Wine and snacks in a Venice home beats restaurants. This small evening (up to 6 people) is hosted at Liuba and Hugo’s place, where you taste a full flight of four wines matched with Venetian bites and local conversation. It’s a simple idea, done well: drink, eat, learn, laugh.

I especially like the hands-on wine guidance from Liuba, a real sommelier who walks you through the glasses in a clear, human way. And the food from Hugo feels like you’re being fed by someone who cooks for a living, with homemade touches that go beyond typical bar snacks.

One heads-up: the house is on the third floor with no lift, so stairs are required and it’s not recommended if stairs are a problem for you.

Key highlights you should know

• Four-wine flight: Prosecco, Lugana, Valpolicella, then a sweet finish
• Chef Hugo’s homemade cichetti with bread made at home
• Small group size (max 6), so the evening stays personal
• Liuba’s sommelier-led pacing to keep each pairing making sense
• 6:00 pm start at a specific Venice address, then back to the same meeting point

Why This Venice Wine and Cichetti Evening Feels Like the Real City

If Venice feels like a maze of canals and crowds, this kind of night cuts through the noise. Instead of chasing another crowded dining room, you step into a home evening focused on two things Venetians take seriously: wine and small plates.

Liuba welcomes you and sets the tone like a patient teacher. Hugo runs the kitchen side, and you can taste that experience in the way the courses move. The format is relaxed, but it has structure: a bubble wine opens the night, then you work through white, red, and finally a sweet wine with dessert.

The value is also practical. For about $102.41 per person, you’re not just paying for “food and wine.” You’re getting a planned flight of four wines plus Venetian cichetti and homemade items, served in a small group where you can ask questions without yelling over other tables.

The Tasting Flight from Prosecco to Sweet Wine

This is built like a guided progression, so you’re not stuck with the same flavor style for two and a half hours.

Start with bubbles

You begin with Prosecco, paired with mixed fish cichetti. The idea here is simple: bubbles help reset your palate and keep the first bites feeling light. If you’re arriving in Venice with jet lag or you’ve been walking since lunch, this opening usually lands well.

White wine: Lugana tasting

Next comes a Lugana white tasting. Along the way, you’ll get savory bites that lean salty and rich: a savory croissant with mortadella, stracchino, and pistachio grains, plus a pumpkin meatball. This is a good pairing stage because it mixes textures—soft, creamy, savory—and keeps the white wine from feeling too sharp or too flat.

Red wine: Valpolicella tasting

After the white, you shift into a red tasting featuring Valpolicella. The food course here leans heartier, including a burger patty and a selection of cheeses. Red wine often shines with fats and proteins, and this part of the meal is where that logic usually feels most obvious.

Sweet wine and dessert finish

You end with a sweet wine and dessert tasting. Your dessert options include tiramisu or typical Venetian biscuits. The sweet finish is the kind of ending that makes the whole evening feel “complete,” like you didn’t just stop after the wine ran out.

Between pours, Liuba’s role matters. A sommelier-led flow keeps you from guessing what to pay attention to. You’ll spend more time noticing how the next bite changes the wine than trying to figure out what you’re supposed to taste.

Hugo’s Homemade Cichetti Pairings: What You’ll Taste

Cichetti are Venice’s small-plate culture. They’re often served at bars and snack counters, but this night turns the concept into a full, seated progression at home. You’re not just sampling random bites—you’re getting pairings designed to work.

Fish-forward starters

One starter pairing includes sardines in saor and creamed cod. If you’ve never had saor before, it’s the kind of Venetian flavor that can be both tangy and comforting. It’s a great match for the early part of the evening, especially when paired with Prosecco and light cichetti.

Savory and cheesy plates in the middle

At the white wine stage, you’ll see a mix of meats and dairy: mortadella and stracchino show up with pistachio grains, plus the pumpkin meatball. This mix is useful if you like your food to have layers—salty, creamy, savory—because Lugana tends to pair well with that kind of balance.

Meat and cheese during the red

For the Valpolicella stage, you get a burger patty and a selection of cheeses. Even if you don’t care much about cheese types, the point is variety: soft and firm textures, plus savory notes that hold up against red wine.

Dessert that feels Venetian

The last stop is dessert with either tiramisu or Venetian biscuits. This isn’t a random end-of-tour sweet—it’s meant to pair with the sweet wine tasting so neither one tastes overly heavy on its own.

And one more detail that matters: Hugo’s products are described as home-made, including bread. That’s not just a nice-to-have. Homemade bread can change the rhythm of the meal, because it gives you something neutral to reset with between richer bites.

The House, the Meeting Point, and the Stair Reality

You meet at Calle Foscari, 3246, 30123 Venezia VE, Italy at 6:00 pm, and the experience ends back at the same meeting point. It’s a solid setup if you like knowing where you’ll be before night falls.

The meeting area is near public transportation, which helps if you’re trying to connect from another part of the city without hunting for a taxi. You’ll also use a mobile ticket, so you don’t need to scramble for paper once you’re in Venice.

Now the important part: this is a third-floor house with no lift. The tour is explicitly not recommended if you can’t climb stairs. Venice is already a stair-and-bridge city, so for this evening you’ll want comfortable shoes and a calm pace—especially since you’re arriving at a specific time and you’ll likely need to find the correct door and level quickly.

Group size stays small, with a maximum of 6 travelers. That helps in two ways: first, you can actually hear each other while tasting. Second, Hugo can keep the kitchen pace under control without turning your evening into a rushed cattle-line.

Price Worth Paying: What $102.41 Gets You

Let’s translate the price into something you can feel. For about $102.41 per person, you get:

• Tasting of 4 wines
• Venetian cichetti and typical homemade products (including bread)
• Glasses and a place setting
• A personal sommelier (Liuba)

So you’re not paying only for a glass of wine. You’re paying for a planned evening with a kitchen workflow and wine service designed around pairings. You’re also paying for the experience of being in a host’s home rather than a restaurant where you might get one server and a menu you order from.

What you don’t get is also clear, and that matters for budgeting. Hotel pick-up and drop-off aren’t included, and tips aren’t included. There’s no promise of a private experience; it’s shared with up to 6 people.

In practice, this kind of pricing makes the most sense when you want a “Venice moment” that’s not just another dinner. If you’re already doing multiple paid meals, this can help you replace one of them with something that teaches as well as feeds.

Who This Evening Is Best For (and Who Should Skip)

This experience fits best if you like your travel with context. If you enjoy wine but you don’t want a stuffy lecture, Liuba’s approach is the kind that works for normal humans. If you like food with a story and you’re curious how Venetian cichetti taste when someone actually cooks them, Hugo’s side is the reason people remember the night.

It’s also a good match for couples, solo travelers, and small groups who want conversation without a loud room. The small limit of 6 people makes that realistic.

You might want to skip or at least think twice if:

• Stairs are hard for you, since the house is on the third floor with no lift.
• You’re traveling with minors, since it’s not available for minors.
• You’re expecting a casual “drop in whenever” food stop—this is time-based and starts at 6:00 pm.

One more practical point: you’ll be walking in Venice and then climbing at least one set of stairs to reach the home. If you’re planning a big sightseeing day beforehand, build in some breathing room.

My Practical Advice for a Smooth 6:00 pm Start

Venice evenings can start late, but this one starts on time—6:00 pm—so plan your day with that in mind. If you’re touring elsewhere earlier, try to end with enough time to get to Calle Foscari without rushing.

Wear shoes you trust. You’ll be moving through streets and then up stairs. Also, since you’re tasting four wines and eating multiple paired bites, it helps to keep your earlier day lighter than usual.

If you have dietary needs, it’s smart to communicate before you go. Hugo has shown the ability to modify the menu for dietary restrictions in at least one case, so don’t assume you’re out of luck. The safer move is to ask directly so expectations are clear.

Finally, come with a curious mindset. The best part of this kind of evening is not collecting a souvenir. It’s letting Liuba and Hugo guide your attention—why one wine works with one bite, and how Venice flavors build on each other.

Should You Book This Evening with Liuba and Hugo?

Yes, if you want a Venice night that feels local without being complicated. This is one of those experiences where the structure actually improves the fun: four wine tastings, clear pairing logic, and Hugo’s homemade cichetti served in a small group.

Book it if you:

• like wine tastings with real host energy
• want homemade Venetian food instead of another standard restaurant dinner
• prefer smaller groups where conversation is possible

Skip it if you:

• can’t handle stairs, since the home is on the third floor with no lift
• need a no-stress, always-easy logistics night (you’ll follow a specific meeting point and start time)

If your schedule allows and stairs aren’t an issue, this is a strong choice for a memorable evening in Venice—wine in good company, food that tastes made-from-scratch, and hosts who know how to keep it human.

FAQ

What time does the tasting start, and how long does it last?

It starts at 6:00 pm and runs for about 2 hours 30 minutes.

How many wines are included in the tasting?

You’ll taste four wines: Prosecco (bubble), a white wine (Lugana), a red wine (Valpolicella), and a sweet wine.

What food is included with the wine?

You get Venetian cichetti (venetian tapas) and typical homemade products prepared by Hugo, including bread. The sample menu includes items like sardines in saor, creamed cod, mortadella with stracchino and pistachio grains, and pumpkin meatball.

Where do we meet?

Meet at Calle Foscari, 3246, 30123 Venezia VE, Italy. The tour ends back at the meeting point.

Is the experience suitable for children or minors?

No. It’s not available for minors.

Is it accessible if I can’t climb stairs?

Not really. The house is on the third floor and there is no lift, so it’s not recommended for those who cannot climb stairs.

Is there a Venice access fee to consider?

On certain dates, most travelers staying outside Venice who visit for the day may need to pay a €5 access fee. The applicable dates and exemptions are listed at https://cda.ve.it.

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