Alpine Wines in Ithaca: Northern Italy Tasting at La Tourelle Hotel & Spa

At La Tourelle Hotel & Spa in Ithaca, New York, the Ithaca Community Wine Course: The Alpine Influenced Wines of Northern Italy brings a focused, sensory classroom to a stately banquet room at 1150 Danby Rd. For two hours on a Wednesday in September, sommelier Laura Winter Falk leads small groups through six alpine-influenced wines from multigenerational family producers, pairing each pour with regional treats and a sommelier-selected dish available from the hotel menu. The tasting zeroes in on northern Italy’s mountain edge—think high-altitude vineyards beneath the Dolomites and the cooler foothills that shape acidity, minerality, and bright aromatics in native varieties such as Nebbiolo, Cortese, and Pinot Grigio’s alpine expressions. The format is hands-on: you’ll examine structural elements—acidity, tannin, body—and learn how elevation, soil types, and winemaker tradition alter what’s in the glass. The class emphasizes family producers whose cellar practices preserve indigenous strains and old-vine character, so you walk away with both tasting notes and provenance stories. La Tourelle’s banquet space offers an intimate setting—groups of six to fourteen—so questions are encouraged and pours are generous enough to compare side-by-side. Regional specialties imported from Italy amplify the lesson: salumi, aged cheeses, and other snacks selected to show how food shapes a wine’s flavors. Because wines change weekly, repeat visits reveal new producers and stylistic subtleties; classes run Wednesdays throughout September and require pre-registration with payment confirmed a week prior. Practical perks include a 20% discount on same-night stays at La Tourelle for attendees who book with code WINE, making this an easy overnight pairing of hospitality and education. The meeting point is downstairs in the La Tourelle banquet space at La Tourelle Hotel & Spa; arrive 5–10 minutes early—classes start on time. The experience is restricted to ages 21 and older. Why this class is special: it folds the specificity of a masterclass into a community-focused event. Ithaca’s food-and-wine scene is lively and curious; this course brings a regional deep dive you don’t often find outside urban wine bars or travel to Europe. For travelers already exploring the Finger Lakes, the class is a compact, indoor complement to vineyard tours—an efficient way to broaden your palate and learn the geographies behind alpine-influenced styles. Who should go: curious wine lovers, culinary travelers, and anyone who wants to understand how mountain climates shape grape expression. Come ready to taste, take notes, and ask the sommelier why a glass from 600 meters tastes so different than one from the valley below. Bookings are limited; groups cap at fourteen to keep conversation lively and personalized, and the small scale means you can compare textures, finishes, and aging potential across vintages without feeling rushed or anonymous while noting each producer's vineyard story.