Italy: Piedmont 5 nights

The Region

While not Italy's largest producing region, Piedmont does offer the highest number of Classified DOC and DOCG wines and is home to two of Italy's most esteemed wines: Barola and Barbaresco. Made from the Nebbiola grape these wines are big, rich, long-lived tannic wines with full bouquets...but they are "sensitive" to their terroir, or site-specific as it is called so wine from vineyards literally across the road can differ immensely! Too expensive for everyday drinking, the most popular wine for daily consumption is Barbera which offers a lighter body with less tannins and more acidity - and a taste of cherries. It goes superbly with tomato-based pasta sauces. Piedmont also gives the wine world Moscato, the sweet and now very trendy dessert wine and Asti Spumante, Italy's most famous sparkling wine since 1850 but now with its DOCG status in 1995, is labeled simply as Asti.

The Must Sees & Dos

Besides the wine and incredible countryside, chocolate, honey, cheese and salame artisans and if you go in the fall, a Truffle Hunt. Also, you really won't want to miss the Wine Bank, part of a multi-million-euro food & wine complex built in King Carlo Alberto's 19th Century hunting lodge of the Agenzia di Pollenzo estate. Opened in 2004 and created in association with the Slow Food organization, it is dedicated to preserving traditional values and quality of cuisine and act as an historic repository for 50,000 bottles of Italian wines. It also includes a professional cooking school and the Michelin-starred Ristorante Guido. And, since you are sooo close, our Managing Director will beg you to stay in Milan so you can shop the hippest designs and trendiest fashions in Italy if not all of Europe as well as catch a viewing of Leonardo DaVinci's Last Supper which is absolutely not to-be-missed!

Wineries You May Visit

Properties will be a selection of producers to give the broadest possible experience of the styles of winemaking of each region. Some smaller producers do not speak English. Therefore choice of visits is dependent on guests' ability in Italian language, as well as normal constraints of time of year and advance booking notice. All visits are requested on an individual basis and winemakers' schedules can fill well in advance at certain times of the year. Visits are personally selected by Peter Smith, based on his extensive experience in the region, and are often with winemakers who are personal friends of his. Here are a few of those...Brezza, Gaja, Ca'Rome', Rivetto, Nada, Pio Cesare, Giacosa, Mascarello, Batasiolo, Ratti and Conterno among others.

Accommodation

Hotel Villa La Favorita is a beautiful, family-owned villa which is also part of a working winery. It is situated in the midst of hillside vineyards outside the town of Alba, the main town of the Barolo/Barabaresco wine region, with lovely grounds. Cooking classes are provided in the country kitchen of this lovely house, overlooking the valleys of vineyards and the town of Alba.

Inclusions

• 6 days and 5 Nights hotel in shared double/twin room including taxes.
• 5 breakfasts
• 1 winery lunch, including fine wines, paired with food
• 2 dinners: 1 welcome gourmet dinner on arrival, 1 gourmet dinner with cooking lesson
• 1 visit to Grappa producer, including tasting fees
• 8 VIP winery visits, including
• All wine tasting fees
• Artisan visit - Toma cheese and Cotto salame producer.
• For self-drive program: includes rental car or van, maps and detailed driving instructions/tips if you choose this option.
• For private chauffeur program: includes car or van , wine expert driver & guided commentary if you choose this option.
• for days and nights when lunch or dinner is not included, wine world management will provide recommended dining establishments and even make your reservation at no additional charge. (Note: transportation to/from dinner is not included, and will be arranged with local taxis as needed)

Exclusions

Round trip airfare, customs fees, telephone, tips and taxis, alcoholic beverages, wine and dining there not are not specifically included in itinerary and personal items.

Pricing:

All prices shown are per person double occupancy (twin share) and ultimately depend on program chosen, preferred accommodation, number of guests and type/size of rental car if self-drive. Prices that "can be as low as" refer to lowest per person price possible based on a group (3 couples, etc) of six like-minded wine and gourmet dining enthusiasts traveling together.

Self Drive Program priced from $2,419.00 per person double occupancy but can be as low as $2,169.00 based on the number of travelers in your party.

Chauffeur Program priced from $5,379.00 per person double occupancy but can be as low as $3,099.00.

Please Note: For our clients who do not wish to worry about driving and following our spot-on directions, we recommend our private chauffeur-driven and guided version of the same itinerary but with wonderful local knowledge, insider information and "flavour" that only an experienced and friendly Italian driver / guide can provide. It's truly a great value and a relaxing, fun experience.

Piedmont Wine World Itinerary

Your Wine World adventure can begin on Monday or Tuesday. Truffle season is from October the 1st till January the 10th!

Day 1
Pick up your rental car in Milan (either downtown or at the airport) and follow directions supplied to drive to the Piemontese wine region and your accommodation just outside the town of Alba, famous for both wine and truffles. You can take your time, stopping along the way if you wish, or head straight here (driving time is about 2 hours) to get settled into your accommodation, a lovely privately-owned guest house and cooking school officially recognized as a historic residence.

Once you arrive you are free to relax in the house or its lovely gardens, do a little exploration around the Barolo and Barbaresco wine regions, as the mood takes you, before your first vineyard visit in the mid-afternoon.
Return to your accommodation to freshen up before dinner.

Our welcome dinner will be at the Enoclub, with delicious local cuisine and a huge choice of wines, in an old cellar in Alba's center.

Day 2
Today is your day for tasting the wines of the Barolo and Barbaresco regions, where some of the most famous wines in Italy have been produced. Barolos, made from the Nebbiolo grape, are very long-aging wines that can command some of the highest prices in Italy, and Barbarescos are a delicious if somewhat lighter-styled wine from the same grape. Don't overlook the humble Barbera grape, however, which in recent years has been producing better and better wines under the Barbera d'Alba appellation, and represents a fantastic value and very drinkable wine - often much better suited to certain foods than the heaviest Barolos.

We have arranged a morning visit to a top winemaker, followed lunch at a lovely restaurant that's part of a winery, hosted by a Mother and Son team who cook delicious local cuisine and make you feel completely welcome. During warm weather you can eat on the terrace with an amazing view over the Langhe and Roero, and the food is always great!
This afternoon we have also arranged for you to visit two more of the top wineries of this region, where you will learn some of the history and discover why these wines have such a rich history.

Dinner reservations can be made for you by advance request in any of our recommended restaurants at no extra charge, or you can choose to make your own arrangements.


Day 3
This morning you'll visit a top winemaker in the Barolo region, then make a stop at the Antica Torroneria, a world-renowned confectioner's shop to see and taste some wonderful creations from the hazelnuts of the local Langhe region, as you watch the workers making nougat. Enjoy a scenic drive through the winding roads of Piemonte into the Roero region. This area is less known, but has excellent wines nevertheless, at a fraction of the price of Barolo and Barbaresco. Lunch as your fancy takes you as you explore the area, then we have arranged a visit with one of Roero's top producers in the mid-afternoon. Coming back to your hotel you may want to visit the castle of Barolo, Serralunga or Grinzane Cavour, any of which merit a stop.

Day 4
In the morning you'll drive out to Pollenzo to visit the Wine Bank, part of a multi-million-euro food & wine complex built in King Carlo Alberto's 19th Century hunting lodge of the Agenzia di Pollenzo estate. Opened in 2004 and created in association with the Slow Food organization, it also includes a professional cooking school and the 4-star restaurant Ristorante Guido. If you wish we can arrange lunch for you at Guido - advance reservations are essential - or you can lunch less formally in the village. The wine bank was designed to preserve a selection of Italy's finest wines so that they can mature fully, as so many were disappearing completely very soon after release - part of the philosophy of Slow Food, which aims to preserve traditional values and quality of cuisine, and is gaining great support from Italy's best chefs and winemakers. You can simply browse the historic collection of over 50,000 bottles, or choose to taste one or more of the selected flights - special tastings can be arranged in advance.

We've arranged just one winery visit for you this afternoon, then a stop at a Grappa producer to see how Italy's most famous spirit is created. There should be a little time left to go into Alba to explore the town and its historic center, which has some very nice shopping, cafes and restaurants. You may wish to stay in town for dinner at your choice of restaurants, or drive the short distance back you your hotel to freshen up first.

Day 5
In the morning you'll be able to visit with two more of the region's leading winemakers, then take your choice of lunch stops in one of the villages nestled between the rolling hills and valleys. Other stops you may wish to make on your way could include delicious chocolate producers in either Cherasco or Torino, or a "Toma" cheese and salame cotto producer in Murazzano. The hilltop village of Mondovì is famous for its pottery craftsmen, or you may wish to visit the modern art exhibits of Cappella di Sol or Castello di Rivol.

This afternoon you will enjoy a cooking class with your hostess to learn the secrets of one of the finest cooks in the region. The lesson begins with demonstrations, then a chance for you to get hands-on practice yourself, and ends with everyone enjoying the fruits of your labor over dinner. A wonderful way to end your stay in this pretty region!

Day 6
Check out of your accommodation and drive into Milan, according the rest of your chosen itinerary.

Note: Your rental car, if on a self-drive tour, runs from the time you picked up on the first day to the same time on this day. If you keep the car longer than this you will incur additional costs.