Small group tour Wine tour of Piemonte Italy

4 nights/5 days

Barolo • Alba • Cherasco • Barbaresco • Bra

This is a 4-night wine tour of Piemonte for up to 14 people accompanied by an experienced wine and food expert, discovering the land and the variety of the wines of Piemonte, including the renowned Barolo and Barbaresco.
Holiday price guide

Available on selected dates, as specified below, from £3,920 per person.

Luxury wine tour of Piemonte for small groups of up to 14 people

Highlights

Barolo • Visit G D Vajara • Alba • Cherasco • Barbaresco • Visit Sottimano • Visit Giolito cheese producer • Bra • Visit Castle of Grinzane Cavour • Visit Marchesi d’Alfieri estate

Day by day

You depart from London Gatwick at 07.20, arriving in Turin at 10.10 hrs. There you will meet Cindy-Marie Harvey, your tour guide, for your onward coach transfer to your hotel in Piemonte. This evening you will dine together at the hotel in their Michelin-starred gourmet restaurant, enjoying a 4-course menu. Cindy-Marie will pair the menu with a selection of wine as an introduction to the principal wines of the region, chosen from the hotel’s cellar, housed in a deconsecrated chapel in the courtyard.

After breakfast, you travel through the rolling hills of the Langhe, covered with their famous vines, towards the vineyards of the Barolo classification. Known as the ‘King of wines’, Barolo has a world-wide reputation for having great depth and complexity, with aromas of roses and tar. Our first stop is at the family-run, multiple award-winning wine estate of G D Vajra where you discover what makes these wines so different in style according to where their vineyards are situated. The Nebbiolo grape that produces Barolo can be compared to the Pinot Noir of Burgundy in its combination of fickleness and divine qualities. Barolo is produced only from a handful of villages and you continue through the Barolo heartland to your next visit at Cordero di Montezemolo. The estate is easily recognisable by the ancient Lebanese cedar tree that overlooks their vineyard. We then continue to lunch at a local Osteria with views over the vineyards for relaxed lunch paired with wine. After lunch you drive to the small hilltop town of Cherasco, famous for two things – snails and chocolates. There will be time for a stroll before a chocolate tasting at one of the most traditional producers, which will include some inventive flavours as well as the famous Baci di Cherasco, or ‘Cherasco kisses’ made from chocolate with local hazelnuts. Back at the hotel in the evening there is a light supper of local salami and cheeses, bread and grissini and local hazelnuts accompanied by a selection of three local wines, perhaps a Roero Arneis, a Barbera d’Alba and a Langhe Nebbiolo.

Today after breakfast, it is just a short drive to our first visit of the Barbaresco day. The vineyards of Barbaresco are less than 25 kms from those of Barolo, they take up about a third of the land of Barolo vineyards and are very different in style. Barbaresco is often seen as the more feminine side of Nebbiolo, with a seductive aroma of violets, roses and cherries. Your first visit is to the Produttori di Barbaresco, a leading example of how to be a co-operative producing quality rather than quantity. Their wines have won numerous awards and show the attention to detail in the vineyards owned by their 50 plus members in some of the best Barbaresco Crus including Ovello, Montestefano and Pajé. You will taste some of their wines at their cellars in the heart of the village of Barbaresco. Then you continue to another of the three villages that come under Barbaresco classification, Neive, for our next tasting at leading Barbaresco producer, Sottimano. Their wines display the classic notes of cedar, tar, roses and a hint of chocolate as you discover during our tasting, before we continue for lunch at a local Osteria that features typical Piemontese specialities. After lunch you return to the hotel for some free time before venturing out late afternoon for Alba, the main town of the Langhe, whose narrow streets are lined with a cornucopia of shops, selling of course wine but also many gastronomic delights to take home such as salami made with Barolo or tuma cheese marinated in truffles and olive oil. There is time to explore for a while before meeting again for dinner at one of the Slow Food’s restaurants, where you will enjoy a selection of wines to go with dinner, possibly starting with the local Agnolotti del Plin, silky parcels of stuffed pasta served with butter and sage. You return to the hotel after dinner.

This morning after breakfast, you head towards the town of Bra, where the admirable Slow Food Association was started and where its headquarters remain. Here we visit a renowned name in the world of Piemontese cheese – Giolito. Started at the beginning of the 20th century, the company is still family-run. From their premises in Bra, they source some of the most fascinating cheeses from the region, and are specialists in ageing cheese to prime eating time. This morning, we enjoy a tasting of a range of wonderful regional cheeses at their premises. Lunch is not included today, but there is a choice of cafes and restaurants in the historical centre of Bra. You then return to the hotel for a rest and time to freshen up before you depart in the evening for a visit to one of the most imposing castles of the region at Grinzane Cavour. This castle was home to the Count of Cavour, a prime minister of Piedmont who was instrumental in the process of the unification of Italy, becoming Prime Minister of Italy for a very brief period. You visit the castle with its displays relating to the history of food and wine in the region and then enjoy an aperitif in the cellars of the castle, now the regional Enoteca before dining at the restaurant inside the castle. You return to the hotel after dinner.

Check-out of the hotel after breakfast, and head to your final wine tasting at the estate of Marchesi d’Alfieri, who have been making wine since 1696. This is an estate immersed in the history of the region and its wine-making, situated in the hills between Alba and Asti. They are respected for their wide range of Barbera but they also make Grignolino, another indigenous variety, a lighter red, often drunk young with tones of cherry. You discover the appeal of their wines over lunch before your onward journey to Turin for the BA 2579 departing at 19.40 hrs and arriving at London Gatwick at 20.30 hrs.

Terms and conditions

This tour is based on 14 people participating. If there are fewer than 14 participants we may modify the tour (smaller coach but the visits would remain the same). We do reserve the right to alter the itinerary if we cannot be accommodated at any of the venues for any reason closer to the date of departure. It is also possible that personnel conducting the tour could change for personal or operational reasons at short notice.

Your tour leader

Cindy-Marie Harvey tells us that having discovered a love of Pinot Noir at an early age, she seemed destined for a life in the wine trade. However, her love of languages led her to work in Italy. After living in Piemonte for five years, discovering the delights of Nebbiolo and white truffles, she returned to the wine trade in the UK. She has spent the last 20 years planning and escorting wine tours to all the main wine regions of the world, from South America to Burgundy and Bordeaux. She now shares her passion for food and wine on her own website, Love Wine Food Ltd as well as in her own kitchen where she is often found surrounded by recipe books in Italian, French or Spanish. She looks forward to sharing her passion for the region of Piemonte with you.

Special offers for this holiday>

Superb holiday. Our guide was excellent. Hotel was superb.
Mr L, May 2018

From about 2025 dates on request.

Holiday Code SGWT02

Luxury wine tour of Piemonte for small groups of up to 14 people

Special offers for this holiday>

Superb holiday. Our guide was excellent. Hotel was superb.
Mr L, May 2018

From about 2025 dates on request.

Holiday Code SGWT02

Our prices include ● Scheduled flights with British Airways London Gatwick to Turin return, Euro traveller. Club upgrade available on request at a supplement.
● Transport from Turin airport in a small luxury coach for a maximum of 14 people, with one piece of luggage per person.
● English-speaking tour guide with knowledge of the wine and food of Piemonte.
● Four nights’ bed and buffet breakfast in superior double or twin rooms at the Relais Villa d’Amelia.
● One 4-course dinner at the Villa d’Amelia on day 1 in the gourmet restaurant with wine
● One simple supper at the Villa d’Amelia on day 2 in the gourmet restaurant with wine
● Other meals included as follows: Lunch with wine on day 2, lunch with wine on day 3, dinner with wine in Alba on day 3, dinner with wine on day 4, lunch with wine on day 5.
● Entrances and wine tastings as mentioned in the itinerary
● Concierge service and Expressions Holidays regional helpful hints

Our prices do not include ● Early check-in or late check-out at any hotels (although we can arrange this on request at additional cost)
● Any other services not mentioned above, such as transfers and meals not mentioned
● Personal holiday insurance. This is essential and cover should be in place from when you book the holiday.
● Local tourist tax, usually between Euros 1 and 3 per person per night, and payable locally to the hotel

Luxury wine tour of Piemonte for small groups of up to 14 people

Expressions Holidays includes these hotels in this small group touring holiday.
Hotels included in this tour
Relais Villa d'Amelia

Relais Villa d'Amelia is a 4-star hotel amid beautiful countryside. Michelin-starred cuisine, excellent spa and wellness facilities and immaculate gardens afford guests a truly relaxing and restorative retreat.

Superior double room

Special offers

Call to make your booking and save an extra £50 per adult Call us instead of emailing us when you are thinking of booking a holiday and save an extra £50 per adult (in addition to any special offers that might be available). We want to talk to you to discuss your requirements and a phone call is usually the best way for you to define what you want enabling us to respond more accurately. We want to talk to you and you save an extra £50 per adult.

Superb holiday. Our guide was excellent. Hotel was superb.
Mr L, May 2018

From about 2025 dates on request.

Holiday Code SGWT02

Luxury wine tour of Piemonte for small groups of up to 14 people

Highlights of Piemonte

Turin, the regional capital, is a fascinating city of Baroque architecture and famous for its association with Fiat cars. Visit the car museum, the Mole Antonelli for a panoramic view. Visit some of the beautiful 18th Century House of Savoy palaces, many built by Filippo Juvarra, including Rivoli, Venaria Reale and Mandria. North of Turin is the subalpine region of Canavese with numerous castles many of which have been opened to the public very recently such as the Castello di Masino, now carefully restored. Lace is produced in the Valsesia. Alba is the centre of the white truffle and of course the local wines (Barolo, Barbera etc) should be tasted and purchased. Cuneo holds a market in the Piazza Galimberti every Tuesday.

Cultural highlights of Piemonte

Turin is laden with architectural treasures including the Palazzo Madama by Filippo Juvarra (now home to the Museo Civico d`Arte Antica which contains the 15th Century Portrait of an Unknown Man by Antonello da Messina), Guarini`s Palazzo Carignano, the Baroque buildings of the Piazza San Carlo.In Cuneo is the 18th Century Church of Santa Croce with a concave facade by Francesco Gallo. Vercelli had a school of art and its masterpieces can be seen in the Museo Civico Borgogna and in the Chuch of San Cristoforo are to be found frescoes and a 16th Century Madonna painted by Gaudenzio Ferrari. In the Palazzo Comunale of Alba is a painting of the Madonna and Child by the 16th Century artist Macrino d`Alba.The finest Romanesque buildings in Piemonte are to be found at the Abbey of Vezzolano at Albugnano.

Festivals in Piemonte

Many are linked to food and wine in this region. Asti holds an annual horse race in the Piazza del Campo del Palio, accompanied by mediaeval pageantry and coinciding with a local wine fair in September.

Gastronomy in Piemonte

Cuneo holds a cheese fair in November. Ivrea is famous for its Carnival celebrations including a Battle of Oranges. The region is renowed for its gastronomy and wine. Beef, cheese, butter, red wine, rice and truffles (particularly the white truffes of Alba) are all basic ingredients. Specialities include Manzo al Barolo (beef in red wine and garlic), Fonduta (hot dip of fontina cheese, milk, eggs, truffles and pepper), Bagna cauda (hot spicy sauce with garlic and anchovies), The wines of the region include Barolo, Barbaresco, Dolcetto.

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