Today’s plan: tour the Barolo region. We booked two tastings, one wine and one vermouth, for the day and the rest was free for us to decide where and what we did. Love Langhe Tour arranged a vespa for us through Langa Rent and it was the best experience. Our driver picked us up at our B&B at 9:00 am and took us to Grinzane Cavour, where we were set up with our vespa. Armed with a map, we were off! We were heading to La Morra first as we had a wine tasting at 10:30am. The drive to get there was stunning and it was so easy to get around - there is really only one road to follow and it takes you through all the villages of the area. After going all the way up into La Morra (on the hilltop), we realized we had passed the winery we were supposed to be at halfway up, so we turned around and headed back the way we came. A friend of Ramesh’s had recommended Agricola Gianpiero Marrone for a tasting and it did not disappoint. We started with a brief tour of the cellar, the winery, and then sat down to taste some wines while overlooking the valley below. The wines were delicious and it was the perfect start.

Next, we made our way to Monforte d’Alba for lunch. Along the way we drove through Barolo, Novello, and Monchiero villages. The rolling hills, vineyards dotting the landscape, and cool breeze made for an idyllic ride. We stopped for lunch at Grappolo D’oro in the town square in Monforte d’Alba. We both started with a glass of white wine, Arenis, because it was so hot out. I ordered the gnocchi and Ramesh got the octopus and we shared. I’m still thinking about the octopus. It might be the best I’ve had. The gnocchi was delicious too, but the octopus? Chef’s kiss. After lunch we strolled around and I had my first Italian gelato of the trip. Then we stopped for another glass of wine at Osteria dei Càtari to cool off.

Back on the vespa and on our way to Serralunga D’Alba for our last appointment of the day - Vermouth tasting. We had a 4:30 pm tasting at Serralunga, Casa Mia, which has a magnificent view from it’s terrace. We tried two vermouths and a Barolo chinato. If you’ve never done a vermouth tasting, I highly recommend. We started with white vermouth, then red vermouth, and finally we ended with the Barolo chinato. All were wonderful. Then we sampled them all again with cheese and chocolate to see how they paired. So Good. After the tasting, we started chatting about Barolos and Ramesh really wanted to find something we could bring back with us to enjoy later in the week. recommended a wonderful one from their vineyard and we enjoyed it a few days later in Torino (spoiler alert - it was fantastic and pretty amazing that you could pop and drink - usually you need to decant for a while).

Back in Grizane Cavour, we returned our vespa and waited for our driver to pick us up and take us back to Govone. We dropped off our things and headed into the village to get pizza at Il Posto Giusto Pizza & Bistro. They were just getting ready to open, so we walked over to the castle park and waited until they were open. The pizza was very tasty and we enjoyed the patio.

Barolo via Vespa

It was a packed day and there was so much more we could have seen. I would definitely rent a vespa again and maybe make it a two day exploration. We didn’t stop in all the villages or explore as much as we could have in order to make sure we could make our appointments on time. I would schedule one or two at the beginning of the day and use the rest of the day to explore. Now that we know the area a bit more, we can’t wait to come back and explore more.

Italy Travel Diary- Day 2: Barolo on a vespa!

Italy Diary - Day 3: Govone

Italy Travel Diary - Day 1: Neive and San Martini Alfieri