La Dolce Vita Wine Tours

Pedal Piedmont

Biking in Barolo and Gavi Wine Country

Itinerary:

DAY 1 – WELCOME TO PIEDMONT

We’ll meet at the Tortona train station (about an hour south of Milan) at a designated time, then shuttle another hour to Gavi, a white-wine region in the southeast corner of Piedmont.

After the bikes are fitted, we’ll do a 15-mile warm-up ride before lunch. This will be a loop around Gavi, the town from which Gavi di Gavi wine takes it name. Here the roads go up and down some wooded hills, past stretches of vineyard and farmland, through the river town of Arquata Scriva, and back to the hotel.

Lunch will be at a nearby agriturismo that offer homemade cooking, a beautiful view, and peacocks roaming the grounds. In the afternoon, you have an option for more miles, or a tour and tasting at Villa Sparina, a leading winery in the Gavi area, which has turned its old farming structures into beautiful 4-star hotel; this will be our home base for the next two days.

Dinner introduces the refined, French-influenced cuisine of Piedmont, which features risotto, porcini mushrooms, and woodland meats like wild boar (cinghiale) or stewed rabbit with polenta. [15+ miles]
D • Villa Sparina

DAY 2 – SPOTLIGHT ON GAVI

Over hill and dale, we cycle through Gavi’s picturesque countryside. Our morning ride takes us down a pastoral river valley, then up through the tiny hilltop villages of San Cristoforo, Castelleto d’Orba, and Montaldeo. Along the way, we’ll pass from the wine roads of Gavi into the terrain of Dolcetto d’ Ovada, a quaffable red table wine in a nearby DOC zone. Again, it’s wine country, so we’ll encounter a number of hills and make the mileage count!

After our bike ride, we’ll shuttle by van to an afternoon wine tasting at La Guistiana, a Gavi winery situated in a stately 18th C. villa surrounded by statues and chestnut trees—one of many such properties built by nobles from Genoa as their countryside escapes. Here we’ll sample several single-vineyard Gavis that demonstrate how terroir affects the taste of the cortese grape.

Dinner in Gavi offers such traditional piemontese fare as plin (tiny meat-stuffed ravioli) in a bowl of wine, pasta with porcini mushrooms, and bonet (chocolate-amaretii pudding) [30 miles]
B, D • Villa Sparina

DAY 3 – THE ROAD TO ASTI

Today we move to Asti, famous for its Asti Spumante and Moscato d’Asti wine. We’ll shuttle part-way, downloading our bikes in the town of San Salvatore. From here, it’s a 30-mile point-to-point ride to the city of Asti. The route cuts across a swath of rolling terrain around Monferrato, another wine region where the Barbera grape was born. We’ll pass through ancient hilltop villages, where we can spy the Alps peeking out on the horizon, as well as farmed flatlands.

Arriving in Asti by mid-afternoon, we’ll settle into our next hotel in the city center. We’ll have our afternoon tasting at a local wine producer that specializes in hearty red Barbera and the fragrant, fizzy dessert wine Moscato d’Asti. Dinner is in Asti, where we’ll encounter such regional treats as handmade egg pasta with ragú, roasted lamb, and hazelnut torts. [30 miles]
B, D • Hotel Palio

DAY 4 – BRAVO BRAIDA

Morning offers a loop ride that take us north of Asti, on gently rolling hills covered with vineyards that grow moscato, barbera, and grignolino, one of Piedmont’s many obscure but captivating farmhouse reds. This ride passes through bucolic landscapes with long slopes capped by stone villages and country-baroque churches.

After lunch, we’ll head off by van to a tasting at Braida, the estate of Giacomo Bologna. This was the man who single-handedly revolutionized Barbera, transforming it from a rustic table wine into a wine of great character and finesse. Dinner is on your own at one of Asti’s fine restaurants. [30 miles]
B • Hotel Palio

DAY 5 – FROM ASTI TO ALBA

Today we transfer from Asti to Alba by bike, riding along the ridge overlooking the Tanaro river valley. We’ll pass through quaint hilltowns every few miles and ogle at magnificent castles in Govone and Guarene, biking all the way to our hotel in Alba.

After a well-earned lunch in town, we’ll shuttle to Barbaresco, a hilltop village just outside of Alba and sample Barbaresco wine, among Piedmont’s most regal reds. We’ll visit the highly regarded estate of the Marchesi di Gresy, where the noble family still lives. Here we’ll see how the sensitive nebbiolo grape responds to slight differences in soil, as we taste through their Barbareco cru. We’ll also try their charming dolcetto and their steely sauvignon blanc, a rare grape in Piedmont.

Dinner is at a Slow Food–affiliate restaurant in Alba, which serves up haute versions of piemontese classics. [30 miles]
B, D • Hotel I Castelli

DAY 6 – MANGO & MOSCATO

In Piedmont, Mango is not a fruit, but a town. Our ride today loops through this wine zone, located south of Alba. We first climb to Grinzane Cavour, then continue upward to Diano d’Alba, the highest point in the various Dolcetto wine zones. From here, we bike on a long, lovely country road that follows the twisting contours of the hills, offering gorgeous vistas of dolcetto and moscato vineyards, hazelnut groves, and family farmsteads.

We’ll stop in Mango for lunch. Then we can either loop back to the hotel by bike, catching a good number of descents. Or we can shuttle straight to Barolo for an introduction to “the king of wines and the wine of kings,” visiting the historic estate Marchesi di Barolo where the French-born Marchesa Guilia Colbert created Barolo in the 1800s.

Dinner is in Alba, where we might sample guinea fowl in wine sauce or perhaps some dishes laced with the region’s famed white truffles, a perfect match for an aged Barolo. [30+ miles]
B, D • Hotel I Castelli

DAY 7 – IN THE HEART OF THE LANGHE

Today our bike ride takes us through some of the most spectacular landscapes of the Langhe, the hills south of the Tanaro River. This is the heart of Barolo wine country, so today we’ll pass through the wine towns of Serralunga, Monforte, Barolo, La Morra, and Verduno—all commune names that make a Barolo lover’s heart throb.

After a day of long, nicely graded climbs and fun descents, we’ll be primed for our final tasting at Silvio Grasso. Grapegrowers since the 1920s, the Grasso family began bottling their own wines in the 1980s. Our gracious host, Marilena Grasso, will pour an array of Barberas, Barolos, and Super Piedmont blends. But most fascinating will be the side-by-side comparisons between cru and vintages. The day concludes most memorably with Piedmont’s refined cuisine, such as meat-stuffed agnellotti and beef braised in Barolo. [30 miles]
B, D • Hotel I Castelli

DAY 8 – BUON VIAGGIO!

A shuttle to the Asti train station and assistance with your travel plans. B

Please bear in mind that this is a sample itinerary, which is customizable. Longer rides, less wineries, more sightseeing or less—all this and more is possible upon request.

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