Barolo Wineries and White Truffles: How To Holiday in Piedmont

A spectacular region of high peaks, fertile river plains speckled with villages and rolling hills swathed in vineyards, Piedmont, Italy, is a culinary and oenological powerhouse world-famous for its revered red and white wines – of which Barolo is first among equals. The region produces 19 Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (the highest Italian wine classification) wines, from robust Barolos and Barbarescos in medieval villages like La Morra, Barolo or Serralunga d’Alba to sparkling whites around Asti.

And it’s not just wines that flourish here. Piedmont is also known for its aromatic (and massively expensive) white truffles and a robust cuisine based on hazelnuts, risotto rice and hard cheeses. Beyond that, the region packs a punch culturally too; you can spend days exploring sophisticated Turin, with its handsome Baroque-era architecture, or discovering the ancient Roman remains and medieval towers of Alba.

You have two main accommodation options when it comes to exploring the Barolo wineries. Base yourself in handsome Turin for a couple of days of refined urban time browsing world-class museums and stylish shops before taking day trips to the Barolo wine villages an hour’s drive to the south. Alternatively, stay in lively Alba, which places you a handy 20 minutes by car from the vineyards.

As well as being a popular base for trips to the Barolo wine region, Turin is the cultured gateway to adventures in Piedmont. It's crammed with decoratively Baroque palaces, magnificent churches, and fascinating museums of art, cars, weaponry and Egyptology as well as ancient architecture. Climb to the top of the landmark Mole Antonelliana tower to admire snowcapped Alpine peaks on the horizon, or stroll the ornamental gardens of Po-riverside Parco del Valentino. But don’t expect to see the famed Turin Shroud; it’s kept under lock and key and only displayed very occasionally in the cathedral.

During your stay in charismatic Turin, you can sample local specialities like bicerin coffee (espresso, rich chocolate and frothed milk or fresh whipped cream) or hazelnut gianduiotto chocolate in elegant cafés in colonnaded Piazza San Carlo. A myriad of enoteche wine bars also offer Barolo wine flights paired with local cheeses and cured meats.

When planning your visit to Piedmont’s Barolo wineries, factor in a day or two in charming Alba, the beating heart of the Langhe region. It’s known as the City of Towers for its spindly medieval defence towers, and today much of its vibrant action centres on Piazza Risorgimento and its red-brick Cathedral of San Lorenzo, host of Renaissance-era choir stalls adorned with ornate wooden inlays. If time permits, take the captivating underground tour of ancient Roman temple fragments and forum remains buried beneath the city’s modern-day levels.

Base yourself at this boutique hotel in Alba to be right by the food and wine shops on Via Vittorio Emanuele II – you’re bound to go home with a souvenir bottle from prestigious Barolo wineries! If it's purely the wines that are taking you to Alba, the best time to visit is during the grape harvest (la vendemmia), which runs from late September through to early November, and coincides with Alba’s other great claim to fame – the celebrated truffle harvest.

White truffles are a Piedmont speciality that cannot be cultivated – they’re sniffed out by highly trained dogs in woodland locations that remain fiercely kept secrets. The International Alba White Truffle Fair is held on weekends between mid-October and December, and brings in world-renowned chefs to scrap noisily over precious nuggets of the fragrant fungus. If you’d like to try truffles for yourself, they’re served wafer-thin over regional tajarin egg noodles in Alba trattorias – and of course their earthy flavours are best accompanied by a glass of rich Barolo!

Barolo vines flourish in Piedmont’s undulating Langhe region thanks to their proximity to the Alps. Unlike the wine regions of Tuscany, here dramatic daily temperature swings help the ripening of the grapes, along with the fertile ancient soils laid down when the Ligurian Sea covered the area many millions of years ago. These natural elements create a unique microclimate that allows the grapes used at Barolo wineries to thrive – but to be considered a Barolo wine, the following conditions must also prevail:

• Barolo must be made entirely from the Nebbiolo grape, which is difficult to grow.
• All Barolo vineyards must be planted on a hillside.
• The Nebbiolo must be grown in designated areas of 11 Langhe villages south of Alba.
• Barolo must be aged for at least 38 months before it can be sold, with at least 18 months in wooden casks.
• All Barolo wines must be at least 13% alcohol.

There are around 300 active producers who bottle and market Barolo DOCG wines, spanning the 11 approved Piedmont villages. Below are three of the best Barolo wineries, which you can visit on a two-day itinerary. Walk through the vineyards from Barolo to Monforte d’Alba first, and then from Monforte, to La Morra and Castiglione Falletto on the second day – they’re all about 15 minutes’ drive apart.

Famous for the fabled Monfortino Riserva DOCG – the benchmark by which all Barolo wines are judged – this is a surprisingly modest vineyard (albeit one with superb views to the Alps) where Roberto Conterno, grandson of the founder, still ferments all his wine in wood. You’ll have to call (+39 01737 8221) to get a visiting date, as this really is a one-man band with Conterno preferring to concentrate all his time on his vines and vintages. Persist and your reward will be a vineyard and cellar tour led by the great man himself and the chance to taste three of his award-winning wines.

• Where: Località Ornati 2, 12065 Monforte d’Alba
• Wine price: €€€€€

The Mascarello vineyards tumble down a hillside 10 minutes’ drive from Barolo, and centre on a grand 18th-century palazzo where wine production continues in traditional style. This is one of the more accessible Barolo wineries and you can book tastings online. Accompanied by traditional Langhe cured meats and cheeses, they comprise up to eight Barolo and Barbera d’Alba wines, depending on the package you choose, and take up to two hours. In summer months, tours also include a stroll up to La Morra’s medieval bastions for panoramas over the UNESCO-listed Barolo vineyards.

• Where: Via Garibaldi 3, 12064 La Morra
• Wine price: €€€€

Lauded for single-vineyard crus like Rocche di Castiglione, Vietti’s Barolo winery occupies a steep hillside around medieval Castiglione Falletto and is known for using centuries-old production methods. A variety of tastings and vineyard tours (the latter at sunrise in summer) are bookable online, and although drop-in tastings are not allowed, there is a shop where you can buy their famously rich and powerful Barolos between 10am-1pm, 2pm-6:30pm daily. They also sell sweet Moscato d’Asti and crisp Roero Arneis whites from their other Piedmont wineries.

• Where: Piazza Vittorio Veneto 5, 12060 Castiglione Falletto
• Wine price: €€–€€€

The following 4 tips will help you do it justice!

• Open your bottle early and decant it at least two and up to six hours before drinking. This allows the wine’s flavours to flower and the tannins to soften.
• If you want to drink Barolo wine at a young age, decant it for around six hours and drink it accompanied by food – ideally a Piedmont speciality like a pasta dish flavoured with white Alba truffles.
• Serving temperature is key. Barolo is best at around 17°C.
• A large glass with a round bowl works best for pouring Barolo, as you can swirl the wine around in the glass and allow the aromas to come to life.

Along with the Barolo wineries – which amazingly only account for about 3% of the region’s wines – Piedmont excels itself when it comes to producing wines in a variety of tastes and styles.

Barolo wines and truffles are not all that flourish in the fertile soils of Piedmont. Here are five other delicacies of the region that you should try when visiting.

• Bagna càuda: A hot savoury dip made from garlic, anchovies, olive oil and butter; it’s served fondue-style with raw or cooked vegetables for dipping.
• Carnaroli and arborio rice: The marshy, flooded plains of Vercelli and Novara make Piedmont Europe’s leading producer of risotto rice.
• Castelmagno cheese: This rare cow’s milk cheese has Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status, a crumbly texture and a sharp flavour. It is produced in Piedmont’s high-altitude Grana Valley.
• Gianduja/gianduiotto: Invented in Turin in 1806, gianduja is a smooth chocolate paste mixes cocoa with ground Piedmont hazelnuts. A gianduiotto is a boat-shaped piece of solid chocolate made from the same paste.
• Tajarin: A skinny ribbon pasta made from egg yolk in the Langhe or Monferrato hills, tajarin is usually served with simple sauces like butter and sage or meat ragù.

Now you know all about Barolo wineries and Piedmont foods, why not learn more about Italian gastronomy or eating out in Rome?