Tony Loeb

🏠 Bergamo is set to increase its tourist tax from 6% to 7% of the total cost of accommodation. The hike, however, won't affect hotel guests who already often pay the maximum cap of €5 per day per person, primarily impacting those staying in non-hotel facilities (B&Bs, holiday homes, room rentals).

🍷 Ca' Rugate, led by Michele Tessari, is a historic winery founded in the early 1900s in Val d'Alpone, the cradle of Soave Classico and Garganega. Originally marketing bulk wine, the Tessari family evolved in the 1970s, moving away from cooperatives to manage their grapes independently, leading to the establishment of "Agricola Tessari Fulvio e figli" in 1986, which later became Ca' Rugate. The winery, initially focused on white wines, owns 45 hectares in Soave Classico, expanded by 40 hectares in Valpolicella in 1999, and added 5 hectares of Lessini Durello in 2008. Producing about 750,000 bottles annually, with half destined for international markets, the winery emphasizes indigenous varieties. Michele Tessari's entry into the company in 2001, after earning a degree in Enology, marked a significant shift towards organic management started in 2017. Ca' Rugate also promotes the region through numerous projects and offers a Wine Museum and Educational Farm in Veneto, becoming a Social Farm in 2023.