Piedmont agriturismo, b&b and restaurant recommendations

[Fedina]

My husband and I have decided to go to the Langhe, Piemonte area for a week, followed by two weeks further south. We've been to Italy many times, but never to this area. I'd be grateful for any recommendations for where to stay and some great local restaurants during this "last minute" October trip to the Langhe area? We love to stay at agriturismi and are looking for some beautiful scenery, bike riding, walks as well as wine and farming tours. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

 

[Giulia da Urbino]

Sorry it's been too long since I last was in the area to provide suggestione, but in my experience (before I used Tripadvisor or travel forums) in the Langhe area any restaurant that stays in business for more than 2 years serves stunning food... Locals are quite knowleadgeble about food and restaurants that are not good enough simply close
Enjoy your trip! And don't miss truffles and mushrooms!

 

[Ian Sutton]

We've stayed at a few over the years
Santa Vittoria d'Alba: Agriturismo Valdispinso. In the village thta featured in an Anthony Quayle film, the location puts you between Langhe and Roero wine regions. About a 10 minute drive to Verduno, 15 minutes to La Morra (both Barolo villages). Very smart and spacious apartments with a decent but not exciting breakfast included for free. Good swimming pool set in lovely grounds. It's a 25 minute walk (IIRC) to the unmanned train station if you wanted to leave the car at the apartment and head to Bra or Alba.

Serralunga d'Alba: I Grappoli. Owned by the family of the Gabutti / Boasso winery, it's in easy enough walking distance of Serralunga, but Castiglione Falletto is a more pleasing (if a little more energetic) walk away. The wines are much better than I was aware of, a true traditionalist with wines of real charm, at prices that match them being a little 'under the radar'. Their Barbera at €10 is probably my favourite from that grape to date, lighter than the oaked/muscular super-barbera, and with just a little 'stinky' brett which we find pleasing. The accomodation is spacious albeit slightly dark (would be ideal in peak summer I reckon - we stayed in October). Free breakfast here as well, and this a little nicer.

Monforte d'Alba: La casa gialla. A nice walking distance to Monforte on a quiet single track road. Apartments a mix of shapes and sizes and trading up seemed the better option here. Nice sun deck, which should still get use in October. Monforte has some great restaurants and is quite a lively village.

We also stayed in a cheaper place in Treiso (none of the above are pricey) so if budget is tight, Il Ciliegio might be worth a look. Decent, but we preferred the above.

Plenty of other options out there.

 

[Ian Sutton]

p.s. do make good use of the langheroero.it site for all things informative / touristic / useful. A very good site run by a very professional tourist office.

 

[SuzanneF]

Here are two possibilities:

Azienda Agricola Stra: We have not stayed here, but did a lovely wine tasting. The wines were very good and Maresa did a great tour of their winery including a walk in the vineyard with her giving us a demonstration on pruning. We are planning on staying here on our next trip to this area.

A second possibility is Agnulot. Again, I haven't stayed here but we had an incredible meal at their restaurant. We also had a pasta-making session with the owners during our stay at Villa Ribota. After getting to know them, I feel confident that these apartments would be very nice.

Here is a link to our trip report which includes the Langhe area from May 2018. Whatever you decide, I'm sure you will have a great stay in this wonderful area.

 

[Fedina]

Thank you so much for the suggestions!

 

[jan]

There is a wealth of restaurant info for the Langhe on chowhound.com.

We stayed in a hotel in La Morra in Oct. 2016 and the fall colors were just stunning.

 

[lisaonthecape]

My husband used to work in Piemonte, and we really love the Langhe. I second Jan's recommendation to search Piemonte on Chowhound; there is a wealth of information from some very knowledgeable posters. Here are some of our favorite restaurants from our last trip: Osteria Veglio in Annunziata (frazione of La Morra), La Coccinella in Serravalle Langhe, La Torre in Cherasco, and Da Bardon in San Marzano Oliveto.

 

[joe]

Piemonte! Our favorite place on the planet.
We have been there three times, all of them in the autumn. A great time to be there : harvests of all kinds (grapes, olives, pumpkins, truffles, corn, and many more) bring fresh foods to the table and seasonal fairs to the streets.

For an agriturismo in the Langhe : we stayed in 2008 at Erbaluna, located in Annunziata. This is a lovely place with modest rooms and great hospitality. They have an organic winery, and when we were there the air was filled with the smell of grape must and fermentation, which we found delightful. While not being perched on a hilltop, there is still a fantastic view from the terrace, and the place itself is situated smack in the middle of one of the areas with the densest cultivation of vineyards. We also liked the fact that there was an option of a communal kitchen, where you could sit down and prepare a coffee or small meal at any time of day.
If you do decide to go there, I suggest you approach it from the east - entering from the west entails crossing a lane with limited field of view, and is a bit tricky if you don't know exactly where the entrance is. Also, check their website - things might have changed since we were last there, eleven years ago.

Our preferred sub-area in the Langhe is what is called the "Alta Langa". While all of the Langhe is stunning with its picturesque vineyards, we like the more hilly and forested area around Loazzolo and Vesime. The combination of natural woods and small-scale farms is a winner for us.

Wines are not a big thing for us, but the area is full of DOP wines of all sorts. There is also a huge variety of local cheeses , and for us the Robiola di Roccaverano is the jewel in the crown. It is a soft white cheese made of raw goats milk, and has a delicate texture and taste that changes with the amount of aging it goes through, and the seasonal pastures that the goats roam in.

Since you're going at a time of year that is chock full of festivities, you might want to look at SagrePiemonte , a portal of festivals and events in Piemonte. Have Google Translate enabled, and the site is quite user-friendly.

Another resource that is useful if you'll be looking for trails, is the "Astigiano" topographical maps, a set of 1:25,000-scaled maps that are very good. I've attached a photo of one below.

And lastly, Piemonte attaches quite a bit of importance to the the promotion of local artisans. I've put up a travel resource here on the Slow Europe site, on that subject. Plenty of small-scale producers of all types if you're interested in artisanal food, or other, products. You can search for them according to location and/or type of interest, through the various sites I mention there.

Have a great time.

 

[Fedina]

Joe, thank you for your response and information. Really appreciate it. Since this is a last minute trip, I haven't had the time to do my usual research! We love to stay at agriturismi and one of the things we love most are Festa's and Sagra's. We are looking forward to some walks and bike riding too. Since my husband's career was in agriculture and we have our own grapes, we are interested in the farms and vineyards. Thanks again to you and all who have taken the time to respond.