wine tour: Piedmont

A Barolo & truffles tour

  • A condensed 3-day tour during truffle season in Piedmont

  • Hunt truffles and see a trifolaio and his dog in action

  • Visit Alba's famed truffle market in full swing

  • Enjoy private, sit-down tastings at top Barolo wineries

  • Feast on artisan cheese during a buffet lunch at a cheese farm

ITINERARY

DAY 1 – BAROLO, THE KING OF WINES AND THE WINE OF KINGS

Enjoy three days in Barolo during white-truffle season! Beside the Tanaro River lie the beautiful Langhe hills, pinstriped with vineyards and crowned with medieval castles. Among the many tiny villages are two whose importance far outweighs their size: Barolo (pop. 679) and Barbaresco (pop. 656). After a pick-up in Tortona, we’ll shuttle to Barbaresco (approx. 1 hour). Here we’ll meet the region’s thoroughbred grape: nebbiolo. Our first winery is the Marchesi di Gresy, the largest and most historic of Barbaresco wineries in private hands. Here we’ll see how this site-sensitive grape changes character when exposed to subtle variations in soil and vineyard position. We’ll also be introduced to Piedmont’s other leading players—dolcetto and barbera—plus regional newcomer sauvignon blanc.

Afternoon takes to the Barolo DOCG zone. A museum in the Castle of Grinzane Cavour provides a good historical overview of Barolo’s origins in the 1800s and the role played by Count Camillo Benso Cavour (later Italy’s first Prime Minister), Marchesa Giulietta Colbert Falletti, and King Carlo Albero in the creation of Barolo, known as “the king of wines and the wine of kings.” Then it’s time to taste! We’ll do so at Silvio Grasso, one of the new generation of Barolo producers that emerged in the 1970s. At this small, family-run estate, Marilena Grasso will personally lead us through an in-depth tasting that offers comparisons of different Barolo cru and vintages.

Come dinnertime, we’ll continue the Barolo/Barbaresco theme with dinner at the Ceretto winery’s restaurant, which looks out on Alba’s main piazza and Duomo. Here we can taste Ceretto’s wines, as well as a well-curated list of local boutique wineries. These will provide the perfect companions to such classic piemontese dishes as agnolotti(meat-filled ravioli), guanciale (braised beef jowls), and bounet (chocolate-amaretti pudding).
D • Hotel I Castelli

DAY 2 – ALBA’S TRUFFLE MARKET AND MOUNTAIN CHEESE

Every weekend in October, truffle hunters, gourmands, and restaurateurs convene in Alba. This morning, we too head to Alba’s famous truffle market, where truffle oil, truffle spreads, truffle books, and the whole tubers are for sale. There will be time to roam the enclosed market, as well as Alba’s gourmet shops, where you’ll find truffle goodies and other local specialties, such as dried porcini, arborio rice flecked with truffles, hazelnuts, and yummy chocolate. (Alba is headquarters to Ferrerro, which makes Nutella.)

Then we’ll head to the Alte Langhe (high Langhe hills), where Piedmont’s mountain cheeses are produced. Our destination is a family-run cheese farm in Murazzano, a DOP cheese zone. This family works with micro-sized dairy farmers to create a variety of fresh cheeses from goat, sheep, and cow’s milk. We’ll have a tour and a buffet lunch that features their various cheeses, plus local chestnut honey, cogna, fruit, and (we hope!) one of their light-as-a-feather hazelnut pies.

After lunch, it’s on to Barolo itself. We’ll walk through the charming village, stop by the Castle of Barolo, then visit the wine estate of the castle’s former owner, the Marchesi di Barolo. We’ll see the historic cellars where the Marchese Giulietta Colbert made the very first Barolo wine, then head upstairs for a tasting of the winery’s modern and classic styles of Barolos. Dinner is in Alba at a Slow Food affiliate restaurant, where we’ll hunt for truffles on the menu.
B, L, D • Hotel I Castelli

DAY 3 – GO FETCH! A TRUFFLE HUNT

This morning, we’ll don our galoshes and head into the hazelnut groves with a truffle hunter and his dog. They’ll provide an in-field demonstration of the dynamic that happens between a trifolau and his hound—the signals (in piemontese dialect, no less), the training, the special rapport. After finding the buried treasures and giving the dog a final scratch behind the ears, we’ll head to our last wine tasting: Damilano in the village of Barolo. A no-pretensions estate (typical of Piedmont), they put their efforts into making top-quality Barolo that maintains an excellent price/quality ratio. We’ll taste three of their top wines. Aftwards, we’ll return to Alba for lunch on your own. From there, it’s a shuttle back to the Asti train station by 5 p.m. B

Want other Piedmont options? Check out the wine-intensive Xtreme Piedmont (May 22–27) as well as Land of Barolo (October 1–6), which combines the regions of Barolo and Gavi. If you'd like some exercise along with your wine, see the Piedmont & Cinque Terre Trails wine & walking tour (September 10–16). Finally, Slow Food Festa is custom foodie/wine tour in Parma, Modena, and Piedmont.

TRIP NOTES

Airport
Milan’s Malpensa or Linate. Both have convenient airport shuttle buses to Milan’s central train station, the Stazione Centrale (50 minutes from Malpensa, 30 minutes from Linate). 

Pre-tour
Plan to land in Italy a day before the tour begins; that's necessary to be at our starting point on time. Most people spend the preceding night in Milan. For hotel suggestions, email us or consult a good hotel search engine, such as TripAdvisor or Hotels.com. We recommend staying either near the main train station, called the Stazione Centrale (more convenient for catching the train on Day 1), or in the historic center near the Duomo (more convenient for pre-tour sightseeing). From one area to the other, it's about a 45-minute walk, a few stops on the subway, or a 15-minute taxi ride.

Meeting point
Our meeting point is the train station in Tortona, a small town on the rail line from Milan to Genoa. Assuming you spend the previous night in Milan, you'll go to Milan's Stazione Centrale and take the 9 a.m. commuter train to Tortona. (We'll provide precise train details in your information packet.) It takes less than an hour, and we'll meet you at the Tortona station. Please let us know if you're coming from elsewhere or spending the previous night in Tortona. From Tortona, we shuttle to Alba (about 1 hour), where the tour gets underway.

Departure day
On our final day, we’ll shuttle you to the train station of Asti or Tortona, depending on your travel plans.

Italian train schedule
Here's the English-language version of TrenItalia. Be aware that the schedule is posted only several months in advance, so if you're looking for long-range dates, try something sooner, just to get an idea of departure frequency and trip length.

Trip extensions
Three popular destinations that are within easy reach of Piedmont are Turin (Torino), the Lake country, and the Italian Riviera, including the Cinque Terre. Turin was a royal capital of the Kingdom of Piedmont and it still has a regal elegance, as well as excellent museums, cafes, and the Shroud of Turin. Because Malpensa airport is about halfway between the city of Milan and Lake Como, a pre-tour stay in Como and/or along Lake Maggiore is quite do-able. Post-tour, one could continue south to Genoa (about 60 minutes by express train). A working port city, Genoa is the birthplace of Christopher Colombus and offers a world-class aquarium, waterfront promenade (designed by architect Renzo Piano, a local son), wonderful art museums houses in 18th palaces, and a fascinating medieval section. Continue further down the coast, and you’ll reach Portofino and the Cinque Terre. Both offer hiking trails and boat excursions, while the Cinque Terre also has scuba diving and public beaches.

Travel insurance
This is recommended to protect you from needless loss caused by last-minute cancellations, lost luggage, and more. Three sources are Travelex Insurance, (800) 228-9792; CSA Travel Protection, (800) 348-9505; and Travel Guard, (800) 826-1300.

Weather
When packing, check www.weather.com. Go to "Alba, Italy" to get a general idea of temperatures and forecast. 

For cancellation policy & more, see our General Information page.

2020 dates
3-day tour, dates flexible in October and November.

Price
$1,995/person for 2 pax
Single supplement: $175
Add 3% commission if paying by credit card

Optional: If you open your tour for others to join, you could potentially save money. We’ll quote a price for a guaranteed departure for your core group, then a lesser price if others sign up too. That tour will be added to our 2020 Calendar.

Meet
Tortona train station (1 hr from Milan)

Depart
Tortona or Asti train station

What's included
- 2 nights accommodations (double room) in a 4-star hotel, with breakfast buffet
- 2 gourmet dinners (three courses with wine)
- 1 buffet lunch at an artisan cheese farm
- All wine tastings mentioned
- Admission to Alba's truffle fair; Castle of Grinzane Cavour

What's not included
- Air travel
- 1 dinner on your own & most lunches
- After-dinner drinks, or special wines at tastings that are not part of what is provided to the group
- Items of a personal nature
- Anything not specified as included