We were in Torino in early June and spent a day visiting Barbaresco and Barolo. I have no doubt that the bucket list wineries (Conterno, Gaja, Giacosa) are fantastic, but we took the recommendation of ex-pats living in Torino and did a tour of a large commercial (based on volume) winery: Produttori, a medium sized family winery (100K+ bottles ): Cascina Ballardin and a small family winery (40K bottles): Cascina Galarin. It was a fantastic experience.
The views from the top of Barbaresco are stunning and the tasting at Produtorri was excellent, for a commercial tasting. We received pours of the Nebbiolo Langhe, 2020 Barbaresco and the 2021 Barbaresco. The 2021 is going to be a great vintage. I enjoyed the tasting, but it reminded me of the tastings you frequently have in the tasting rooms of higher volume Napa producers. Being able to buy the 2021 Produtorri at 26 Euros is fantastic, but I was disappointed that there were no opportunities to purchase library vintages. I am sure there are different levels of tastings and this was a great tasting, but I enjoyed the other tastings more because we were served by the winemakers, there was broader discussion about the region, winemaking, the challenges, and what it is like to be a winemaker in the region and you had the opportunty to buy wines not in the tasting (including library wines).
I highly recommend both Cascina Ballardin and Cascina Galarin. Alberto Ballardin served us 5 wines which were all fantastic and told us some great stories about the changes underway in the last decade at the winery in terms of climate, conditions, and the macro-economic environment.
The tasting at Cascina Galarin was even more intimate with Marco Galarin showing us the production site and pouring 5 wines.
I had never heard about Cascina Ballardin or Galarin before the trip, but their wines are fantastic and we came away with some great wines at a great price.
One final note on restaurants – Osteria Veglio is fantastic.
O.K. – one other final note – later in the trip in Rome I had the chance to drink the 2008 Roagna Barbaresco Vecchie Viti Asili. It was sublime. Another bucket list winery to try if you can get in . . . .
Don’t mean to hijack the thread, but we just booked our flights and plan to spend 3 days/2 nights in Piedmont. Likely looking at staying in Monforte or La Morra based on other thread recommendations. Are there any particular small producers worth visiting or easy to make an appointment with in these areas?
Really enjoyed Mauro Molino (just down the hill from La Morra) and Fratelli Alessandria (a few minutes away in Verduno).
Very easy to book. Nice people, fine wines.
Vajra- while not a small producer excellent wines and people.
F Alessandria- excellent wines in Verduno
Ellio Grasso- in Monforte. They continue to get better and better. The 21’s should be fantastic. Always a good visit when we’ve been.
Nice, I have added Molino since they fit in well with my itinerary one of our days in the area. Planning on a Molino → Osteria Veglio → Scavino trajectory
Already have the first two booked, though I have reached out to Elio Grasso to see if they have availability on one of the days I’m in Monforte d’Alba. Elio Grasso would likely be my final planned visit, in order to avoid overbooking/overscheduling and to leave time for exploration.
We really enjoyed our visits with Vajra and F Alessandria in early May. the 21’s are oustanding. We missed Ellio this time but were their in Sept last year.
I would say so. We did the Barolo tasting in 2021 and it was exceptional. Not sure how much fine dining experience you have, but they were very welcoming and it was not stuffy at all. To me, there aren’t many 3* on their level.
Excellent food. We’re planning to go back this year. That said their wine list prices are not great nor are their truffle prices compared to other very nice restaurants in the area. Whether the whole experience is worth the money depends on what you value. We did the high end Barolo pairing last time and I would not do that again. For me the food is definitely worth it because it’s very unique and supremely flavorful. So for me, do the regular menu or the chef’s menu, get a bottle of decent enough wine, focus on the food and save the coin on top tier wine + truffles for other places.
