We are traveling ot italy again and want to check out piedmonte's wine region. unfortunately there is not a lot of info on the web and the small areas we would like to see are difficult to gain information about. They say that piedmonte is undiscovered by tourist but it's quite beautiful and the food and wine are to die for? Any suggestions, good eats, agroturismo, small towns to visit?
Reply to this Hi there,
Piedmont is the place, especially if you like red wine. Go there after september, too hot in august. Better still october and november, truffle season. Alba white truffle is the best in the world. Budget: high.
Wine areas: Barbaresco and Barolo, close to Neive-Alba (LANGHE). Just drive around these commons and taste. A good bottle starts 30. White truffle is around 50 each GRAM.
Barbera in Monferrato: south and NE of Asti, great places to eat, especially starters and red meat (brasato)
Ghemme: in the north of the region, close to the lake area. More tourists, though, and less food quality
Other things to try: bagna cauda (a garlic&anchovie dip for vegetables, in the area of Cinzano).
True, not many tourists around, thank god. So in Monferrato and Langhe expect great to incredible food, according to budget.
When are you going?
Marco
Reply to this My mom, one sibling and myself ...we will hope to travel some time between end aug-oct 2008 for approx 3 weeks, we've done rome, tuscany tour and liked it but we had the entire family 6 kids in all (which included 2 two year olds) didn't get to too many restaurant and museum visits. The trip was fabulous just a different speed. We are contemplating venice however it's not final, piedmonte or lake como, florence and back to rome. Our main goals are good food, better wine and fabulous shopping that's what we do. We'll visit a few sights but mainly we SHOP, sit in piazzas drink espresso and absorb the wonderful lifestyle. Thanks for the piedmonte tips info is difficult to come by for that region??
Reply to this i can recommend a place in capriglio, twentyfive kms from torino and asti- a small agritourism that produces their own wine with an authentic piemontese restaurant and rooms to stay in...its called cascina piola and the owners are raffa and piero...raffa speaks english, french, and italian her number is 0141997447. its worth your time even if you dont stay with them because they've been farming the land for 20 or more years and are very knowledgeable of the area and all it has to offer!! cheers and good luck!
Reply to this Turin/Torino, the region’s capital, has been my home for the last ten years in Italy. It is fantastic and offers everything that Tuscany does but more, including - dare I say it - better food and wine. In fact the best Italian cooking and Italian food on the whole peninsular! I actually love the place so much that I built a site about it -
It is really the most wonderful Italian region, Five of the top things to see are:
1) The Langhe wine route. This is an ancient territory, rich in visual and culinary pleasures There is so much to see around here - lovely little towns, beautiful scenery and of course the vineyards, up and down the hills and valleys they flow in gorgeous colour. The best way to explore is on foot or by bicycle but failing that a car is essential.
2) The Lake region - lake Orta and Maggiore. Lake Orta is my favourite, an absolutely magical place.
3) The Alps that virtually surround Piedmont. Most well known here are the famous ski resorts which are the best in Italy but the Alps have much more than this. Gorgeous mountain towns and some amazing historical sites, the definitely should not be missed.
4) Wonderful towns like Saluzzo and Montiglio.
5) Turin - the setting alone is breathtaking. numerous rivers flow through the city including the mighty Po river, it is surrounded by an alpine backdrop with world famous ski resorts and overlooked by a hill that is as beautiful as anything in Tuscany.
The city centre is still regal in appearance with wide squares, arcaded avenues (so royalty could walk without getting wet!) and of course the palaces, Palazzo Reale, Palazzo Madama, Reggia di Venaria and Stupinigi.These palaces are an equal to anything that Versailles and Paris can offer and are now UNESCO World Heritage sites.
There is plenty more and the food alone is worth the trip. Piedmont must be the only place in the world with a gourmet university.
Reply to this DEAR ANDREW- THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE GREAT TIPS! IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU AND YOUR WIFE ARE ENJOYING YOU ITALIAN LIFE....LUCKY! I WILL DEFINATELY CHECK OUT YOUR WEBSITE. THERE IS NOT MUCH INFO OUT THERE ABOUT PIEDMONT. WE HAVE PLANS TO VISIT WINERY SITES ASTI, ALBA, BARESCO, BAROLO ETC WHAT SMALL TOWNS DO YOU RECOMEND...WE LOVE TO DRINK WINE, ESPRESSO, SHOP! SHOP! SHOP! AND GOOD FOOD? MOST OF THE TRAVEL BOOKS I HAVE READ IN REGARDS TO TURIN ARE NEGATIVE SO I WAS A LITTLE SCARED OFF FROM VISITING? WE WILL DO VENICE, TO PEIDMONT, FLORENCE TO ROME 3 WEEKS TOTAL. ARE YOU AMERICANS? ANYWAY THANKS FOR THE GREAT IN SIGHT AND I WILL BROWSE YOUR WEBSITE MORE CAREFULLY THANKS AGAIN! CHEERS! E. SMITH (SHORTSTAX)
Reply to this My pleasure shortstax - enjoy your stay in Piedmont. Turin is a lovely city - the edge of town is a bit industrialized but the city center itself is wonderful. I would definitely recommend you visit the towns of Alba, La Morra, Saluzzo and Barolo. The Val di Susa and Val di Lanzo are also great places to visit and another interesting small town is Montiglio. Try to also visit Lake Orta if you can - the little island in the middle of the lake is very special
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