I am a long-time lurker on this forum (so much so that when we go on vacation, my wife asks me to check with the “wine guys” to get the best recommendations)…after a recent trip to Northern Italy (with some spectacular recommendations from here, as usual, plus some new discoveries), I thought I would try to return the favor.
Piedmont
Hotel: Casa di Langa
-Recommended: Wonderful hotel (and while pricey, is reasonable for the quality of the hotel). Important to note that the hotel is ~20min from most of the key wine destinations, but you will need a car to get around the area anyway, so it was not a big deal for us. The hotel also has more of a modern feel than much of the area; I would happily return, but I would also likely try another spot closer to the wine areas / with a bit more of the region’s charm
Tastings: We did 4 tastings overall:
-Strong recommendation: Trediberri, e Pira & Figli (Chiara Boschis), Margherita Otto – all three were fantastic in their own ways.
We visited Trediberri on the day they were bottling their 2023s; in the middle of our tasting, the winemaker, Nicola, interrupted to give his thoughts on the vintage, pour barrel samples, and just generally carry on…he was a complete bundle of nerves around how the wines had turned out (lovely and huge), and as several on this forum have noted, to say he is a hoot is an understatement.
At first, the Pira visit felt somewhat more “corporate” – but after the initial introduction, we were taken into their cellar and saw Chiara’s brother hard at work with the current vintage, as well as some very old barrels…the wine itself was our favorite of the trip, with Chiara’s touch bringing just a tad more elegance in comparison to the massive young Barolos we had been tasting.
We visited with Alan Manley at Margherita Otto for our last winery visit. Alan himself is an amazing and fascinating character – you can read his biography on his website – and the operation is tiny – he just brought on his first employee after years of working by himself. He hosts all visits himself and you get true and deep insight into his winemaking style and what he learned from working with many of the legends of the region. The wines are also fantastic (and very reasonably priced for their quality).
-Fine, but can pass: Paolo Scavino – there is nothing wrong with a visit here (and their library cellar is cool to see), but this felt like the most “corporate” of the tastings we did by a wide margin
Restaurants: It is very hard to eat poorly in Piedmont…we had an incredible food experience
-Strongly recommended:
Osteria Veglio - recommended by many others on this forum - sit on the patio
Vineria Sociale - a wine bar in La Morra and the true “find” of the trip; we ended up eating here because they served a bottle I wanted to try (Philine Isabelle’s barolo - fantastic), and the food ended up being a surprise highlight of the trip – fantastic and light, a great contrast to many of the heavy meals you will be having here…
-Recommended:
Trattoria La Coccinella - hyperlocal place run by three brothers; traditional food is excellent, and even better when enjoyed with a bottle of Accomasso…
Trattoria della Posta - we snuck in for lunch one day between tastings. Lovely, local spot run by a chef husband and wife; we sat in the lovely courtyard backyard and had a fantastic surprise of a lunch
-Not bad, but can skip: Osteria delle Aie - their schtick is that they only open magnums and bring various bottles around to each table to create a community / festive feel…the vibe is good, but unfortunately none of the wine was, and the food was fine
Activities
-We hiked from the town of Barolo to La Morra and back – you can walk directly through vineyards most of the way – fantastic and recommended way to get a feel for the region
-Truffle hunting - our hotel organized a very fun, hour long experience on the property (with a very cute dog)
Garda
On our way between Piedmont and the Dolomites, we stopped for two nights at Lake Garda. On our way, we stopped for lunch at Christian e Manuel in Vercelli on a friend’s recommendation. The restaurant, with two brothers as chefs, is famous for its many risottos, and while they were lovely (and it was very fun to be served by the brothers’ mother), I would probably not recommend detouring as we did unless you are quite nearby.
On Lake Garda, we stayed in Sirmeone, which, as many on this board have noted, is overrun by tourists. I would not recommend staying more than a day or two, and only if staying at Villa Cortine, an oasis on the tip of Sirmeone jutting into the lake. The hotel itself is full of charm (and somewhat reasonably priced given its location), and we enjoyed a nice couple of days relaxing on their jetty. We had one enjoyable dinner at Osteria al Torcol on the recommendation of this board; the food was good (and given the saturation of the surrounding tourists traps, likely the best we would have done in town), but I am not rushing back
Dolomites
We split our trip into two parts – hut-to-hut hiking, followed by a couple of restful / hard-earned days at a lovely hotel
Hut-to-hut hiking
After a night in Bolzano (with a good, representative dinner at Vogele and a forgettable, if serviceable, stay at Parkhotel Mondschein), we set out for four days of hiking along Alta Via 9 (a less traveled West / East route that we picked in the hopes of avoiding a mass of day hikers).
Day 1: From St. Zyprian to Rifugio Alpes di Tires. An absolutely spectacular day (one of the two hiking highlights). We saw a total of two others parties on a hike that began on a gradual rise through PNW-like forests and ended with a sharp ascent through a cliff-like mountain pass. We reached our Rifugio around noon and had a fantastic mountain lunch before relaxing until another fantastic meal for dinner. The Rifugio was the cleanest / most well appointed of our stay; I could not recommend more strongly.
Day 2: From Rifugio Alpes di Tires to Hotel Passo Sella Dolomiti Mountain Resort. OK, we cheated a bit on our hut-to-hut…This was really a day of two hikes. Departing from Alpes di Tires, we enjoyed a largely downhill, sparsely populated stroll through alpine meadows with cows grazing on both sides (a highlight were the highly-protective, but well-fenced off herding dogs) until we reached Riguio Sasso Piatto, where we stopped for a nice cup of coffee. Sasso Piatto seems to be the terminus for day hikers, and from that point until reaching Passo Sella, the trails were unfortunately overrun with day hikers. On reaching Sella, we had originally planned to stay at one of the several rifugios, but after being less-than-impressed with the accommodations, pivoted to staying at the adequate Hotel Passo Sella. We were able to salvage the evening with a lovely dinner at Rifugio Salei (we had initially tried to reserve a night here, but they require a 2/3 night minimum during high season).
Days 3 and 4: From Monti Pallidi to Rifugio Boe. The second of the two hiking highlights. Another day of two hikes: After audibling our accommodations the night before, we took an early bus to Monti Pallidi, which we had haphazardly chosen on Google Maps as a starting point. This turned out to be partially true - while the hiking to our first major waypoint, Passo Pordoi, was pleasant, the paths were variable and meandering. We reached Passo Pordio as it began to downpour, and we stopped for a nice cup of coffee and lunch at the cafe at the base before setting back out towards Rifugio Boe. The hike is brutal, with many vertical feet of steep switchbacks before reaching the highly primitive Rifugio Forcella Pordoi. But we were rewarded with equally spectacular landscape, transitioning on reaching the summit from alpine meadows to a striking, sparse moonscape. A couple more miles and we reached Rifugio Boe. While the rifugio is a bit plainer than Alpes di Tires, this can be forgiven – given the remoteness of the site, the rifugio is supplied once a month by helicopter, and with that context, the accomodations and food are nothing short of remarkable. After a nice evening, we descended via cable car back to Passo Pordoi to conclude a remarkable 4 days in the Dolomites.
South Tyrol
Dusty and muddy after 4 days on the trails, we arrived at the spectacular Castel Fragsburg – the concluding highlight of our time in Northeast Italy. Our time was spent largely relaxing at the pool and the lovely “alchemic” spa and eating at the lovely restaurant (the breakfast spread is a particular highlight) – though, gluttons for punishment as we are, we also hiked down to spend a pleasant afternoon in the charming town of Merano. We could not recommend Castel Fragsburg enough – a hotel truly “of the place.”
Milan
Flying back to Miami via Milan, we spent two nights at the Park Hyatt (a perfectly nice, high-end business hotel and right next to the Duomo – I would stay elsewhere on my next visit, but it is perfect for first-time visitors to Milan). We had a fantastic dinner at Rovello, a board favorite, and unfortunately for me, “enjoyed” a full day of shopping. I did manage for us to sneak in a lunch at Ravioleria Sarpi – a lovely spot for dumplings in Chinatown, which hit the spot after many days of northern Italian food – and a glass of wine across the street at Cantina Isola, a wine bar that, despite being historical, remains vibrant and alive.
Overall, this was a true trip of a lifetime, made all the more sweet given we were celebrating my wife completing residency. We could not recommend visiting this part of the world more and look forward to our own return. Don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions or recommendations!