This past weekend, Mitch and I took a fun and relaxing day trip to the beautiful, Italian-inspired Villa Bellezza winery. Located in Pepin WI, this winery is only an hour and half drive from Minneapolis, making it a perfect day trip from the Twin Cities metro.
If you love Italy and are dying to go back (or you’ve never been but hope to), you’ll definitely want to check out Villa Bellezza! The owners of this gorgeous winery did a fabulous giving the Midwest a little taste of Tuscan charm.
Getting to Villa Bellezza Winery
If you’re coming from the Twin Cities, you’ll drive down Highway 35 on the Wisconsin side of the Minnesota-Wisconsin border. This stretch of Wisconsin highway is on the Great River Road: a collection of state & local highways across 10 states following along the Mississippi River.
The drive on Great River Road along the Mississippi was super picturesque. Especially because we went at the end of September, so all the leaves were starting to change. The drive went by quickly as we took in the beautiful views along the twisty road – colorful autumn leaves & stunning river bluffs.
Our Experience at Villa Bellezza
The Food
The food was delicious – we got a Margherita pizza and a meat & cheese plate to share. Both were tasty and a great pairing with the wine. We found a table on the Piazza and spent a couple hours enjoying the food and wine.
The Wine
i couldn’t talk about a winery and not mention the wine. And in this case it would be a huge miss, because the wine was excellent! We really enjoyed the Musetta rose with our meal. This rose was one of the best I’ve ever had. Period. I even bought a bottle to take home. And after doing a little research on the website, I found out Villa Bellezza will ship their wine, so I will definitely be buying more!
The Piazza
As beautiful as the piazza is, the pictures do not do it justice in my opinion. Not only does it look like Italy, but it also kind of feels like you’re there. The relaxing music playing in the piazza, mixed with laid-back feeling of sipping wine and enjoying time with whoever your with makes for a lovely afternoon.
The Vineyard
Surrounding the property, is the Villa Bellezza Vineyard – which according to the winery’s website is rather new, with vines planted only 2 to 3 years ago. While the winery also uses grapes from vineyards in surrounding areas, it was cool to have one of them right on site. We had a ton of fun exploring (and taking a few pictures)!
If you’re really missing traveling abroad right now, you’re looking for a fun day trip, or you just like good wine…. definitely check out Villa Bellezza. We had a wonderful time and will for sure be going back!
Looking for more things to do around the Twin Cities? Check out more ideas here.