WILL WORK OUT FOR WINE
A wine farm in Italy is offering a unique blend of fitness and fizz, writes Elizabeth Sleith
It’s harvest season in Italy and one wine farm in the northern Franciacorta region has come up with a novel way for tourists to get in on the action — and get in a good workout at the same time. The family-owned Al Rocol, near the town of Ome, is an “educational farm” where visitors can participate in activities from wine trekking to touring the vineyards by bicycle to cooking classes with chef Orizio Fabio. And now it’s offering “winemaker gymnastics”, a series of exercise classes in the vineyards with moves inspired by the everyday activities of the farm workers, from sowing the plants to picking the grapes.
For à20, groups of six-10 people will get to work out with a “Personal Wine Trainer” for 90 minutes.
The Franciacorta region is in the heart of Lombardy, in northern Italy, one hour from the region’s capital, Milan, bordering Lake Iseo.
Its speciality is a delicate sparkling wine with DOCG status — the highest designation of quality among Italian wines — also called Franciacorta.
Once participants have got their sweat on, they get to cool down with a tasting of Franciacorta wines and a tour of the cellars, where they’ll see first-hand how the wine is made.
The organisers say the classes will offer not only the physical benefits of simple movements, which aim to recover a range of motion “usually lost during the everyday sedentary life” but also, thanks to the “soothing, silent, green environment”, emotional benefits too.
The farm also offers accommodation and the chance to “caress” bunnies and pigs.
● See alrocol.com.