Piemonte is a large wine region in the north west of Italy famous for their powerful reds planted on steep slopes, and like most of these large wine regions I have only managed to explore parts of it. I had based myself in the town of Alba for 5 nights, using it is a base for not just wine exploration but also white truffle too! Alba is a small town, which you can walk around in a few hours, but it is big enough to support a number of grocery shops and many restaurants; but more importantly (besides been the home of white truffle during white truffle season, which I was fortuitous enough to be there for) it is between arguably two of the most famous wine regions in Italy, namely Barolo DOCG and Barbaresco DOCG.
The Piemonte wine region is large and complicated, with overlapping Geographical Indicators (GI) and different wine styles, for this reason I will focus primarily on Barolo DOCG (nickname the King of Piemonte), Barbaresco DOCG (the Queen of Piemonte) and variations of these GI’s (such as Langhe DOC - the Prince of Piemonte).
- Climate: Moderate Continental climate. The Piemonte area is largely protected by the mountains of the Alps to the north (where the name Piemonte is derived from piet = foot and mont = mountain), providing an rain shadow effect to the region. The region is also famous for it’s rolling steep hills for various aspects and cooling effect from the altitude (from 150m to 600m), however been to both Piemonte and Priorat, Spain; the rolling steep hills of Piemonte is not that steep compared to Priorat!
- Grapes: Focusing only in Barolo and Barbaresco DOCG, the most famous grape variety is Nebbiolo (black grape), which is Italy’s answer to Pinot Noir! The Nebbiolo grape is high in acidity and tannins but with little colour, so it may look like a Pinot Noir but on the palette it is a full body wine! Barolo DOCG and Barbaresco DOCG must be made of 100% Nebbiolo and by law there are aging requirements that help these full body wine to be more approachable when they are released, this is to provide an improved customer experience for consumers that purchase an new vintage of Barolo DOCG or Barbaresco DOCG bottle of wine. Other black grape varieties are Barbera and Dolcetto, with white varieties been Cortese and Moscato (Muscat), with the later mainly for sparkling in the Asti region.
- Barolo DOCG: 100% Nebbiolo, aged 3 years before release, with a minimum of 18 months in oak
- Barolo DOCG Riserva: In addition to Barolo DOCG, aged a total of 5 years before release, with a minimum of 18 months in oak
- Barbaresco DOCG: 100% Nebbiolo, aged 2 years before release, with a minimum of 9 months in oak
- Barbaresco Riserva: In addition to Barbaresco DOCG, aged a total of 4 years before release, with a minimum of 9 months in oak
- Wine Style: Focusing on Barolo DOCG and Barbaresco DOCG, these wines are generally full body wines which benefit from additional bottle aging (even through by law they wine maker needs to age the wine before release), the additional bottle aging like with all premium wines will bring out additional complexity from tertiary aromas and soften of the tannins.
- Size and Yield:
- Barolo has approx. 1,800 hectares under vine
- Barbaresco has approx. 800 hectares under vine
Winery
A majority of the wineries you will need to book in advance for a wine tasting; there are some exceptions, but few and far between where you can just “walk in”, I will highlight them in my experiences below. Alba is between the wine regions of Barolo and Barbaresco, less than an hours drive but there are some windy roads (not as windy as Spain, Priorat) so give yourself enough time to get from location to location.
- Pio Cesare (map) - Alba - Didn’t manage to get a booking and hence was not able to do a wine tasting at this winery; but their wines are available throughout Alba as the winery is physically located with the town of Alba and their wines are quite famous; definitely try to book in advance (I have enquired weeks in advance and they were full)
- Sobrero Vini (map) - Barolo - This wine tour was booked through one of the many global travel websites,
but you can try to email them directly and book your wine tour. They are one of the larger family run wineries in Barolo and have some great wines. You start off in the vineyard where you are provided with an introduction, then you head into what was their wine cellar used for maturation, but now converted into a tasting room. Their wines are very reasonably priced! - Josetta Saffirio Wines (map) - Barolo - I randomly drove by this winery and then asked if I can do a wine tasting, since I didn’t have a booking I was asked to come back in 30min or so, as they had to clear out the previous group and get ready for my wine tasting. They are situated in a very beautiful location, right in the middle of the valley, and their wines are quite good too, with several labels with different meanings.
- Vini Curto - Azienda Agricola Curto Marco (map) - Barolo - This winery was part of the truffle hunting tour, would not have found this great little winery otherwise. The wine maker is very passionate, for some of her wines she is following the very traditional methods in Italian wine making, but for others she is using more modern techniques such as from Burgundy France. Wines here are very good and well worth the visit, looks like they have an email you can ask to arrange a wine tasting.
- Gigi Bianco (map) - Barbaresco - In the town of Barbaresco, where the famous Gaia winery is located, this very small family run wine maker has a small cellar door located next to the church where you can do a “walk-in” visit; they will charge you a small cost or to buy some of their wines; which you will end up doing as their wines are quite good and also reasonably priced!
- Ca' del Baio (map) - Barbaresco - A family owned winery with a unique philosophy,
the current generation of 3 daughters are running the show now, each with their unique talents and it shows in their wine, besides the usual Nebbiolo, they also have a beautiful (but expensive) Chardonnay done in the traditional Burgundy method. I booked in advance, definitely a must try to understand more of the region and how the area is evolving but also retaining their tradition and heritage
Wine cellars are good places to go to try out a wide variety of wine makers; as the wine makers are super small they have good relationships with the local wine cellars, such as in Alba and the wine cellars will promote of the less known local wine makers
- De Gustibus Wine Shop (map) - Alba - They had a sign for “free wine tasting” during certain periods of the day… that is a winner! After speaking to the staff, they really know their wine and shared great stories of some of the smaller local wine makers and their wine! They are also afflicated with the wine bar Divina Wine Bar
Accommodation
I prefer to stay in a place with a kitchen as can cook and drink after a long day wine tasting, without the need to drive back; I stayed in an serviced apartment which I booked through booking.com, it is called Casanova where the owner runs a local tour office on the ground floor and have two apartments (each on separate floors) above. The property is quite centrally located with Alba
, walking distance to everything within Alba. It is equipped with a full kitchen (stove, oven, dish washer etc) and washing machine. There is off-street parking in a little secure car park (quite narrow to get in, but you get use to it after a couple of times). The host is very nice, highly recommend to stay here, if I go again to Alba will definitely try to book this again.
Restaurant
Since I had stayed in the town of Alba, the majority of the restaurant suggestions will be in Alba
- Osteria dell’Arco (map) - Alba - Amazing little restaurant with local produce, was there during white truffle season and had some of the local famous dishes such as white truffle on pasta
and white truffle with baked egg. Highly recommended to try, you can book online; there are lots of locals and their wine list is quite good (as in reasonably priced!) - Bistrot Duomo (map) - Alba - Must have a pizza when in Italy, and to make the experience even more memorable, why not have a white truffle pizza! During white truffle season, they have a very basic pizza then the chef will finish off the pizza table side, shaving white truffle onto a freshly baked pizza; how much white truffle is up to you, the cost of the final pizza is by how much white truffle you have “let” the chef shave.
- Divina Wine Bar (map) - Alba - This is not a restaurant in the strictest sense,
but there are many wine bars in Alba (been the heart of Barolo and Barbaresco) which serve happy hour, where you can get a flight of wine with some food; letting you try different wines and some from great local wine makers which don’t export. With the food, and an late afternoon in these wine bars, you can skip dinner or have a light meal back at your accommodation - Marchesi di Barolo (map) - Barolo - This is a famous winery in Barolo, but they also have a restaurant, it is an more luxurious experience where you can do a wine pairing (which is hard to do when you are driving!) so need to work out the logistics. The food is presented well, but I would not say I will go back again; however if you are looking for a nice restaurant to go to splurge, you can consider here. But worth a visit to this winery as the location and building is worth the visit.
- Osteria Arborina (map) - Barolo - This is a fine dining restaurant which is part of a boutique hotel, didn’t stay at the hotel but had a great lunch here. The food is great and the views are amazing; recommend to go if you are in the area.
Additional Information
There are lots of activities to do in Piemonte besides wine, here are some things that I did and will suggest to do on one of your “day-off” from wine tasting!
- Truffle hunting - Alba - As mentioned before, Alba is the home of white truffle
, and if you are visiting during white truffle season (September to December) then I will suggest to experience an “white truffle hunt”, you can find many online I joined this one through Trip Advisor (Truffle Hunt & Wine Tasting), here you meet up in the morning and in convoy go to a “secret” location where the truffle hunter and his/her dog will take you on a couple of hours “hunting” for truffles. It is not staged (per say) as the hunter will find and dig up truffle, but usually finding the less desirable black truffle, the more expensive white truffle will be in secret locations where the hunter will not reveal due to competition! This tour then ends with a wine tasting at a local wine maker, which is a great way to end the morning (early afternoon). If you are not driving, you can prearrange with the tour operator and be a passenger in their vehicle - Sacra of Saint Michele (map) - Turin - This is an Abby on top of an mountain ridge,
it is well worth the 1.5 hour drive from Alba on a “day-off” from wine tasting! The views 
are spectacular with a very rich history. The drive up the mountain is tricky but well worth the trip! Some additional information (but use at your own risk as I made it, but was tricky), the car park is here and then it is a short walk to the Sacra of Saint Michele, but you will see there are two route to get to the car park, I used the one of the “right”, it is quite narrow and at times did not look like it was going in the right direction, I didn’t try coming up from the road from the “left” which on Google Maps looks better (but I have not tried). - Museo Nazionale dell'Automobile (map) - Turin - Car museum with lots of different types of cars
(ranging from classic cars, racing cars of all sorts and concept cars), showing off the history of Italian car making, you can spend many hours there, but if you tack it to the end with the trip to the Sacra of Saint Michele then you may not have enough time, but even a couple of hours here will impress you!
