Take this 3-night hosted journey to Italy's Next Major Wine Destination
Book this wining & dining experience to La Subida, close to Venice
June 22-25, 2025
Hosted by Bearleader in Wine Mitja Sirk | Sommelier & Winemaker
La Subida | 1,5 hour drive from Venice, Italy
“I was born and raised with wine in my veins, taught to me by my father. I would love to welcome you to the restaurant Trattoria al Cacciatore.”
Book this unique dining & wining experience in the next major Italian wine region Friuli Venezia Giulia
Make memories with your friends or family and book this hosted four-day wining and dining experience in what international newspapers define as' Italy’s next major wine destination’. Discover the Italian wine region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, right on the border with Austria and Slovenia. Take a deep dive into the yet-to-be-fully-discovered wine destination in one of the corners of Italy, close to Venice. Taste world-class wines, experience Italian mum’s food, sit in a restaurant known mostly by locals, and sleep in the middle of nature.
On this journey, you will experience the very best of this area north of Venice, with an exclusively designed menu of beautiful dishes, cooking together, wine tastings, and lots of opportunities to discover more of this unique area in Italy. Be hosted by Bearleader in Wine, Head sommelier Mitja Sirk, and experienced travel guide, local insider Matteo.
Overview & Booking
Book this unique experience near Venice, Italy, with your partner, friends, colleagues and/or family. La Subida and Bearleader in Wine, Sommelier Mitja Sirk are trusted partners of Bearleaders.
INCLUDED
Four-days, three nights wining & dining experience
Tour of La Subida
Picnic basket with a bottle of wine
Grand tasting menu dinner with selected wine pairing at Trattoria al Cacciatore
Cooking class from Michelin-starred chef Alessandro Gavagna
Wine tasting with Mitja Sirk
3-course lunch at La Subida’s bistro Osteria la Preda with selected wines
Fish lunch at la Nonna Flavia, who owned one of the best fish shops in Italy, according to newspapers
Transfers from Venice airport *
Costs based on double occupancy
Your experienced local travel guide, Matteo, who grew up in the area.
EXCLUDED
Flights and/or other travel costs for travelling to and from Venice, and excl. insurances.
All extra orders outside of the program.
The small group hosted experience can be booked individually (we will form a small group of a minimum of 6 people) or as a family or friends trip of 6 - 12 people. The costs are € 2.488,—incl. VAT per person (double occupancy) or € 2.799,—incl. VAT (single occupancy). You can arrive earlier or stay longer if you wish for € 290,—incl. VAT per night (upon availability), including breakfast.
* A transfer from Venice Airport to La Subida is scheduled for arrival on Sunday. After check-out, the transfer will leave La Subida at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday. It is approximately a 1.5-hour drive to and from La Subida to Venice Airport.
Send a request via the button, and we will contact you as soon as possible. There will be no charges for the request.
For private group booking requests, please contact us via email.
Where you will stay
You will stay at La Subida, managed by the Sirk family. La Subida is more than a place to sleep. It was built on the border with Slovenia, consisting of several houses in the middle of the forest, giving you privacy as nowhere else. No internet and almost no telephone service are available in most rooms (only at the bar & restaurant), so you’ll have the chance to digitally detox properly from the daily stressful routine and enjoy the surrounding forest entirely. It is a genuine immersive nature experience where you’ll be pretty much without TVs or room service, being as far as possible from the rest of the world. You can find telephone & wifi service inside the resort's reception, so you can always be reached.
Inside La Subida you can find Trattoria al Cacciatore. The Michelin-starred restaurant’s history began in the 1980s with Josko Sirk and his wife, Loredana, who decided to transform the family tavern into a gastronomical point of reference in the area. Chef Alessandro Gavagna runs the restaurant, and your host, Mitja Sirk, is the Head Sommelier. Since 2007, the restaurant has been a proud holder of a Michelin star.
The Program
Day 1 | Check-in
Check in at La Subida with a warm welcome by the La Subida Family and your local guide, Matteo Valencic.
We’ll start our evening with an aperitif, followed by an exclusive tour by Joško Sirk. Joško is the founder of the company.
On the retreat, you can find two restaurants, a wine cellar, a bistro, and a vinegar cellar, as well as your accommodation spread across the forest.
A tailor-made tasting menu with a memorable wine package will be served at their Michelin-starred restaurant Trattoria al Cacciatore, where most of the staff belong to the Sirk family.
Day 2 | Cooking course
In the morning you will be served breakfast, and to enjoy the surrounding forest and nature by yourself.
At lunchtime, La Subida will provide you with a picnic basket so you can enjoy lunch in the sun.
At 6 PM an exclusive cooking course led by La Subida’s head chef Alessandro Gavagna will be held. He will give you unique access to his kitchen and give you some memorable tricks. Dinner will be served in the kitchen.
Mitja Sirk, the restaurant's winemaker, sommelier, and member of the family, will join us for a wine tasting and to explain more about the wine region.
Day 3 | Lunch at la Nonna Flavia
After breakfast and some free time, we will go to the nearby villa owned by Flavia Lai, a former fishmonger. According to one of Italy's leading newspapers, she owned one of the best fish shops in the country.
Now retired, Flavia will dust off her kitchen, and cook the best fish from the Gulf of Trieste. It will be fished just a few hours before sitting at the table.
A guest star winemaker will join for lunch in her kitchen, and open hard-to-find, young and older vintages.
Dinner will be served at Osteria La Preda, the casual restaurant of the Sirk family.
Day 4 | Check-out
After a great local breakfast at La Subida, we are heading back to Venice airport, so you can take your flight back home, or if you want, you can stay longer or continue to explore the area by yourself.
At La Subida you can get holistic massages, enjoy a private hot tub in the forest, picnic, aperitifs, horse ridings, guided private tours, and more excursions can be booked in advance.
Transfer to Venice Airport is included.
Your Hosts
La Subida has been in the hands of the renowned Sirk family since it was opened by Josko Sirk and his wife Loredana in 1960. The Sirk family will be happy to host you. Part of the journey is also an exclusive cooking course led by La Subida’s head chef, Alessandro Gavagna of Michelin-star restaurant Trattoria al Cacciatore, who is married to the family's daughter. The experience will be guided by Matteo, an experienced tour guide and insider of the destination. He will make sure to arrange the transfer from and to the airport, and you will also have lunch at his mum’s place, a former fishmonger. According to one of Italy's leading newspapers, she owned one of the best fish shops in the country.
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