Small-Group Barolo Wine Tasting, Alba & UNESCO Piedmont Hills
Description
Discover Barolo — often called the “King of Wines and the Wine of Kings” — on a small-group journey from Milan into the vineyard hills of the Langhe, a UNESCO World Heritage wine landscape. Travel in a comfortable small group with an English-speaking guide. The first stop is Alba, the world capital of white truffles and the birthplace of Nutella. Enjoy 2 hours of free time to stroll the historic center and enjoy lunch. From Alba, continue into the Barolo wine region to visit a family-run winery with spectacular views over the Langhe hills. Enter the traditional cellar, meet the producers, and enjoy a guided tasting of 7 wines, including Barolo, while learning about local vineyards and winemaking traditions. The day also includes a stop at Grinzane Cavour Castle, a UNESCO World Heritage Site surrounded by vineyards and one of the iconic viewpoints in the Langhe. (On Tuesdays, when the castle is closed, the stop is replaced by a panoramic viewpoint in La Morra or Barbaresco.)
Tour Options
Itinerary
Alba is known for its historic charm, excellent cuisine, and the famous White Truffle Fair, held on weekends in October and November. Explore the medieval towers and the Cathedral of San Lorenzo, the town’s main cathedral. Browse local shops for some of the world’s best hazelnut cream, or enjoy lunch in a small, traditional restaurant serving Piedmont specialties such as fresh egg pasta and veal with tuna sauce.
Visit a family-run winery in a panoramic setting surrounded by vineyards. Enter the cellars and learn directly from the winemakers about the production of Barolo, a strictly regulated wine made only from Nebbiolo grapes, with precise rules governing vineyard location, aging, and classification. Discover how each hill and vineyard has its own name and character, influencing structure, aroma, and aging potential. Taste at least six DOC and DOCG red wines, sometimes seven, including Barolo, during a guided tasting focused on quality, terroir, terroir expression, and local tradition.
Enjoy a visit to a medieval castle listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, offering panoramic views over the Langhe hills and surrounding vineyards. Inside the castle, visit the historic wine shop, considered the oldest in the Piedmont region, and learn about its close connection to Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour. Cavour played a key role in the development of Barolo wine, promoting modern winemaking methods and helping transform Barolo from a local product into an internationally respected wine. Please note: on Tuesdays, when the castle is closed, the visit is replaced with a stop at a panoramic viewpoint in La Morra, known for some of the best vineyard views in the Barolo region.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Travel time is included in the total duration.
Reviews(846)
Oleg, our driver and tour guide was extremely well read and shared his vast knowledge with us on varied topics making the whole experience very enjoyable. He took us to very exclusive places that most people would never have access to and hence the tour was very curated.
Amazing experience with Oleg . It was exactly as described and hoped for but way more! He is incredibly knowledgeable and so personable . The accommodations he provided were great . I enjoyed everything about the tour - we tasted hazelnuts, truffles, wine (very delightful), had lunch at a delicious restaurant in the town met a wonderful elderly man named Aldo who owns Azienda Agricola Sandrone Aldo (hazelnut farm ), The castle and the landscape of the region was amazing . Do this tour so well worth it !
Was absolutely wonderful. Loved our guide and tour. If you’d like to have a nice, relaxing day while enjoying some fantastic wines then this is the tour for you.
The best and the most rated wine tasting tour on tripadvisor from Milan!
Very nice wine tasting experience to BARBARESCO wines in Piedmont region. Exceptional lunch experience at Hostaria dai Musi. All thanks to our tour guy and to the driver who provides with the most comfortable ride on an executive coach. The introduction speech of Italy history, area highlights and local culture makes the two hour road ride an enjoyable journey. Highly recommended!
I was initially concerned that the long ride out of Milan would be tedious and exhausting. In fact, it was anything but that. Stephano kept us amused and engaged during the whole ride. We learned about Italian history (did not realize how young a country Italy is!) and about the twenty different regions of Italy. He shared a history of Italy for the last century be hundred and sixty years. The Italian resistance at the end of WWII is fairly unknown in the US. It was particularly exciting to hear about the strength of the Italian people during a rough period in their history. He had us laughing the whole time. The truffle shop he took us to was very good. The owner gave us a smiling introduction and some wonderful samples. The restaurant Stephano recommend for lunch was excellent. The postcard like scenery at the vineyard where the tasting took place was idyllic. The wines was all wonderful, and my wife purchased some to ship back to the US. I would highly recommend this tour group to anyone interested in the area.
What an awesome day spent with Stephano on this fun tour! Comfortable small bus with a perfect itinerary. The town Of Alba and the winery tasting are beautiful and just so pleasant. And he tossed in a pile of Italy history of the region to round out the experience. What a great way to spend a day!!
Great wines, guides, locations and tour in general. Wonderful day out, would highly recommend
Stefano was very knowledgeable. He shared a lot of information about the history of Italy.
What an amazing day tour! Very enjoyable and flawless planning!
The trip sounded more exciting with UNESCO site and wine region. The guide Stéfano is very knowledgeable about Italy, Milan and the areas visited. It’s a long drive there and when we get to the historic site, we are left to visit on our own (there’s a path below with great signage and information or you pay for a visit of the castle but not even sure we had enough time) while the guide takes a coffee; then on to Alba where the local product tasting is great and the recommended restaurant excellent (we do this on our own); then to winery for visit and tasting. Great wine tasting with the owner and wine specialist in beautiful setting. All in all it’s a fine tour but just not worth what we paid. Of course, we then had a bus problem on way back with tire blowout and had to wait 2.5 hours on the side of the highway. Upon examination, all tires were in poor shape. I do not blame the tour operator who did his best to solve this except that a better quality bus should have been booked from the beginning. Again, all I ask is to get what we pay for. As a comparison, we had done two very different tours in two other cities in prior four days that were excellent.
