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Fog blots out mornings for nine months of the year, but afternoons can be gorgeous all year, and the soft, understated landscape wears its seasonality well. June is particularly lovely, with highs of 70 degrees and the first evidence of grapes on the vines.
Alitalia and Delta fly direct from U.S. gateways to Milan’s Malpensa Airport, which is a two-hour drive east of the Langhe.
Villa Tiboldi Atop a steep hill of vineyards outside Canale in the Roero appellation, this prototypical Italian villa—part of a working winery—was underrated until Paul Allen rented out all nine rooms for last year’s Winter Olympics. 127 Case Sparse Tiboldi; 39-0173/970-388; www.villatiboldi.it; doubles from $172.
Hotel Villa Beccaris A beautiful (if somewhat soulless) 18th-century compound perched above Monforte. But beware: the bell in the adjacent cathedral sounds on the hour all night long. 1 Via Bava Beccaris, Monforte d’Alba; 39-0173/78158; www.villabeccaris.it; doubles from $258, including breakfast.
L’Antico Asilo Spotlessly clean and family-run, this four-room inn on a Serralunga back street has a courtyard overlooking the hillside vineyards. Utterly charming, friendly, reasonably priced. 13 Via Mazzini, Serralunga d’Alba; 39-0173/613-016; www.anticoasilo.com; doubles from $126.
Antica Corona Reale da Renzo Home cooking—Piedmontese-style—at the Michelin-starred level, including perhaps the finest rendition of tripe anywhere in the world. Wine options are extensive and underpriced. 13 Via Fossano, Cervere; 39-0172/474-132; dinner for two $159.
Combal.Zero Castello di Rivoli, Piazza Mafalda di Savoia, Rivoli; 39-011/956-5225; dinner for two $263.
La Ciau del Tornavento No restaurant in the area is more ambitious, nor consistently rewarding. Interiors border on kitschy, but the view over a valley is stunning, the atmosphere elegant, and the wine list a work of art. 7 Piazza Baracco, Treiso; 39-0173/638-333; www.laciaudeltornavento.it; dinner for two $210.
Guido Ristorante Pollenzo Not the warm, traditional trattoria of your Italian fantasy, but a modern culinary temple with deferential service and imaginative food on the grounds of Slow Food’s University of Gastronomic Sciences. 19 Via Fossano, Pollenzo; 39-0172/458-422; www.guidoristorante.it; dinner for two $198.
Visiting wineries in the Langhe is like visiting a working farm in the United States. It can be done, and someone there will have plenty to show you, but he’s likely to have done nothing to make the place look nice on your behalf—and you need to set up the visit before you arrive. That said, Barolos and Barbarescos (or, if you really want to sound Italian, baroli and barbareschi) rank among the world’s finest wines, and the Piedmontese are fantastically generous. Try some wines before you go, pick a few favorites, call ahead with a polite request, and have an unforgettable time, usually with the owner.
Pio Cesare Azienda Agricola The only producer remaining in Alba, Pio Boffa’s family winery brings more than a century of tradition (and a surprisingly open mind) to bear on some of the best vineyard sites in Barolo and Barbaresco. 6 Via Cesare Balbo, Alba; 39-0173/440-386; www.piocesare.it.
La Spinetta Giorgio Rivetti’s wines are decidedly new wave, but so full of flavor and nuance that traditionalists can’t help loving them, too. 1 Via Carzello, Grinzane Cavour; 39-0141/877-396; www.la-spinetta.com.
Azienda Agricola Vigna Rionda (Massolino) A small winery on a hillside in Serralunga, it looks the way wineries have looked in Barolo for half a century, but the limpid wines are on the cutting edge. 8 Piazza Cappellano, Serralunga d’Alba; 39-0173/613-138; www.massolino.it.
Edward Steinberg’s The Vines of San Lorenzo tells the story of Barbaresco pioneer Angelo Gaja through his Sori San Lorenzo vineyard.
Matt Kramer’s A Passion for Piedmont interweaves the history of the region with recipes and insight into Piedmontese wines.
Vino Italiano, David Lynch and Joe Bastianich’s compendium of producers and their wines, is a valuable resource.
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