La Dolce Vita Wine Tours

Trufflemania

Discovering Piedmont’s Buried Treasures

Trip Notes:

Airport

Milan’s Malpensa or Linate. Both have convenient airport shuttle buses to Milan’s central train station, the Stazione Centrale (50 minutes from Malpensa, 30 minutes from Linate).

Pre-tour

Plan to land in Italy a day before the tour begins; that's necessary to be at our starting point on time. Most people spend the preceding night in Milan. For hotel suggestions, email us or consult a good hotel search engine, such as TripAdvisor or Venere. We recommend staying either near the main train station, called the Stazione Centrale (more convenient for catching the train on Day 1), or in the historic center near the Duomo (more convenient for pre-tour sightseeing). From one area to the other, it's about a 45-minute walk, a few stops on the subway, or a 15-minute taxi ride.

Meeting point

Our meeting point is the train station in Tortona, a small town on the rail line from Milan to Genoa. Assuming you spend the previous night in Milan, you'll go to Milan's Stazione Centrale and take the 9 A.M. commuter train to Tortona. (We'll provide precise train details in your information packet.) It takes less than an hour, and we'll meet you at the Tortona station. Please let us know if you're coming from elsewhere or spending the previous night in Tortona. From Tortona, we shuttle to Alba (about 1 hour), where the tour gets underway.

Departure day

On our final day, we’ll shuttle you to the train station of Asti [map] or Tortona by noon, depending on your travel plans. During the tour, we can help you buy your return train tickets.

Italian train schedule

Click here for an English-language version of TrenItalia. Be aware that the schedule is posted only several months in advance, so if you're looking for long-range dates, try something sooner, just to get an idea of departure frequency and trip length.

Trip extensions

Two popular destinations that are within easy reach of Piedmont are the Lake country and the Italian Riviera, including the Cinque Terre. Because Malpensa airport is about halfway between the city of Milan and Lake Como, a pre-tour stay in Como and/or along Lake Maggiore is quite do-able. Post-tour, one could continue south from Gavi to Genoa (only 30 minutes by express train). A working port city, Genoa is the birthplace of Christopher Colombus and offers a world-class aquarium, waterfront promenade (designed by architect Renzo Piano, a local son), wonderful art museums houses in 18th palaces, and a fascinating medieval section. Continue further down the coast, and you'll reach Portofino and the Cinque Terre. Both offer hiking trails and boat excursions, while the Cinque Terre also has scuba diving and public beaches.

Travel insurance

This is recommended to protect you from needless loss caused by last-minute cancellations, lost luggage, and more. Three sources are Travelex Insurance, (800) 228-9792; CSA Travel Protection, (800) 348-9505; and Travel Guard, (800) 826-1300.

Weather

When packing, check www.weather.com. When you're packing, go to "Asti, Italy" to get an idea of temperatures and forecast. In October, it's jacket weather: Fall will have commenced, with morning mists, an equal chance of overcast or clear days, with the possibility of sporadic rain. Average daytime temperatures are 60º, and 45º at night.

Reading

Articles about Piedmont wine by La Dolce Vita Wine Tours cofounder Patricia Thomson:
"Nebbiolo and the Allure of Barolo"
"Keepers of the Flame: Renato Ratti"
"A Piedmont Fable: Barbera"
"Inside Gavi: Piedmont's White Wine Town"
"Like Honey to a Bee: Moscato d'Asti"
"Super Piedmonts"
"Off to the Races: Behind the Scenes at Alba's Donkey Palio"
"Cycling through Piedmont's Wine Country"