Villa Calicantus — Attraction in Bardolino

We understood that it was out of season, so we made the effort to look online, read over the website and call ahead to see if it was still possible to come and do a tasting. |We spoke to a lovely gentleman who said that we were unable to do the full tasting, with the taster menu as it was Harvest time and they only do this on a Saturday, but that we were still very welcome and that we could walk around the vines ourselves and enjoy some wine tasting. Perfect, we thought.|We completely understood that it was out of season and were just thrilled to go, have a look and taste some wine. ||On arrival- it was another story. |The place is gorgeous- just as I had hoped it would be, old farmhouse, bursting with character- I just couldn’t wait. |Tables and chairs were set outside and we were excited.|We rang the bell and waited.|A woman finally came out- she was the wife of the wine maker. She looked at us as if to ask- ‘what are you doing here?’||She clearly looked exhausted and like we had interrupted her busy day.||We asked if we could some tasting. |Silence.||She said ok.||She did not invite us to take a seat or try to welcome us or make us feel comfortable. She just pointed to 3 bottles and said that we could taste these. ||Silence. ||Not realising that we had to choose, we asked if we could taste all of them. She then took out 2 glasses and proceeded to pour out small samples for me and my partner. She told us perhaps 1 sentence about the wine, we tasted it. ||She then poured in the second sample and then when we had tasted it, she poured in the final sample. Same glass.||We were still standing in the doorway by the way. I still had my jacket and bag on. We did all this standing in the doorway in around 5 minutes- TOTAL.||Two hours driving and this was our Italian wine tasting experience. To say we were disappointed was an understatement. ||That was it. Not to make it a complete bust I asked if we could see the vines. She said we could walk around ourselves. Which I knew we would have to do- but she didn’t even offer up this experience. ||So, we took a glass of wine and walked up to the vines determined to get something out of the experience. ||Best part: the gorgeous puppy that followed us around. ||The whole interaction was so awkward and unwelcoming. I tried to compliment the lady on the gorgeous property. All she said was - ‘it’s old.’ |Awkward.||Clearly- CLEARLY- we had interrupted them on a busy day. I get that. I completely respect that, so just close. Don’t accept any more guests. Don’t say we’re welcome, when we clearly we’re not. ||We were the only guests there and clearly they didn’t want us there. ||Just don’t waste our time- as much as your own.||The reviews for this place were amazing, so I’m hopeful that this is an anomalous seasonal issue. But I was so disappointed that I would hate for others, out of season, to...

We understood that it was out of season, so we made the effort to look online, read over the website and call ahead to see if it was still possible to come and do a tasting. |We spoke to a lovely gentleman who said that we were unable to do the full tasting, with the taster menu as it was Harvest time and they only do this on a Saturday, but that we were still very welcome and that we could walk around the vines ourselves and enjoy some wine tasting. Perfect, we thought.|We completely understood that it was out of season and were just thrilled to go, have a look and taste some wine. ||On arrival- it was another story. |The place is gorgeous- just as I had hoped it would be, old farmhouse, bursting with character- I just couldn’t wait. |Tables and chairs were set outside and we were excited.|We rang the bell and waited.|A woman finally came out- she was the wife of the wine maker. She looked at us as if to ask- ‘what are you doing here?’||She clearly looked exhausted and like we had interrupted her busy day.||We asked if we could some tasting. |Silence.||She said ok.||She did not invite us to take a seat or try to welcome us or make us feel comfortable. She just pointed to 3 bottles and said that we could taste these. ||Silence. ||Not realising that we had to choose, we asked if we could taste all of them. She then took out 2 glasses and proceeded to pour out small samples for me and my partner. She told us perhaps 1 sentence about the wine, we tasted it. ||She then poured in the second sample and then when we had tasted it, she poured in the final sample. Same glass.||We were still standing in the doorway by the way. I still had my jacket and bag on. We did all this standing in the doorway in around 5 minutes- TOTAL.||Two hours driving and this was our Italian wine tasting experience. To say we were disappointed was an understatement. ||That was it. Not to make it a complete bust I asked if we could see the vines. She said we could walk around ourselves. Which I knew we would have to do- but she didn’t even offer up this experience. ||So, we took a glass of wine and walked up to the vines determined to get something out of the experience. ||Best part: the gorgeous puppy that followed us around. ||The whole interaction was so awkward and unwelcoming. I tried to compliment the lady on the gorgeous property. All she said was - ‘it’s old.’ |Awkward.||Clearly- CLEARLY- we had interrupted them on a busy day. I get that. I completely respect that, so just close. Don’t accept any more guests. Don’t say we’re welcome, when we clearly we’re not. ||We were the only guests there and clearly they didn’t want us there. ||Just don’t waste our time- as much as your own.||The reviews for this place were amazing, so I’m hopeful that this is an anomalous seasonal issue. But I was so disappointed that I would hate for others, out of season, to...

My family and I had an amazing time in this beautiful, idyllic and timeless winery. We booked the "total wine tasting experience" and were not dissapointed. The tour began with a very friendly welcoming and a brief family + winery history. The process of wine making was very good explained, most of all I liked the organic approach of wine making and how the differences between organic wine making and industrial wine making were explained. Walking through the vineyard overlooking Lake Garda was an amazing experience. We got to taste 3 different wines, all of them were excellent. Food was also amazing. Be warned... Chiara's biscuits are addictive!! The whole experience, the tours, the tasting, the music, the atmosphere, everything was way over our expectations. What I liked the most about this place and about our hosts is that they really make you feel at home, like if you were part of the family or a lifetime friend that is coming over for a glass a wine :) So to everybody who wants to learn about wine making, drink excellent wine and have a good time I would 100% recommend visiting Villa Calicantus. I know I will...