Hi Klaus
The site your wife used is the one I tend to use myself, hence a few we’ve used before. Also worth a look are the langhe, roero & monferrato tourist office site (which is very good), plus the quirky ‘special places to stay’ (Alisdair Sawday), which is a wonderful antidote to bland hotels, as the chief criteria is that the places need to have character. Finally, a quick check on google maps for a location that really appeals, might reveal one or two more options.
Of those I’ve listed, Val di Spinso would be the strongest recommendation, and it’s maybe a 15 minute drive to Verduno, another 10 mins to La Morra and so on. Definitely worth a look at the Treiso places as well if you fancy Barbaresco over Barolo, as it’s so good for dining and is a rather charming little village. The big advantage of being in one of the wine villages, is it allows you to plan visits where you simply walk there. That’s great for post lunch sessions, or perhaps if arriving in the region at lunchtime, to be able to get out of the car and stretch your legs. If the accommodation is attached to a winery, that’s even more convenient e.g. the I Grappoli attached to Gabutti (Franco Boasso) in Serralunga d’Alba
Last year we did not do the autumn trip to Piemont, but will this year
We‘ll be driving (3 couples, all into wine more or less) a good part of the RdGA, crossing over the Col d‘Agnel to Piemont, staying in Roccaverano on the Barbera Plaza and renting the Barolo room, no shit lol. Albergo Bramante
So we‘ll have Saturday for Barolo/Barbaresco but also plan for truffels in Alba and probably some hiking. So I am looking into the ONE must have winery visit to show my buddies who like (red) wine, but aren‘t into any three/four digit trophy ones.
As the palatte preferences aren‘t set in stone and from Tuscany to Bdx to Spain and Australia pretty much all regions are in the cellars I could not name any modern / traditional or brand preference, and my knowledge of the region is in its infancy (PdB).
Think of 6 ppl around their sixties on an autumn drive with nice convertibles through the alpes and a nice weekend in Piemont for wine/dine and you get the idea.
Asking for Recos for a nice place to dine and a winery to visit - TIA
Highly recommend Osteria Veglio outside of La Morra for either a lunch or dinner. Excellent restaurant and wine list. https://www.osteriaveglio.it/
Vajra could be a really good option for a tasting. They have a broad line up of wines and world class Barolo. We also had a fantastic visit at Elio Grasso in Monferte and F. Alessandria in Verduno.
Last visit was 2022 and it’s already too late for one of my recommendations.
I would have recommended Bovio in La Morra, our best meal of that trip, but sadly it closed a few months ago. On the other hand, La Ciau del Tornavento was a major disappointment - food and service were both very weak and they didn’t have the first two wines we picked (the third was corked, as to which they snobbishly questioned my judgment until they smelled and tasted it). If you want a money is no object meal, Piazza Duomo in Alba is tough to beat. Osteria Veglio is a good recommendation.
For wineries, Vajra and Elio Grasso are good recommendations. Another to consider is Massolino in Serralunga. Excellent wines at various price points and a very nice visit. Pair that with a walk up to Centro Storico for lunch and you’ll have a very nice day.
Had a blast re-visiting the region on the last long weekend, we stayed a bit away in Roccaverano in a nice place up the mountain tho. Drunk my first Vajras and Viettis and had a short unbooked visit at Vajra, thanks again for the recs. Morra was crazy busy so we drove on (3 cars) as we fvcking could not get any parking, lol.
I guess they might be in Roero region, or fall between regions.