Plan a trip
A route through the vines
Pick a country and a style, and we'll sketch a few days through it — real sub-regions in a sensible order, with what to expect at each stop and when to go, drawn from everything already on the site.
Where to
Style preference
Your route
A 5-stop route through Italy
The character of this trip
Follow the grape, and stay for lunch
Italy is a thousand local wines that barely leave their own valleys, so the trip that suits it is built around place rather than prestige: a grape you may never have met, a village that makes one thing extremely well, a table the wine was always meant to sit at. The hills set the pace and the roads are slower than the map promises, so plan fewer stops than you think you can manage.
Route length
Stops
5
Total driving
~116 km
Behind the wheel
2h 9min
Worth setting aside
4–5 days
What to expect
Notable producers
- Giacomo Conterno — Serralunga and Monforte; the legendary Monfortino.
- Bartolo Mascarello — Barolo village; traditional, blended from several vineyards.
- Giuseppe Rinaldi — Barolo village; traditional and long-aged.
Best time to visit
Come for harvest, in mid-autumn (October), when the cellars are busiest — or earlier, in early summer (June), for a quieter, greener look at the vines.
~26 km · 29 min to the next stop
Barolo and Roero share a climate — continental — so what sets them apart is subtler: the soil, the aspect, and the estates that work them.
Notable producers
- Malvirà — Canale; one of the estates that made the name of Roero Arneis and single-vineyard Roero.
- Matteo Correggio — Canale; a family estate making Roero and Roero Arneis.
- Monchiero Carbone — Canale; a respected estate for both the red and the white.
Best time to visit
Come for harvest, in mid-autumn (October), when the cellars are busiest — or earlier, in early summer (June), for a quieter, greener look at the vines.
~13 km · 15 min to the next stop
The climate barely changes between Roero and Barbaresco: continental. The difference is underfoot, in the soils and the slopes.
What to expect
Notable producers
- Gaja — The most famous Barbaresco producer.
- Produttori del Barbaresco — A cooperative of growers known for its single-vineyard Riservas.
- Bruno Giacosa — Neive; celebrated for Asili and Rabajà.
Best time to visit
Come for harvest, in mid-autumn (October), when the cellars are busiest — or earlier, in early summer (June), for a quieter, greener look at the vines.
~24 km · 27 min to the next stop
From Barbaresco to Asti and Monferrato, Nebbiolo gives way to Barbera — the same road, a different set of wines.
What to expect
Notable producers
- Braida — Rocchetta Tanaro; the estate that showed how serious Barbera d'Asti could be.
- Michele Chiarlo — Calamandrana; a leading name for Barbera d'Asti and Nizza.
- Coppo — Canelli; a historic Barbera house, with sparkling wines aged in the Canelli cellars.
Best time to visit
Come for harvest, in mid-autumn (October), when the cellars are busiest — or earlier, in early summer (June), for a quieter, greener look at the vines.
~53 km · 58 min to the next stop
Moving from a Barbera-led stop to a Cortese-led one, the route changes grape as well as place: Asti and Monferrato, then Gavi.
What to expect
Notable producers
- La Scolca — Gavi; the family estate behind Gavi dei Gavi, long a benchmark for the appellation.
- Broglia (Tenuta La Meirana) — Gavi; a large historic estate with a leading reputation for Gavi di Gavi.
- Villa Sparina — Monterotondo di Gavi; a well-regarded estate with hillside vineyards.
Best time to visit
Come for harvest, in mid-autumn (October), when the cellars are busiest — or earlier, in early summer (June), for a quieter, greener look at the vines.