We are attending a family wedding at the north end of Lake Garda at the end of June. We will be driving and making this the focus of our summer holiday.
From there we intend to head for the French med and specifically Bandol and Cassis. To get there from Lake Garda it looks like we will pass through prime Nebbiolo country and it would be a shame not to stop and sample the local ‘water’. So can I ask the collective knowledge of the Community to recommend any particular towns, accommodation and of course wineries as we pass through. Probably we are looking at a maximum of two nights so a good centre with access to some great wineries.
We will make sure that our route to Garda takes in a few days in Alsace and I’ll be consulting the many recommendations on these pages for that region.
La Morra is great. Beautiful small town perched on the top of a hill with views over the rolling hills of Barolo country. Good bakeries and cafes, a few really good restaurants, great wine shops and some cracking wine bars too - we particularly enjoyed Le Vigne Bio. The owner is English speaking and a member of the Erbaluna family who make the house wines - their Langhe Nebbiolo is cracking.
I’d recommend a trip down the road to the Banco del Vino in Pollenza while you’re in the area too.
La Morra is pretty small, so you’ll be unlikely to fill a day there, but is a good base to explore the surroundings. Alba isn’t far if you wanted somewhere a bit more lively.
Barolo and Barbaresco are pretty much made up of villages, with the town of Alba sort of between the two.
I have stayed in Verduno, La Morra, Monforte and in a small hamlet near Barbaresco and they were all good in their own way. This year we are staying in La Morra once more. I can recommend Burlotto’s agriturismo in Verduno and Casa Sarraca in Monforte.
Restaurant wise, I really enjoyed the following: Il Falstaff (Verduno), Bercau (Verduno), Bovio (La Morra), Oesteria Per Bacco (Pizzeria in La Morra) and Le Tori (Castiglione). Most of the classic places offer a Menu Degustation - typically 3 antipasti, primi, secondi and dolci for around 45 euro all in. Wine generally marked up 50-100% from cellar door pricing.
Lots of wineries to visit and I would say start with your favourites. Thoroughly recommend Burlotto, GD Vajra, Marcarini and Giacomo Fenocchio for classic producers. For up and coming producers - try La Vedetta in Tre Stelle and Burzi in La Morra. You can still get into Bartolo Mascarello but need to phone to reserve. The rest all take visit requests via email. Cantina Communale La Morra is a good place to try a wide range - essentially a co-op tasting room and shop.
Enjoy your trip, you will find some great food, wine and walking.
Thank you @Bargainbob and @Olivercg. I shall take a look at your suggestions. Staying at Burlottos own place sounds enticing! We don’t know much about the wines of this area apart from enjoying the Vajra Nebbiolo Langhe at the online tasting last year, enjoying Barolo in years gone by before the prices rocketed and being rather partial to a spumante we just feel this is an opportunity that will not often come our way so determined to seize the day, or the bottle, so to speak.
Definitely visit Vajra if you have enjoyed them before, a really interesting family run winery and some lovely stained glass in the winery (the inspiration for the Albe and Freisa Kye labels).
It is perfectly possible to get good Barolo in the region for EUR 30 and under. Most estates will be showing the excellent 2016s. Personally I would suggest visiting the family run producers, rather than the huge operations - you will get a much more personal touch.
Agree with the Vajra recommendations but I’d add Marchesi Alfieri mid way between Alba & Asti. It’s a fantastic estate to visit with a beautiful park and offers holiday accommodation. The wines are excellent as well, and good value for this area.
Having visited last year. My big tip is to get out into the vineyards and walk.
La Morra is a fantastic hill top town as is Monforte and they’re walking distance to plenty of wineries as well as those on the towns. We found appointments at smaller places easier so pick your favourite and plan a walk around it.
There is a lot of excellent wine around Lake Garda too. Not sure about visits, but I might try to get to Ca dei Frati myself, or maybe Ca Lojera or Ottella. Groppello is a lovely (and sadly unlknown) local red too. And of course Valpolicella is just round the “corner”…
I stay at Il Cortiletto d’Alba in Alba when in the Piemonte area. Last time we got a 'bus to Barolo rather than using the car when we knew we would be having lunch.
There are also several wine producers who have rooms available including Bricco Rosso (as in the TWS wine) and Cascina del Monastero, neither of which I have tried.
If you are there at the right time of year then why not try Mangialonga, a walk with a difference. I haven’t managed to get to that one yet but have done several others within the ‘Confrérie’.
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we just feel this is an opportunity that will not often come our way so determined to seize the day, or the bottle, so to speak.