Piemonte

Looking for some help picking a village/town to stay in during our upcoming trip at the end of March. We want to stay in wine country somewhere near Barolo, loosely defined as within a few miles, and defintely not in Turin. We will be renting a house or apartment, so looking for a place where there are some walkable options for the morning and evening. Bakery, handful of restaurants with hopefully at least one nice option, and market are places we wish to be able to walk to in the morning or post wine tasting when the car will be put away. Would love any recs on actual places to stay if someone has been recently and rented a place that fits that bill. Just my wife and I, so we don’t need a huge place, but would like something with at least a small outdoor terrace or patio should the weather favor us. Also all ears if anyone has any recommended wineries that shouldn’t be missed. I need to get on the ball and make some appointments soon. TIA.

Top of La Morra or Barolo are probably your best bets. We stayed at the top of Castiglione Falletto and really enjoyed it, but definitely more quiet with fewer options that you are seeking. But does have Le Torre restaurant, which is nice. We stayed in the apartment above the restaurant (found on AirBnB - apt owned by the major hotel in CF whose name escapes me), which had a huge terrace but not much of a view as facing inwards.

Definitely places I wish we’d visited but did not make for one reason or another (e.g., Burlotto, Accomasso, Castello di Nieve, F. Rinaldi, Elvis Cogno, etc), but really enjoyed our visits to Cascina delle Rose, Rizzi, Schiavenza, Aurelio Settimo, Oddero & Fratelli Allesandria. Also visited Vajra, Ettore Germano, and Cavallotto, which while nice, were more structured tours with winery employees as opposed to tasting with winemakers.

One regret I have is not visiting the enotecas in each commune.

Have fun. A gorgeous and amazing place.

Thanks for the response. Barolo and La Morra are both places I am considering, just wanted some feedback from those that have been. You also bring up a good point, we aren’t really interested in structured tours, would much rather visit places where we taste with the winemakers like in Burgundy or the Loire.

We stayed here and enjoyed it very much. It’s not exactly what you asked for but is a charming place.

We stayed here a little over a year ago. All the rooms have outdoor patios, the closer you get to the end, the better the views. Simple but comfortable, plenty of space. This is not a hotel, just some rooms above the winery tasting room. But good location in La Morra, nice breakfast provided in a lovely sun room. Downsides are no on site parking (you park along the street if you can find it, or in one of the central town lots), and no facilities other than your room. Easy walk to the center of town (literally 50 yards), a few restaurants, bakery, etc.

Had a great stay at Uve Rooms and Wine Bar. Great hotel in La Morra

www.uvelanghe.it/it/

Nice! How long will you be staying? What kind of activities interest you besides wine? Food? Walking/hiking? Culture? Keep in mind the weather in late March. We’ve always found that weather that is less than optimal can be enjoyed (or at least tolerated) better in larger towns versus villages. Have a look at Alba which is a decent size town giving you ready access to both the Barolo and Barbaresco areas. Enjoy!

I think that La Morra is a good choice. Barolo I feel is a little slow and touristy. I would consider Monforte. Cool upper part of town is mostly walking zone (a steep hill so if you have cardiac or joint issues might be a problem). La Saracca is a great place: best wine bar in the Langhe for me (I would not fault anyone for naming Centro Storico in Serralunga). La Saracca is a great place to wind down. Terrific architectural mix of old and new. Great bubbles selection. You will crave bubbles after tasting all day. Giulio the owner is a gem of a person and puts out a great spread of apps during happy hour. It is worth eating there as well for dinner. I Stay at La Saracca when I go by myself. If you are renting a house plenty of options in Monforte. Some newer some old. Up the hill are generally older. In town, there is a good coffee shop or two. A few wine bars. A bakery/ bread place, a small hardware store for the simple stuff. Laundry if you need it. Decent gelato. A handful of restaurants worth eating at. Stunning views from up top the town, and a walk east to Ginestra from the top of town while a good walk (or you can drive) is one of the prettiest vistas in the Langhe IMHO. Hope that helps

I have no affiliation with la Saracca aside from considering Giulio a friend and thinking the place is terrific.

www.saracca.com

I like that you’re considering a house or apartment, and although it’s not the highest concentration of food shops, there is enough good stuff to see you right.

Monforte is certainly a good option, and the small central supermarket was decent last time we were there - it was basic, but all the better for not (IIRC) being a chain supermarket. A smattering of decent food shops, and aperitivo in Le case della Saracca a very fine example of early evening grazing with good wine. A number of other good restaurants. La Casa Gialla worth a look for apartments and they run a range of sizes from cozy to spacious. Their wine should also be fully on-stream now (they are a branch of the seemingly widespread Vaira family).

Another to recommend, is the apartments (i grappoli) run by the family who own & run Boasso / Gabutti (Boasso is the family name, Gabutti the vineyard area they are based in). The wines are pleasingly old school, but very rarely mentioned. There is a decent restaurant within a minute’s walk, but I’d recommend the very good / fairly priced restaurant run by Schiavenza in Serralunga itself.

Plenty of other good places, and worth a check on the langheroero.it tourism site; agriturismo.it and also a simple google maps search.

Regards
Ian

Happy to have stumbled across this topic, as I am also thinking of a Piedmont trip later this summer…has anyone stayed at Relais San Maurizio just southeast of Barbaresco? Came recommended by a friend, but he wasn’t there for wine so not sure if the location is inconvenient. I’d like to have a guide take me around to various villages so I can learn more about the wine region.

I usually stay in Alba , centrally located, close to everything and has more choice of restaurants without having to drive at night. Just spent three nights at this place , recently opened , great location

Hi Will
If staying in reasonably easy driving distance of the wine regions appeals, whilst in good countryside, then it would be good.

Personally if wine is to be the focus, I’d absolutely want to be based in one of the villages, such that on at least one day the car could be left parked up giving the designated driver a well-earned break, and everyone a lovely walk through the vineyards.

You certainly don’t need a guide, but there are local drivers who can do this (I’m sure I’ve read of them on these pages). The winemakers / owners / family (and occasionally staff) can do a more than decent job of explaining about the geography, history, weather, etc.). I mentioned walking and I very strongly recommend this. The walking is good, occasionally steep, but that’s usually brief and never to the point of scrambling. More interestingly it takes you literally through the vineyards (yay! for shared ownership and hence open access) giving you a great feel for the place. Take a picnic or arrange it so the walk builds an appetite, or walks off a substantial lunch. For us it’s a highlight of the region and so easy to walk from village to village that I’m surprised so few do it.

langheroero.it can make appointments for you (last time I checked, there was no charge - except for no shows), but it’s easy to book direct via email for the vast majority of wineries. Piemontese hospitality is very good indeed (but I’d say that is true of all of Italy outside the over-touristed areas)

Riccardo’s suggestion is also worth considering, as it gives you the functionality of a very charming town, but the Barbaresco villages are so close you could feasibly walk there (but sense says book a taxi in Alab to take you there and pick you up later).

Regards
Ian

Monforte is a cool town, but I would recommend La Morra or Alba as they are more centrally located.

Thanks to all for the recommendations. We ended up booking an apartment in Alba which should be a perfect base for a few days of eating, drinking, and relaxing. Now we are looking for more winery and restaurant recommendations if anyone has them. We will certainly be visiting La Morra, Barolo, Monforte and probably a few other villages that our travels take us through. Defintely looking for at least one Michelin Star type place as well as some lower key but good restaurants. For that matter, we will also be staying in Rome a couple blocks from the Spanish Steps, so looking for recs there as well for good eats. Once more, TIA.

Sandrone was a very nice visit but it was several years ago.

This restaurant was very good/excellent. Don’t miss the tajarin.

Not Michelin Star, but Bovio is excellent in La Morra. More e Macine, also in La Morra, is a nice little lunch spot. Campamac in Barbaresco was very good. We also had a nice lunch at L’Aromatario in Neive. There are many great restaurants. Attached is a list that may be helpful.
Piedmont-Restaurants.pdf (167 KB)

Jim- Thank you, Enoclub looks to be right up our alley. I like and own some of Sandrone’s wines, so we will probably visit there if they will have us.

Jeff- That list is a tremendous help, I imagine we will try a few. Ciau del Tornavento certainly appears that it will make the cut. Many Thanks.

We had a great lunch here.

In Alba, I recommend Osteria Lalibera.

I was there a few months ago and enjoyed a wonderful meal; service was good and the wine list extensive with most selections reasonably priced.

For two of three of our visits to the region over the past ten years, we stayed at the Hotel Calissano in Alba. Convenient to wineries in both Barolo and Barbaresco DOCG’S and within walking distance to several fine restaurants in town. It also offers free parking in its underground garage. We would stay there again.

A few restaurants in Alba I would recommend are: Osteria dell’Arco, Ristorante Osteria Lalibera and La Piola. And if money is no issue, there’s the 3 Michelin star Ristorante Piazza Duomo. (Both La Piola and Piazza Duomo are owned by the Ceretto family.)

https://www.piazzaduomoalba.it/en/

In addition to the in town restaurants, one restaurant worth driving to is Vinoteca Centro Storico in Serralunga d’Alba.