I recently met the winemaker Lorenzo Alutto at a dinner that featured his wines and truffles as it…read morewas the season. Tried their skin fermented chardonnay and barbaresco classico. Both very good wines, both standalone and with food. Because of the skin contact the chardonnay had a very deep golden color, a slight sweetness. The barbaresco was very earthy. As they say, wine with food that grows together often tastes good together. That is certainly the truth with wine and truffles from the Piemonte area!

"Passionated high quality winemaker in Barbaresco"…read more I am glad to provide travelers with a review about Azienda Agricola Gigi Bianco since I do believe it represents magnificently the spirit of Italian wine entrepreneurs as well as the identity of the local terroir. Besides being surrounded by fence-free wineyards, Barbaresco is plenty of expert winemakers who enthusiastically open their cellar to visitors. Among them, there is Azienda Agricola Gigi Bianco where I had a unique experience for the following reasons. Firstly, the high quality of the wine. The grapes are very ancient as well as organically treated. Moreover, to offer wine lovers the original flavour of Barbaresco, the wine is aged in big casks which enhance the feature of the terroir without altering it. Secondly, the family's welcoming approach. When inside, indeed, it won't take too long to realise how glorious your testing wine experience will be. Maria Vittoria, Susanna and Salvatore (respectively mother, daughter and boyfriend of the latter) have cruised me through the Barbaresco enology traditions, pouring wine and sharing their business roots. We tested 10 different bottles, from the classic Dolcetto D'Alba to the awarded Barbaresco, and all of them were remarkable (even if the former is not my favourite variety of grapes). Finally, the price which is competitive for the quality you get. Personally, I bought a magnum of Barbaresco Ocello 2012 for 58€. To sum up, visiting wine cellars in Piemonte, especially in Barbaresco, is definitely a "do" and stopping at Azienda Agricola Gigi Bianco would give you a proper bite of passionate Italian winemakers.

The Marolo grappa makers have a show room in connection with their distillery and it's a very nice…read moreplace to go to try their variety of grappe, and make some purchases. I especially liked their Grappa di Barbera and some of their many Grappa di Barolo, but also their Milla (more a liqueur than a grappa) is really nice.

There's an amazing restaurant up the hill called Villa Tiboldi that's associated with this winery…read moreand we were recommended to go to the restaurant, but there was a wedding, so we decided to try the winery. You have to make private reservations for wine tasting and it's normally around 15 euros, so make sure to call ahead. This place was super accommodating and let us come on short notice. We then proceeded to get a very full tour of their entire cellar and facility followed by a 2+hr wine tasting. We tried tons of wines with very generous pours. It was great to try the same wine from different years and try to tell the difference and see what we liked best. The only reason this isn't a 5 is that there weren't as many wines I loved as I would have hoped. It was a great experience though and we learned a lot about the region and wines from the area.

An amazing winery with amazing view (and great wines too)…read more We had hired a local guide to facilitate our visit to wineries in the Barbaresco region and she brought us to this lovely winery perched on top of a hill. Since it was summer, it was just the two of us and our guide so we felt like VIPs meeting the owner and having the chance to taste a number of the current releases of their wines from the less common Favorita grape and Riesling, to the Dolcetto and Barbera to the interesting Long Now blend with a nod to its charitable foundation. As with most Italian wineries we have visited, you are made to feel very welcome as they work to explain their approach to their craft. In addition to the fine, mid-priced wines, the other reason for a visit is the amazing views. They are perched on top of a hill with breathtaking panoramic views from the tasting room looking all across the area. A delightful spot to spend some time and taste some beautiful wines.

We had a great wine tasting here! The owners, Eli and Marco, are both incredibly friendly and very…read moreknowledgeable about wine. It's a family winery started by Marco's grandfather, I believe. They make a Barbera, Freisa, Arneis, Grappa, Dolcetto, Rosé - and more. I especially love that they keep naturally-occurring sulfites low, which meant a clear head the day after we enjoyed the bottles we bought there. And at 5 to 10 euros a bottle (direct from them), we were wishing we had rented a bigger car! They speak English almost fluently, and Marco speaks French as well. Such a wonderful experience and an incredible family.

Angelo Ferrio, the winemaker behind Ca'Rossa is a very nice man. Even going through an interpreter…read more(because my Italian is quite shabby nowadays) you can tell the passion behind the craft, and that is a labor of love. We got to try a slew of the wines thanks to the efforts of Donato Scotti. Having great wines paired with an excellent multi course meal is never a bad way to be introduced to the many varietals. We tried: -Roero Aneis Merica -Barbera d'Alba -Langhe Nebbiolo -Birbet Now I had recently had the wine at Incanto in SF a couple years back but it was but one of the many that we tried that night. This time Ca'Rossa was front and center and truly shone. The Barbera and brachetto dessert Birbet we're the real shiners though the other two were also excellent. What really surprised us was that the wines are very affordable with most in the $35-40US range.Great friendly wine maker, fantastic wine and an excellent price/performance ratio to boot.

Had a fabulous wine tasting with Selena. Ceretto wines are incredible and with a sommelier as…read moreknowledgeable and passionate as she is about the Langhe region, in a most beautiful setting, we had a lovely afternoon and purchased some wine to drink on our trip and a case to ship home.