Let’s get the ball rolling, shall we?
Q1: Hi Stefano, how are you doing?
Hi! Pretty well thanks, busy even in these tough times we’re all living 🙂
Q2: Tell us more about the WineDering. Where did the idea come from?
Everything goes back to 2015. I’m in California guiding a group of Italian customers. We’re visiting San Francisco and during a day off some of them want to experience a wine tasting experience so they ask me to find the best winery in the Napa area.
Poor me! 500 wineries in less than 120 miles, how can I find THE one?
The only solution I have is to call a friend of mine who lives there, he suggests to me the winery and here we go: happy customers, a great experience and everybody is happy.
When I came home I shared this problem with my friend Denis. Together we start thinking about the problem I had and the solution we found and in the next few weeks, we created Winedering.com!
Q3: Italy is the mecca of great wines and fairytale wineries and I bet there are dozens of places to experience as a wine lover. Where in Italy are you all based? How big is your team?
Yes, you’re right, each of our regions has a special wine heritage. We are originally from a small town in central Italy. You probably have never heard of Ascoli Piceno, a beautiful and ancient town 3 hours east of Rome close to the Adriatic coast and, obviously, the land of great wines.
Today we’re located in Emilia Romagna. The team is a small one, we grew organically with no funds or any investments. We’ve been putting 120% of our time, heart, and head into the project since the beginning. We have a vast group of sales, customer care, and tour guides that work with us.
Q4: Your selection of tours is literally endless – you offer everything from wine to honey and prosecco tastings to craftsmanship and cultural tours. What are the most popular activities among travelers who come to you?
We were born with the idea of focusing exclusively on wine lovers. However, we found out that the world of wine is something that everybody is interested in, even if not a special wine lovers.
It all depends on the destination. If you’re going to Alaska, probably wine is not the main reason why you visit that amazing state (by the way, they produce interesting wine too). However, if you fly to Tuscany for a cultural experience, you know that you’re in a land of great wine. So, you’re probably interested in discovering more.
That’s why we have plenty of different activities. It’s a matter of destination: if you’re in a wine territory, you can combine culture, history, outdoor experiences, but you’ll always want to taste wine too.
Q5: Today many people travel and plan their itineraries on their own. Why would you recommend booking one of your wine tours to our travelers?
Absolutely yes. First of all, we have to say that on our platform you can also book a wine tasting directly to a specific winery. This way, you can also do the tour on your own. However, our added value is the know-how of the territory, the pacing that suits better for a wine day tour, the winemaker who does not speak a word of English but makes the best wines in that area.
We know the wineries and the territories we offer and we guarantee this know-how throughout the whole experience. A team of professional and wine lovers who work 24/7 to make your wine trip unforgettable. As we always say: it’s not only a matter of what you drink; it’s also a matter of who you drink with!
Q6: The travel industry is in uncharted waters right now but we all hope travel will rebound soon. What does the situation in Italy look like right now? How was your summer season?
Italy has been facing a very tough 2020. As you know we were the first in Europe to suffer the crisis and everything started by the end of February and March when reservations arrive and the high season is getting ready to pop up. So we had a very tough beginning of 2020.
Then summer went pretty well thanks to domestic tourism. Let’s be honest, is there something better right now that staying open-air, surrounded by nature, tasting a glass of wine with social distance guaranteed?
Now we’re facing the second rise of the virus and we really hope everything gets better in 2021.
Q7: Last but not least, what is YOUR favorite wine? Tips from a true connoisseur are always worth it 🙂
Wow, that’s not a simple question to answer. I should say that it depends on the mood I’m in a specific moment, how I’m feeling, who I’m drinking with, and what I’m eating… However, I’ll be very sincere and tell you that my favorite white wine is Timorasso, while for the red ones I go for the Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 🙂
Book some of the most popular experiences by WineDering here:
The Prosecco Experience – Guided Tour & Tasting in the Land of Prosecco Superior
Young Wine Makers Full-day Experience from Verona
Emilia Romagna Guided Food & Wine Day Experience
Exclusive Wine Tasting Experience Close to Naples
Hike & Taste Experience in Siena from Florence