Franciacorta Wine Tours from Milan
Franciacorta is Italy’s answer to Champagne: sparkling wine fermented in the bottle and aged on its lees for years, made in the hills between Brescia and Lake Iseo, an hour from Milan. Compare the top-rated tours below, then read our notes on the wine and the day.
Franciacorta wine tours and tastings
Formats: full-day tours from Milan with two cellars and lunch; Franciacorta combined with a Lake Iseo cruise or with Bergamo; single-estate visits with vineyard walk and tasting for self-drivers.
What you taste: Franciacorta DOCG in its styles, non-vintage, Satèn, rosé, vintage and Riserva, usually three or four glasses per cellar with local cheese and salumi.
Price and time: 40 dollars for an estate tasting; 250 to 400 for a full day from Milan with transport and lunch.
The wine
Franciacorta DOCG is made by the traditional method, the same as Champagne: a second fermentation in the bottle, then ageing on the lees for a minimum of 18 months for the non-vintage, 24 for Satèn and rosé, 30 for a vintage and 60 for a Riserva. Chardonnay leads, with Pinot Nero and Pinot Bianco. The result is closer to Champagne than to Prosecco and priced between them. Satèn, the softer all-white style with lower pressure, is the one to try if you only try one.
The day
Franciacorta is about 80 kilometres east of Milan, an hour by car. Tours leave Milan in the morning, visit two cellars of contrasting size, one of the big houses and one family estate, with a tasting at each, and break for lunch in the vineyards or by Lake Iseo. Combinations with a lake cruise or a stop in Bergamo’s upper town stretch the day to nine hours. Self-drivers can book an estate visit with a vineyard walk and tasting for the price of a bottle.
Frequently asked questions
Is Franciacorta worth a day from Milan?
Yes for anyone who likes sparkling wine; the cellars are impressive, the hills are pretty and it is the easiest serious wine day trip from the city.
Franciacorta or Prosecco?
Different methods: Franciacorta is bottle-fermented and aged, Prosecco is tank-fermented and fresh. Franciacorta costs more and tastes richer.
When is the best time?
May to October; harvest in late August and September is the busiest and most interesting time in the cellars.
Read next: Prosecco vs Franciacorta vs Champagne
How we choose
We list only experiences with a strong rating over a meaningful number of reviews and free cancellation where available, and we favour small-group and family-run hosts. FindEatLocal earns a commission when you book through GetYourGuide or Viator links on this page; it doesn’t change the price you pay. More about how we choose.