Asked and answered. Thank you!
I’ll be heading back to the area for my second visit next month. I decided to stay in La Morra this time as well. I visited last time and had a great so this visit we’ll go ahead and stay there. Osteria Veglio is my first reservation.
Have a great trip!
Yes it’s good. Slightly less touristy than Barolo itself, but a little more so than the other Barolo villages. Plenty of good and fairly priced restaurants. Excellent walking directly through the vineyards, which is something I feel too many miss out on in trying to squeeze too many winery visits in (alongside two big meals a day). One lunchtime, grab some good picnic food and a bottle of something modest like a dolcetto or Barbera (and a corkscrew) and plot a circular route through some of the vineyards, stopping when you find a spot that appeals. Shared ownership means open access, though of course be respectful of vineyard workers and best get out of that area if they are spraying.
Wineries in La Morra. Back when the modernist/traditionalist rift was strong, we had an interesting trip where we tasted across the spectrum. It was a good experience to challenge preconceptions, but also interesting how interested producers were in where else we were tasting. I came away still a fan of the traditional, but with greater appreciation of (to steal Pat Burton’s grouping) modernist leaning wineries.
Winery tips (from those we’ve visited and not ‘the usual suspects’)
- Cascina Ballarin down beyond Annunziata on the main road. Notable for a chance to taste a nascetta, plus a very good langhe nebbiolo that can share the hint of white truffle of some of their Barolo wines at a fraction of the price. Might be worth double checking the booking on arrival in La Morra, as they forgot we were coming on two separate occasions!
- Mauro Molino. One of those modernist leaning producers that helped change our perceptions. The (early 20s) kids were friendly and professional, but many years later might be running it. If so, I’m sure they will be in capable hands.
- Renato Ratti. For the wines, honestly I’m not sure it’s a good recommendation. However it’s a remarkably impressive winery construction for the region, plus they had wonderful posters of vintage assessments available going back 100+ years.
- Marcarini. Actually we never visited them, and I’m not sure why. However I really like their somewhat foursquare traditional wines, that can age decades with ease. If going back, they’d be on my list. Instead we visited (Renzo) Accomasso, one of the most memorable wine visits we’ve had. Not suggesting this unless you have good Italian language skills.
Not a restaurant, but a foodie place to visit in Milan is Peck. This is a food store with every high end food item available in the area. Huge wine shop, large butcher shop, even larger deli selection, and more fresh pasta than I thought existed. Prepared foods, Parmigiano-Reggiano out to six years of age, Prosciutto di Parma, Jamon Iberico - you name it, they had it. The only thing I didn’t see there was saffron, but I probably didn’t look hard enough. Prices were higher than at the town markets we visited in Florence and Bologna, but the selection and convenience were stellar.
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Please report back on your trip! I realize that I said this fall in my post, but I actually booked for Sept. 2022–getting a bit ahead of myself.
We did Osteria Veglio during truffle season in 2016 and it was fabulous. It was also packed with wine geeks drinking great bottles. The list is top notch as I recall. Fun experience.
I can’t remember who is traveling when, but quick word of warning, my trip is coming up in about three weeks (mid-November) and a LOT of places are completely booked for lunch and dinner already. Several of my top choices only have a waitlist available. Clearly travel is picking up and people are going out. I’ve also heard that this years truffle harvest is not nearly what it has been in the past and prices are way up.
So far I’ve got confirmed reservations at Ratana and 28 Posti in Milan, might switch Ratana out for Trippa if I can get a table. I’m hoping to visit Cantine Isola and maybe N’Ombra de Vin as well. I’ve sent a note to Comtraste as well but haven’t heard back.
In Piemonte, so many places are booked solid. I’m on the waitlist for my favorite (Osteria Veglio) but have a table at Tre Case for our first night just in case. Still waiting to hear back from Il Centro for Sunday lunch. Last lunch at Monday is confirmed at Bovio. Ciau is full, Guido is full, several others as well. If anyone else has any favorites that might still have space, I’m open for suggestions.
That’s a very long way of saying that you should book early! Can’t believe how full everything is right now.
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A good suggestion. For anyone interested in food, I’d certainly recommend it. There are also a few other decent specialist shops in the streets around it.
The wine likewise recommended to visit, though in my slightly contrarian manner, I was both impressed and unimpressed. Clearly the wine buyer(s) had been given a clear steer and the budget to get ‘the best of the best’ in. The selection is very much a who’s who of wine, but that’s also the issue I had, that it was a selection that felt unimaginative. Where were the great discoveries that they’d unearthed? It didn’t seem like there was a place for them.
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Ian, I agree. We did a quick tour and headed back upstairs. I don’t see that big of a collection of very high-end wines in one place very often. After all, how many 3L bottles of d’Yquem does a store really need?
La Morra has always been my home base. I have stayed at Corte Gondina for years. Simple and not expensive located in the heart of La Morra. Bruno can arrange reservations and winery visits. The last time in 2019 I stayed at the new Relais Le Rocche across from Roberto Voerzio. Very nice property but not cheap.
Enoteca Cava Turacciolo (Bellagio)
Convivial, cosy setting, excellent smoked fish, unexpectedly excellent roast beef (carved like prosciutto and dotted with balsamic vinegar pearls), and an EUR88 bottle of 1996 Produttori Paje? Very yes
The Brothers Cafe (Como)
Cosy hole-in-the-wall cafe where they make their own pastries - delicious enough that we visited twice. Freshly baked pear cake and amaretti were standouts. Turns into a bar in the evening, but we didn’t try the cocktails
Ristorante Bilacus (Bellagio)
Ups and downs; really excellent tagliolini with bottarga and preserved lake fish, but the secondi piatti were anonymous and boring; tremendous assortment of Tuscan wines, but beware cloudy (and stingy) Coravin pours
edit:
Enoteca Le Torri (Alba)
Most of the wine shops in the area seemed generic and expensive, but there were some decent buys here: €120 1978 Borgogno Barolo Riserva, €13.50 2020 Nervi Rosato. Also €850 2013 Conterno Monfortino if anyone is feeling flush
Osteria La Libera (Alba)
Traditional food executed to a very high standard, best so far of the trip - tagliolini with white truffle, roast lamb chops, stuffed cabbage, vitello tonnato, panna cotta; gave us a large comfortable table where we could spread out; attentive and friendly service; white truffles perhaps not the highest quality but can’t complain at the prices (EUR40 per truffle entree); broad wine list with good value, though young-ish: 2010 Giovanni Sordo Barolo Rocche di Castiglione for EUR60
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Gelateria Al Rondo (San Damiano d’Asti)
Best gelato we’ve had on the trip so far, and we’ve had a lot. Ecuador dark chocolate, pistachio, chestnut, pear were all outstanding flavors
Just a quick thank you for posting these Yao.
We wanted to try this place, but we were still a bit paranoid about eating inside and the outdoor seating was taken. Sounds great!
My pleasure 
Also to echo Jeremy above, we are finding that in Barolo we can’t just walk into places day-of and expect a table. It’s not just for the top restaurants either: we completely struck out in Serralunga d’Alba for Sunday lunch and had to settle for a prosciutto sandwich from a bottega. Better to call ahead at least a few days in advance
Piazza Duomo (Alba)
Went in with tremendously high expectations given the 3* rating and very high price, and they delivered in many respects; there is balance and finesse, and a mastery that creates a natural, unforced deliciousness, in multiple instances redefining our sense of what’s possible; we had the Barolo menu, which featured six very carefully chosen wines that were synergistic to each dish; service was not perfect - they poured me a 1999 Cauhape Quintessence du Petit Manseng that was horribly brown and maderized, but I was so tipsy and delighted with the food that I let it go instead of rejecting it; would absolutely come again for a different tasting menu; standout dishes were:
- Pane di Carlo Alberto: crusty bread with anchovies - amazing
- Insalata vignaiola: tribute to traditional Piedmontese stuffed cabbage leaf; this was one of the tastiest salads I’ve ever had, wrapped in a very thin green crepe, and paired beautifully with an older (2008) Barolo chosen for its delicate tannins
- Never had rooibos with a risotto and a deliberately chosen modernist Barolo with heavy vanilla oak notes, but it works wonderfully
- The potato cream with egg yolk, lapsang souchong, and white truffle ranks as the finest expression of white truffle we’ve had in our lives
- Snails in the snail & polenta dish were delicate and flavorful, perhaps even better than the snail porridge we had at the Fat Duck years ago
- L’albese featured a veal carpaccio with shaved porcini, hazelnuts, and a consomme on the side; the consomme was enhanced by pouring the wine from the pairing straight into it, which was shocking but also delicious
Restaurant Le Torri (Castiglione Falletto)
Great view from the table; food is prepared with care, and is surprisingly intricate despite the richness of the preparations and the massive, massive portions; between the portion sizes and the included amuse bouche + petit fours you’d better come hungry; uovo croccante was magical - a breaded and fried egg, also a lovely fine texture to the skin of the ravioli del plin, and the biggest shock - a delicately fried seafood platter with perfectly textured octopus and a sauce reminiscent of teriyaki (the proper Japanese way, not sickly sweet); we didn’t order white truffle but now and then we’d get an intoxicating whiff from a neighboring table, and they seemed very generous with the truffle shavings; very understaffed but that’s okay when you’re having a leisurely lunch - just be prepared to spend well north of two hours there; highly recommended
We had a wonderful week in Alba and ate well in many places already mentioned. We had a great lunch here
My favorite memory was parking the car, walking past the kitchen which had a window, and seeing cookie sheets filled with fresh pasta.
We had a wonderful week in Alba and ate well in many places already mentioned. We had a great lunch here
My favorite memory was parking the car, walking past the kitchen which had a window, and seeing cookie sheets filled with fresh pasta.
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