Admittedly, the list is six years old, but I still find it apt. Probably there is also a more recent one to be found on the vinous website.
Personal favorites are Antica Corona Reale and La Coccinella.
La Coccinella is outstanding, it’s in the Alta Langa not far from Dogliani.
1 Like
For dining, my favorite places are
La Repubblica in Perno (eat there twice every week when I am there)
Osteria Veglio in Annunziata
L’Argaj in Castiglione Falletto (more for lunch, more modern take on food with a terrific view
For the vibe, I love la Sarracca up the hill in Monforte d’Alba. My favorite place to grab a drink as well. Happy hour there is a must IMO
Centro Storico for some bubbles and casual food
I ate at Roberto Conterno’s new place Belsit (the old Bovio) a couple weeks ago. It is more white tablecloth and Michelin aspiring. I thought the service was excellent, the food excellent and the wine list very fairly priced. It has the same architectural feel as the inside of his winery, modern and elegant with a terrific view. I thought the food prices were very fair as well.
Il Centro in Priocca for fancy old school with a serious list
dell Arco in Cissone
La Coccinella
I agree that Vajra is a great visit.
I think Oddero has been the most impressive improvement-realization of potential of any winery in the Langhe one the last few years.
Smaller places I would rec for tasting that I think really do a solid job and are not the prime time coveted visits:
Keeping visits close to Verduno:
Burzi
Crissante Alessandria: a new winery for me this year and I am impressed.
Try hard to take with Nicola at Trediberri. He is a terrific host.
Fratelli Alessandria
Castello di Verduno
I will post my TN’s from my trip in a few days.
Two chocolate places to seek out:
Cogno in La Morra, tiny off the road place to buy direct in La Morra.
Also go to Ravera Chocolate place in Cherasco. Fantastic. Fancier stuff and my favorite chocolate in the Area
If you will be there on a Saturday AM go to the market in Alba. Find the local area and seek out the local cheesemongers ( the main ones at the main part are said, but there are three in the local area that have some pretty special stuff.
Hope you’ve a great visit.
Cheers
2 Likes
My three favourites for dining are:
Le Torri in Castiglione
La Repubblica in Perno
La Coccinella in Serravalle
I was there at the end of April for the first time. Guided by friends who now live there. Some of these mentioned further up the thread.
Restaurants:
Osteria Veglio - Near La Morra. Everything perfect.
Belsit - I actually disagree on the earlier comment. It was a nice setting but food was a clear step down from other places and wine options thinner.
Osteria More e Macine - In La Morra. Enjoyed the food and wine.
L’Aromatario - Great wine, good food in Neive. A place winemakers hang out
Osteria Italia Citabiunda - Probably my top pick all around for food and wine, but no view.
One tip on all of these. If there is a particular producer you’re looking to try but don’t see on the list, it’s worth an ask.
Produttori del Barbaresco - I was able to drop in and taste current release Langhe Nebbiolo and base Barbaresco, but not a true visit.
Other visits I arranged by importer. Agree that big names will be harder to get into without connections.
It occurs to me that one good reason to visit Vajra is that their home vineyards are in Barolo and Novello, but they also have the Baudana line of wines from Serralunga at the other end of the DOCG area, which tend to be denser and more masculine.
Right in Verduno, you can also taste the differences across the appellation side by side at Fratelli Allesandria, as they have mostly Verduno vines but also Gramolere in Monforte.
2 Likes
Unfortunately the experiences and tastings can vary a lot now and I found it a much more streamlined tasting. I’m glad that they’ve expanded a lot, but the tasting I had felt very corporate compared to what others have experienced and what I experienced in 2016. It was limited to 6 wines and none of them were from the Baudana line
These are great recommendation, thanks.
Excellent thread. I was just in Piemonte a couple of weeks ago and dined at Veglio, Vignaiolo and Il Centro (Priocca). Each excellent. Veglio has an epic view across the region. Il Centro is a more formal, Michelin star type place, but very very good. Epically huge wine list (though a bit of a drive from the Barolo area). In general I loved the wine lists at these restaurants, so many excellent well priced options.
One place I didn’t get to try was Agnulot in Verduno. Super tiny but supposed to be quite special. Anyone been there?
More e Macine in La Morra is definitely worth a trip. Terrific, casual dining. Amazing BTG program…lots of higher end bottles open and listed on the board when you walk in. Outdoor dining area. Place the locals hang. Cool town. Even has a carousel like Beaune. Great views.
Great thread, we visited this past Sept as well as a few weeks ago ( shorter trip for 3 days). Many of our favorites are listed above and will summarize
Wineries:
Frateli Alessandria in Verduno and Burlotto. Will be easiter to get into F Alessandria but Burlotto is worth a shot. They are both right in the village. We LOVE Alessandria and the wines are easier to find and an incredible value. The 21s are fantastic.
GD Vajra- we visited on both these last trips with Francesca. Wonderful visit and you can taste Vajra and Baudana wines. Highly recommend
F Rinaldi- you can do the same day you visit Vajra. Wines keep getting better and better. Canubi, Bussia, Rocche
Elio Grasso in Monforte- highly recommend a visit here and the 21s should be fantastic
Cavallotto- wonderful wines.
Trediberri- they only host visits on Monday typically. Shoot them an email. A visit with Nicola is terrific fun and the wines are great.
P. Scavino- wines are a bit more modern but excellent. 21’s go great reviews.
Restaurants- I think all mentioned above
Serralunga- Vinoteca Centro Storico- you can walk in but if it’s a Fri/Sat make a reservation
Osteria Veglio in Annunziata- down the hill from La Morra. Our absolute favorite. Lunch on the patio or dinner on Fri/Sat- great food, people and wine list
Il Centro in Priocca- great experience. We did a nice long Sunday lunch.
Le Torrie in Castiglione Fallatto- excellent and deep well priced list. some real gems on the list.
Belsit- we need to go back. It was raining and I wasn’t feeling well when we visited. I did find the service too stiff and formal. The food was very good but how i felt overshadowed our experience. Lunch on the deck should be amazing for location/view alone.
La Coccinella- For a bit of a twist. They have very good seafood and overall it’s excellent with a very well priced list. Only issue is it’s 30 minutes from Verduno. We loved it.
Too bad the great info gets split into so many threads - some places like Paris have one thread, but others get a new one each time someone asks.
Todd, maybe subforums in travel forum would help, perhaps by wine region or country.
Surprised no one has mentioned Brovia for tasting and Trattoria Della Poste (but I haven’t been in almost 10 years, had my 60th birthday party there)
I was there this past week. Still fantastic! My only quibble would be that the wine list wasn’t as deep as other places I went, but the food was some of my favorite during my 4 days.
I loved Della poste vastly more than my experience at La Ciau del Tornavento for my birthday
Went to della posta a year or two ago. Quite stiff. Wine list was very decimated. And then the somm didn’t let us order the one thing we actually wanted from the list, and instead cajoled us to take something we were quite sure wouldn’t be in a good drinking spot. We should have frankly just walked out of there. Food was actually pretty good though.
I forget to mention Locanda in Cannubi. Would be perfect to set up lunch there after Vajra. Great spot.
For shopping I like Cantina Comunale di La Morra with great selection of La Morra wines and the best hazelnuts.
1 Like
Great thread Brian, sounds like a fun trip ahead. Not been to Piedmont yet, but visiting Giacosa and Conterno are sure bucket list visits for me when we do make it out there. I totally agree with your friend, the Produttori del Barbaresco coop would be very interesting visit too. No one mentioned the iconic Bartolo Mascarello or Giuseppe Mascarello. If Maria Teresa is still hosting, that would also be a bucket list visit for me. Anyone know if you can get into these wineries for a visit/tasting?
again, THANK YOU to all who contributed.
I will be sure to circle back with a trip recap.
Cheers all…
I’m currently planning a trip to Italy and will spend a couple days/nights in Piedmont. These tips are great. Haven’t decided yet which commune to stay in (if it makes much difference with having a rental car to get around).
Just curious, are there any wineries that pour a couple whites as part of their lineup? Want to ensure my wife enjoys this leg of our trip too, she’s a big fan of moscato and riesling.
A lot of places will have Arneis and possibly even Chardonnay or some Sparkling Langa. Fenocchio has a cool thing where they now do a macerated Arneis along with a classic Arneis