La Bella Vita Barge Cruise Photos

From: La Bella Vita Barge Cruise Review

Day 4: Il Dominio di Bagnoli

In the afternoon, we cruised to Bosaro and drove from our mooring berth to the Villa Widmann Borletti, a 17th Century estate by the Venetian architect Baldassare Longhena (who designed the Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute, Ca' Rezzonico, and other important buildings in Venice).

Villa Widmann is the headquarters of Il Dominio di Bagnoli,, which has been producing wines since the 1600s. (The estate traces its winemaking tradition back to 954, when Benedictine monks built a monastery on the site.)

The estate manager showed us around the gardens and grounds, including fields where grapes are grown for wines, grappa, and other products such as grapeseed oil.

Many of the estate's crops are organic, and the Dominio is in the process of switching to 100 percent organic production.

The Dominio di Bagnoli has living exhibits of what might be termed "heritage agricultural techniques," such as grapevines that are grown in a circle around a tree, with supporting wires connected to the tree's trunk.

The estate also raises several different breeds of chickens. (During our visit, some of the chickens were wandering around outside their open pens.)

After we'd toured the grounds, we visited a restored granary that is now being used as a hall for conferences and other events.

Next, we walked through the old wine cellars to the Dominio's shop and tasting room.

The Dominio's logo pays homage to the monks who once lived, worshipped, and made wine on what is now the Villa Widmann Borletti estate.

We finished our visit with a leisurely tasting of several table wines and a dessert wine from Il Dominio di Bagnoli.

Afterwards, we returned to La Bella Vita for apéritifs, dinner, and a surprise that we can't reveal here (because, if we did, it wouldn't be a surprise during your cruise).