E-BIKING IN ITALY AROUND LAKE GARDA
The hills of Valpolicella, which rise in an uncoordinated eruption of undulations on the eastern shore of Lake Garda, have given us not only one of Italy’s most famous wines, but also some its most distinguished and distinctive olive oils – and the enchanting curiosity of the most northerly lemons in the world. Yes, that’s right: nowhere else on the planet can you grow lemons outside at this latitude. They grow them for fun these days (wine and olive oil are bigger business) but in times of yore the people of central and northern Europe relied on Lake Garda for their citrus-sourced Vitamin C.
It’s all about the microclimate, and that’s a product of the topography: the sheltering effects of the Alps to the north; the sun-trap south-facing valleys; the temperate breezes from the lake; the peculiarities of terroir of a once-glacial terrain. For students of wine (and presumably geography) it’s a paradise; and seeing it for yourself, and what and how people cultivate here, will really help you develop your understanding of the region’s produce. However, these hill
