Piemonte Vineyards

The Great Wines of Piemonte

14 - 18 September 2009

Piemonte is the premium wine region of Italy and we are very pleased to feature it in our Reserve Collection. This is a very high quality, in depth tour that will appeal to all lovers of great wine as well as our regular Italophile clients for whom, we suspect, it will be un-missable.

Our base for the tour is a beautiful 18th Century Palazzo, now restored as a boutique hotel, which we take over for our exclusive use. It is in the heart of the attractive town of Alba, home of the famous market and truffle fair.

We begin with dinner at a Michelin star restaurant. Piemontese cuisine is the most refined in Italy, with such classics as Vitello Tonnato, Tajarin pasta and Brasato al Barolo. It also offers intense chocolate and hazelnut desserts and both white and black truffles when in season.

On the first morning, the wine guide will host an in depth comparative tasting to outline the grape varieties and sub regions of the area. The grape variety for both Barolo and Barbaresco is the Nebbiolo grape, which is seen by many as the other 'holy grail' red variety along with Pinot Noir. The Langhe is the heart of the leading vineyards of Piemonte, whereas coming from the Roero on the other side of the River Tanaro, there are very interesting and attractive wines, particularly made from Barbera and the white Arneis.

We continue for lunch at one of the great rising stars of the region, 'La Spinetta', to taste their outstanding Barolos.

Next morning we head to the tiny village and small DOCG of Barbaresco, to possibly the most famous Italian wine estate, Gaja. Angelo Gaja was responsible for the shake up of the wines of the region starting in the late 1960's. His wines from carefully selected parcels, now have legendary status. Gaja only rarely receives visitors and we are immensely privilidged and pleased to be visiting him. In the same village we lunch with the award winning Produttori di Barbaresco, where we will enjoy a mini vertical tasting of some of their excellent single vineyard crus.

Early in the evening we go to Bra for a tasting and dinner with the ebullient Matteo Ascheri. We taste his single vineyard cru selections and truly understand the importance of terroir here. We are very pleased to have been visiting Matteo Ascheri for about 15 years. When we first visited him he was according to the pundits only 'middle rank' but we thought that he was being seriously under-estimated. We were right and now of course he is always mentioned in the top handful of Barolo producers. This will be a superb evening with great wines paired with delicious Piemontese cuisine.

Next day we follow the winding roads through some of the most expensive vineyard real estate in the world up to the village of Barolo. Just outside the village we meet Aldo Vajra, a quiet but determined wine-maker. Vajra's Barolos are complex, even divine, as benefiting the extreme attention he bestows on his grapes. (The last time we visited he was extracting the seeds of the grapes by hand).

We will drive a little around the Barolo region to see the lay out of the vineyards and villages of the Barolo denomination, spotting some of the most famous single vineyard 'crus'. Cordero de Montezemolo are our next visit and our lunch with this very welcoming family at their domaine. Cordero de Montezemolo are another must know, must taste and must buy producer. Their style is modernist with delightful wines that are at once easy to drink, concentrated and serious. Cordero de Montezemolo don't just produce fine Barolo, their Barbera is also a sensation.

This afternoon, we continue to perhaps of the most revered of all names in Barolo - Aldo Conterno - for an unforgettable tasting of his ethereal wines.

Dinner this evening is in the Slow Food Association's Osteria in Alba. For some this restaurant is sort of the world capital of great, traditional gourmet food. This will be another wonderful dinner of Piemontese specialities, prepared with love of and total respect for traditional recipes and local ingredients. It will be accompanied by a tasting of the wines of a further range of rising star producers.

Our last day is spent in Turin, where you can enjoy lunch at one of their classic cafés and many museums merit a longer stay, so we are happy to arrange for you to stay on here.

Extend your stay

Stay on in Turin: a further 2 nights in a 4* hotel in Turin can be arranged to incorporate this itinerary into a longer holiday.
Explore the beautiful city of Turin and visit the museums, shops, classic cafés and great restaurants.

If you wish to continue on to Milan for a couple of days, to see an opera at La Scala: On the 18th Verdi’s Don Carlo is performed On the 18th and a ballet Sogno di una notte di mezza estate is performed on the 19th.

For details please call the office on 01730 263111.