An Introduction to the Great Wines of Italy's Piedmont Region
- Marla
- Jun 24
- 4 min read
Piedmont, in the Northwest part of Italy, is one of that country’s most important wine regions, and the second largest (the largest is Sicily).
Located in the foothills of the Alps, Piedmont consists of several wine areas, but it’s most renowned for Barolo and Barbaresco, two of the giants of Italian red wine. They are both made from Nebbiolo grapes and are subject to strict rules, such as the location of the vineyard, the aging time, and even what direction the slope faces. If the grapes don’t meet the criteria they can’t be called Barolo or Barbaresco. Many of these reds can age for years.
The area also boasts a diverse range of other great wines, mainly coming from red varietals such as Dolcetto, Freisa, and Barbera and white grapes including Arneis, Cortese, and Moscato. Overall there are more than 1,000 wineries in Piedmont, not counting the families that make their own wine for their personal consumption. The region is also dotted with some of the most picturesque villages in Italy, and is additionally known for its hazelnuts and white truffles.
Why Aren’t There More Visitors?
So why does this prestigious and prolific wine region lag behind in wine tourism?
There are several reasons. Some other regions in Italy and other countries have bigger, more established wineries and better marketing. While Piedmont has been making wine for centuries, many of the farmers in the past simply sold their grapes to large producers. It’s only in the past two generations that many of them decided to make their own wine, increasing both the number of wineries in the region and the region’s visibility.
It’s also less convenient to visit than some other wine regions. Unlike Tuscany, which is an easy day trip from Florence, or Lazio, right outside of Rome, the closest city to Piedmont is mid-sized Turin, still interesting but less of a tourism draw in its own right.
And despite the wines’ prestige, the area is a more difficult wine region to visit. Almost all of the wineries are small, modest, and spread out. Most of the wineries we visited didn’t even have signage. It’s hard to find which wineries are open to visitors and how to get to them, so it really pays here to have a knowledgeable tour guide.
And that was harder in Piedmont, too. Surprisingly, there just weren’t that many wine tours offered, and while the region is only about an hour from Turin, many of the tours originate in the village of Alba, which means you need to take a train just to get to the tour.
Luckily, there are a few people who offer great day trips to Piedmont from Turin, where most visitors are staying. We recommend two tour operators, both run by local winemakers. One is Langa Wine Tour, run by brothers Marco and Giovanni, who also run their family winery, Cascina Galarin. The other tour operator is Alessio, who specializes in private tours. We’ll do a deeper dive into the Barbaresco and Barolo regions with these tour guides in forthcoming articles.
For our introduction to the great wines of Italy’s Piedmont region, we took a small group tour with Marco, who provided a wonderful overview of the region and its wine. Marco is quick to tell you that he’s a farmer, not a professional tour guide, but he’s selling himself short there.
Cascina Galarin
The first winery we visited was Cascina Galarin, Marco’s and Giovanni’s place, in Castagnole delle Lanze. This winery has been growing wine since 1781; it's one of those where the family decided in the 1980s to stop selling their grapes and start producing their own wine. The tasting room is across the courtyard from their parents’ home. The winery, certified organic, produces a wide range of the area’s wines. We toured the cellar, part of which dates to the 1700s, and then tasted a variety of their wines, typical of the region.
We sampled (accompanied with breadsticks, a regional specialty):
Piemonte Chardonnay Carossi 😊++
Barbera D’Asti Le Querce, 95% Barbera and 5% Freisa 😊++
Barbera D’Asti Superiore Tinella, single vineyard 😊😊
Monferrato Nebbiolo Superiore Crocevia 😊😊
Piemonte Pinot Nero Rivella 😊😊
Marco then took us to Osteria L’Oca Giuliva (“the Merry Goose”) in the village of Castagnole delle Lanze for lunch of local specialties in a private room of the restaurant.
Produttori del Barbaresco
The second winery we visited, Produttori del Barbaresco, only grows the Nebbiolo grape and specializes in Barbaresco wine, sometimes called the “queen of wines.” It’s actually a cooperative of more than 50 wineries, and one of the largest and well-known producers in the area. It was founded many years ago, forced to close during the fascist regime in the 1920s, and re-established in 1958. The tasting room is in the heart of the village of Barbaresco, which we also explored on foot.
We tasted:
Langhe Nebbiolo 😊++
Barbaresco DOCG 2021 😊😊
Barbaresco DOCG 2020 😊😊
Grappa di Barbaresco, made from Barbaresco skins (classic white) 😊
Grappa di Barbaresco invecchiata (aged in oak barrels, so darker and more complex) 😊++
Carlo Revello E Figli
Our third winery, Carlo Revello E Figli, in La Morra, produces only red wine and specializes in Barolo, known as the “king of wines.” Our guide Nicolas’s great-grandfather started the winery; his father moved to his own label in 2015. After a tour of the cellar, we made our way upstairs to the winery’s tasting room overlooking the vineyards.
We sampled:
Barbera Superiore 😊++
Barolo 2020 😊😊
Barolo 2021 😊😊
Barolo single vineyard Boiolo 2020, 30-year-old vines 😊😊
Barolo single vineyard Giachini 2020, 80-year-old vines 😊😊
Barolo Riserva Rocche dell’Annunziata 2019 (a pet project, they grow only five rows) 😊😊
I hope that this introduction to the great wines of Italy’s Piedmont region helps you get a handle on how to visit it. Beat the crowds: go before it ends up on everyone’s “must-do” list. Salute!
What other wine regions do you recommend we travel to? Let us know! We’re at info@winewithourfamily.com.
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