Wine Tasting in Piedmont / Piemonte

I have a few leads for you, but nothing as concrete as you've asked for. First, when I toured the Langhe, we stopped in at Barolo and Barbaresco and did tastings in the wine centres there. You could follow that up with tours to the wineries whose wines you enjoyed - but it's a bit hit and miss, as there are hundreds of Barolos on display and you can only taste a handful. It's a good place to chat up local experts though for more tips. Second, I've followed this blog for years, and Anna sounds pretty knowledgeable. I don't know her personally, but her tours are well regarded and well reviewed.

Finally, as far as some of the varietals you mentioned - I'm surprised you can't find any Dolcettos in Chicago - a good assortment is readily available in Calgary, and we're hardly the leading edge of the wine world. I really like them, but they're a lot lighter than Barolo/Barbaresco/Barbera wines. I assume you've checked with Eataly? I've never found an Erbaluce since I returned, and I really liked them. Gavi wines are supposedly closely related; I've found them a few times but didn't like them as well as my memory says I liked Erbaluce. Could have just been the setting...

I'm sure you know that you normally have to book appointments at Piedmont wineries - you can't just drop in. We hadn't planned that far ahead, as we were with a group of friends and weren't sure of their interest. That's why we stopped at the cooperative regional cantinas instead of individual wineries.

If I think of anything more specific, I'll post again. There is a lot of information on the web about Piedmont wine touring, which I won't regurgitate. But I will say we had a most incredible day touring Cherasco, Barbaresco, Barolo and Neive. The views along the drive were spectacular and each town topped the one before. We all liked Neive the best as a town, but Barolo the best for the wines. We drove ourselves (in three cars), did not take a tour, just meandered. Food here, tastings there, a small museum, a stroll through town centres, glorious weather - great memories. Hope you make your own.

This is great advice. Thank you. I figure out host at the agriturismo will also have some opinions/friends she might point us to.

I'm trying to figure the balance on wineries and town enoteche and keep feeling like I'm leaning too heavy on towns and not enough countryside. But I think this is probably the right approach.

I'm pretty sure I could find dolcetto at Eataly, but I've never had it before, so not something I went to find. I have a nice bottle of Lambrusco in the wine cabinet, waiting the right dinner.

It's funny you mentioned Anna. I contacted her when I first started booking this, but I think wife doesn't want to spend a day with a guide.

I loved the Rivetto winery. We stayed there for a night. http://rivetto.it/en/

We also did a tour with Marco at Meet Piemonte. A great day of food and winery stops around Alba and Barolo and visits to each village. highly recommend them. http://www.meetpiemonte.com/en

Also if you are around Asti the 3rd Saturday of September they have their Palio race. I went last year. It's not as big as the one in Siena but there was still a lot of people in town for it. There is a huge parking lot a couple blocks from the main square that we parked in. Worth the stop if it's going on while you are there. It was a little different then Siena where that was 3 laps around the track, the one in Asti is a couple of heats since they have more neighbohoods competing before a final race that day.

I would say to ask the owner(s) of your agruturismo to help you out, and arrange your visits to specific wineries. When we visited the Piemonte a couple of years ago, we stayed at a B&B in Monforte d'Alba. The owner of the B&B set us up with visits to Podere Rocche dei Manzoni, a bigger place that is set up for people to visit for wine tastings, and also to Podere Ruggeri Corsini, where we met in the owners' house - very cool.

A question: If I book a visit, am I obligated to buy a bottle?

Socially obligated, yes. Formally/legally obligated, no. But everything tastes wonderful on location, so it shouldn't be hard to convince yourself to buy your favorite in the moment, even if it's not your favorite in the long term. Plus prices are extremely reasonable. You'll be knocked over by how cheap the Barolos seem in comparison to what we can get here. I have never regretted buying something to drink that night. I have regretted buying a few cases and leaving half behind because I couldn't carry it (and half of that was Erbaluce. I was sad for days.) Last year on our Umbrian Montefalco tour I had no trouble finishing what I bought before we left. You'll find your balance, but I wouldn't resist buying at least a few bottles to consume post-tasting in Italy. Getting through a bottle with a meal tells you a lot more than a few sips in a wine cellar.

Now you're talking. Drink em while we got em.

Is there a lot of BYOB in restaurants?

I would say the same re feeling socially obligated to buy a bottle, which is different from visiting wineries in the U.S. but I also didn't mind. Keep in mind, however, that you'll need to make sure the wine doesn't get too warm, if you're driving from one destination to another and in the car all day, or leaving the car while you're visiting places.

BYOB? I don't know, but I don't think so. I don't think I've ever been to a restaurant in Italy that didn't serve alcohol. If you want to drink something that you bought on the trip, plan for a picnic lunch featuring Italian cheese, meats and wine!

Good to know. Limits options a bit, especially as we're driving around and I'm told drunk driving is really bad and well policed.