Barolo Wine Tour: The Ultimate Guide to Visiting Barolo Vineyards

by Amanda

If you’re dreaming of sipping Barolo wine right where it’s made, this guide will show you the best ways to visit Barolo’s vineyards from Milan, Turin, and Alba. Whether you’re traveling by train, car, or with a private wine tour, I’ll share the easiest routes and top tips to ensure an unforgettable experience in Barolo, the King of Wines.

Why Take a Barolo Wine Tour?

Barolo is one of the world’s most prestigious wine regions, known for its age-worthy Nebbiolo wines, stunning vineyard landscapes, and charming hilltop villages. Whether you’re a seasoned wine lover or just starting your journey into fine Italian wines, a Barolo vineyard tour offers:

• Exclusive wine tastings at historic and family-run wineries

• Breathtaking vineyard views in the UNESCO-listed Langhe region

• Delicious local cuisine, including Alba’s famous white truffles

• A deep dive into Nebbiolo, one of Italy’s most revered grape varieties

Barolo Vineyards

How to Get to Barolo

Barolo Wine Tour from Milan

The easiest way to reach Barolo from Milan is either by train or car.

• By Train: Take a train from Milano Centrale to Asti, which requires one stop in Turin. Several trains run daily, and the journey takes about 1 hour 45 minutes. Once in Asti, it’s highly recommended to arrange a wine tour guide or private driver to explore the Barolo wine region.

• By Car: If you prefer to drive, Barolo is approximately 1.5 to 2 hours from Milan. Renting a car allows you to explore at your own pace, but remember that a designated driver is necessary if you plan to enjoy multiple tastings.

Barolo Wine Tour from Turin

Turin, the capital of Piemonte, is a hidden gem filled with royal palaces, rich history, and outstanding food and wine. It’s also the closest major city to Barolo, making it a perfect starting point for a wine tour.

• By Train: A direct train from Torino Porta Nuova to Asti takes only 35 minutes. From Asti, a wine guide or car service can take you into the Barolo vineyards within minutes.

• By Car: Driving from Turin to Barolo takes about 1 hour, making it a convenient day trip.

Barolo Wine Tour from Alba

Alba is the epicenter of Nebbiolo wines and the world-famous Alba White Truffle Festival. If you’re staying here, you’re already in prime wine country.

• By Car or Private Driver: Barolo is just a 10-15 minute drive from Alba, making it an easy and quick trip. However, since drinking and driving is strictly prohibited, hiring a wine guide or car service is the best way to enjoy your tastings.

Best Time to Visit Barolo

The best time for a Barolo wine tour depends on what you’re looking for:

• Spring (April–June): Lush vineyards, mild weather, and fewer crowds

• Fall (September–November): Grape harvest, stunning autumn colors, and Alba’s White Truffle Festival

• Winter (December–February): Quiet wineries, cozy tastings, and truffle-rich dishes

Plan Your Perfect Barolo Wine Tour

To make the most of your visit, consider booking a guided Barolo wine tour with a local expert who can provide:

• Exclusive tastings at small family run and top wineries

• Behind-the-scenes vineyard access

• Organized transportation between wineries

• Food and wine pairing experiences

For more details on custom Barolo wine tours, check out our ecclusive wine tour packages here. 

Typical Piedmont Cuisine – The Best Italian Dishes You Must Try

by: Amanda

Welcome to Piedmont (Piemonte), the birthplace of the Slow Food Movement! If you’re a food lover traveling through Italy, this region is a must-visit for its authentic, traditional dishes and world-famous wines like Barolo and Barbaresco.

Forget about spaghetti and meatballs—this is real Piedmontese cuisine, packed with rich flavors, locally sourced ingredients, and century-old recipes.

Want to eat like a local? Here’s your ultimate guide to traditional Piedmontese food, so you can confidently read any Italian menu and discover the best flavors of Northern Italy.

Antipasti (Starters) – The Perfect Beginning

Carne Cruda (Raw Beef Tartare)

Pronounced: car-neh cru-dah

This classic Piedmontese starter is similar to steak tartare but simpler and more delicate, seasoned only with extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) and salt. In Alba, it’s served in thin slices, while in Monferrato, it’s hand-chopped (battuta al coltello). Locals love to enjoy it with grissini (breadsticks) for an added crunch. When in season top this dish off with some fresh Alba White Truffle.

Vitello Tonnato (Veal with Tuna Sauce)

Pronounced: vi-tell-oh toh-nat-toh

A must-try Piedmontese dish! Thinly sliced veal is topped with a creamy tuna, caper, and mayo sauce, creating a surprising yet delicious flavor combination.

Insalata Russa (Russian Salad – Italian Style)

Pronounced: in-sa-la-ta rue-ssah

Italy’s version of potato salad, made with peas, carrots, and mayonnaise. Sometimes, it includes tuna or hard-boiled eggs, making it a filling and flavorful antipasto.

Tonno di Coniglio (Rabbit “Tuna”)

Pronounced: ton-no D co-nig-li-oh

Despite the name, this dish contains no tuna! Instead, it’s slow-cooked rabbit, shredded to resemble canned tuna, and preserved in olive oil for a light, tender dish.

Bagna Cauda (Warm Garlic & Anchovy Dip)

Pronounced: ban-ya caou-dah

A bold, flavorful Piedmontese specialty! This hot dip made with EVOO, garlic, and anchovies is perfect for dipping fresh vegetables. Enjoy it with a glass of Barbera wine to balance its strong flavors.

*Insider tip : check into the famous Bagna Cauda Day, typically happening the months of November and December for a real locals party!

Primi (First Courses) – Pasta & Risotto

Tajarin (Piedmontese Egg Pasta)

Pronounced: thai-ya-reeen

The iconic pasta of Piemonte, tajarin is rich in egg yolks, giving it a deep yellow color. It’s often served with:

• White truffles (in season)

• Ragù (slow-cooked meat sauce)

• Salsiccia (sausage sauce)

If you would like to make this wonderful dish at home please check out how to here.

Agnolotti del Plin (Stuffed Ravioli)

Pronounced: ag-know-lo-tea del pleen

These tiny, flavorful ravioli are stuffed with meat and vegetables or a vegetarian filling of ricotta and spinach. Traditionally, they are served in a light broth or tossed in butter and sage.

If you would like the whole story about these wonderful ravioli and how to make them at home you can find this here.

Gnocchi (Potato Dumplings)

Pronounced: ño-key

Light, fluffy, and comforting, gnocchi in Piedmont is often paired with:

• Castelmagno cheese (a famous Alpine cheese)

• Tomato sauce (al pomodoro)

Here is a great recipe of Gnocchi made with Ricotta and Stinging Nettles, here.

Risotto (Creamy Italian Rice Dish)

Pronounced: riz-aught-toh

Piedmont is home to Italy’s best risotto, (these might be fighting words to the Milanese) but, thanks to its famous Carnaroli and Arborio rice. Try:

• Risotto al Barolo – cooked with red wine

• Risotto agli Asparagi – made with fresh asparagus

Risotto cooked in wine recipe here.

Risotto with asparagus recipe here.

Secondi (Main Courses) – Hearty & Delicious

Tagliata di Fassona (Piedmontese Beef Steak)

Pronounced: tag-lee-ah-tah

Fassona beef, a lean and tender local breed, is best served rare to keep it juicy and flavorful. Overcooking can make it tough, so locals either enjoy it rare or slow-braised.

Brasato al Barolo (Slow-Braised Beef in Barolo Wine)

Pronounced: brah-za-toe

One of Piedmont’s most famous meat dishes! This tender beef dish is slow-cooked in Barolo wine, creating a rich, deep flavor.

Bollito Misto (Mixed Boiled Meats)

Pronounced: bowl-eat-toe miss-toe

A winter favorite, this dish includes various cuts of boiled beef served with:

• Salsa Verde (green sauce made with parsley and garlic)

• Salsa Rossa (red sauce made with peppers)

Fritto Misto (Mixed Fried Platter)

Pronounced: free-toe me-stow

A true Piedmontese feast! This 25-course fried platter includes:

• Meats (sausage, brain, heart)

• Vegetables

• Desserts (cookies, apples)

Dolci (Desserts) – The Sweet Finale

Bunet (Chocolate & Amaretti Custard)

Pronounced: boo-net

A decadent chocolate custard, made with amaretti cookies, eggs, and rum. Perfect with a glass of red wine!

Semifreddo (Semi-Frozen Dessert)

Pronounced: semy-fray-dough

A light, refreshing dessert made with Torrone (honey and hazelnut nougat) or Chinato wine, a fortified spiced red wine.

The Slow Food Movement – A Piedmontese Legacy

Did you know that Piedmont is the birthplace of the Slow Food Movement? Founded by Carlo Petrini in the 1990s, it started as a protest against fast food chains like McDonald’s opening in Italy.

The movement promotes traditional cooking methods, local ingredients, and sustainable farming. Thanks to Slow Food, even fast food restaurants in Italy must include locally sourced products on their menus—so if you see a burger with Tuma cheese, now you know why!

Visit Piedmont for the Ultimate Food & Wine Experience

Piedmont is a paradise for food lovers, offering some of the best traditional Italian dishes and world-renowned wines.

Pair your meal with local wines like Barolo, Barbaresco, and Barbera for the ultimate Italian dining experience. I mean food of the region and wine of the region is a sommelier number one best food pairing tip!

Are you planning a food and wine tour in Piedmont? Let us help you explore the best wineries and local cuisine!

[Check out our Wine Tours Here →]

Winemaking 101

Harvest can be done either by machine or by hand. Most vineyards in the Langhe and Monferrato areas because of the steep hills tend to harvest by hand. While in some flatter vineyards for the use of Moscato there has been some experimenting going on with machine harvesters. So far the results are quite good.

Once the grapes arrive into the cellar you have a few options:

• to de-stem or not

• the amount of sulfur dioxide to use

De stemming

In the Langhe there are very few producers who will not de-stem. This is because of a few reasons, the stems of Nebbiolo if not ripe give off a very bitter green tannin which is unpleasant to the wine. Only if you leave the stems to ripen (when the wood changes color from green to brown) then the tannins will be sweeter. In order to do that, you will need to let the grapes hang longer on the vines or in some cases will have a temperature controlled room to store the harvested grapes until the stems are completely ripe.

With that said most producers will de stem their grapes. Most will use a machine that will take off the stems, but since the Nebbiolo berries are more attached to the stems than the other varieties, you will wind up with some bits and pieces of stems during fermentation.

On the other hand there are a few producers who take the berries off by hand. One in the area who started to work in this method was Silvia Altare from Elio Altare, today there are more and more producers working in this way for some of their higher end Barolo’s.

To Sulphur or not to Sulphur

As winemaking trends change there has been much discussion about adding sulfites to wine and when or not at all. The advantages in addition of sulphur to Nebbiolo grapes are:

• antiseptic - by adding sulphur to the grape must this will protect against bad yeasts on the grape skins and protect against acetobacter (vinegar bacteria).

• antioxidant - to help control oxidation within the wine.

If you do not add sulphur before the alcoholic fermentation starts, typically the producer is then going to have an indigenous yeast fermentation and would want more oxygen in contact with the must to promote growth of the native yeasts.

Alcoholic Fermentation

After you have crushed, now you are ready to ferment. Depending on your winemaking choices some producers use selected yeasts* or indigenous yeats found on the skins. If this is your selected method many producers will make a starter culture (pied di cuve) to help have a strong population of yeasts to start the fermentation.

*With selected yeasts, these could be ones that have been selected from the wineries vineyard and is special to the house or they can chose and active dry yeast that they like. By selecting the yeasts they are stronger and will not have trouble to finish the fermentation when alcohol levels arrive above 4% ABV.

Fermentation Vessels

Here you have a choice:

• Tine (large oak upright fermenters)

• Cement tanks

• Stainless steel tanks

• Roto - fermenters

Tine (oak fermenters) are the oldest method and the most traditional in the Langhe area. These large upright oak tanks are a great container to have a smooth fermentation, as it is very uncommon for there to be problems with temperatures going too high in the wooden containers. There is plenty of oxygenation and the musts and wine are fermenting in a natural container. The only downside to the Tine is the cleanliness, but this should not be a problem today.

Cement tanks came into the Langhe area in the 1960’s as cement was easy to install and cheaper than having to buy Tine or Stainless steel tanks. The cement tanks are covered with a glass resin glaze that will make it safe for the wines to undergo the fermentation or aging in these tanks. Cement being quite thermal and heavy is very hard to change the temperature quickly, so these tanks are still used today as they are quite therapeutic for the wine.

Stainless steel came into the Langhe in the 1990’s when there was a revolution in the area going on. More about that here. Before the 1990’s steel was very expensive and the average farmer could not afford it. With the new wave of young producers searching for cleanliness and quality they brought in the use of steel. If the tanks are not equipped with temperature control, fermentation can get a bit out of control with temperature making it harder to cool it down. These tanks are very easy to clean.

Roto-fermenters are a stainless steel tank with paddles built into the center of these horizontal fermenters. This design was invented in the Langhe in the 1990’s by the youngster who revolutionized the area. This invention works quite well for the Nebbiolo grape to extract the color and tannin quite quickly from the skins. With the inner paddles that move slowly (depending also on the speed the winemaker wishes) it is typical for one full rotation every 24 hours. By constantly moving the must the winemaker is able to extract more color from the skins.

After the Fermentation:

The winemaker has two choices:

• To remove the skins

• Have an extended maceration

If the winemaker decides to remove the skins, the wine will go on to the next part of this post.

If the winemaker decides to have an extended maceration this can be extended as long as the winemaker feels it should. Typically when they are extending the maceration time for another 20-60 days they will submerge the cap into the middle of the tank so it will stay wet and be free of bacteria formations. The winemaker will then decide if they would like to continue with pumpovers or not, and for how many times a day and how long. By doing this they are able to have a maximum extraction of tannin complexity and color.

Malolactic fermentation aka second fermentation

The Malolactic fermentation is a natural chemical occurrence and every wine will go through this step unless it has been chosen not to, and from there will need to have a fine filtration to take out the micro bacteria that performs this transition.

Basically the Malic acid (the acid in a green apple) gets eaten by good bacteria that changes the malic acid into lactic acid (the acid in milk). From this in white wine you will have a buttery mouthfeel or in red wine you will feel a softer smoother acidity. Still mouthwatering.

Oak aging

In the Langhe you have a few options of how to oak age your wines

• Botti Grandi (large oak casks)

• Barrique (small 250 L French oak barrels)

• Tonneaux (medium 500 - 700 L French oak barrels)

The large oak casks are typical from the Langhe area. It is most common to find them from 1,000 L to 10,000 Liter and were used for centuries to make the famous Barolo and Barbaresco wines. These barrels can be used for decades if kept in good condition when cleaned regularly and restored every so many years. It is typical for these barrels to be made out of Slovonian, Austrian, or Hungarian oak. It is very seldom to find them made from French oak. With these large casks they tend to impair less wood flavors to the wines and helps with a steady and low oxygenation.

Barrique and Tonneaux barrels are something a bit new to the Langhe area. They were introduced in the 1980-1990’s when the “Barolo Boys” first started to experiment with these smaller barrels. Barrique and Tonneausx are made from French oak and can have a range of different toasts to the inside of the barrel. By toasting the barrel helps to shape the staves, but a heavy toast can leave more notes of Vanilla and spice in the wine that some people might not appreciate as it can tend to cover up the flavors of the grapes. With all kinds of experimentation happening with these new small barrels there has been an understanding to utilize different ages of the barrels in order to maintain balance within the wine.

If you would like more information about cooperages please check out my post on my visit to Gamba Botti.

After the oak aging the wine will be placed into stainless steel or cement tanks for a period of time in order to settle any deposits left in the wine before being bottled.

Thinking to visit the vineyards in Piemonte, Italy? Why wait!!

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There are plenty of things to see and do and who wouldn’t want to take a visit to a Barolo or Barbaresco vineyard?

I mean the wine is what brought me to Piemonte. The finesse of Nebbiolo, the vineyards of Barolo and Barbesco all seemed so magical. I came to visit to see and taste the wines and meet the winemakers. Then I fell in love. One with the rolling hills covered with vineyards in Langa and two with a charming Italian man. (Ladies watch out for those Italians). I came to Piemonte because I was driven by my passion for the wine and the food. I was given the opportunity to work first hand in a vineyard to help out with the year’s production of Nebbiolo to make Barbaresco. I loved it, there was something about working with the grapes and making the wine and talking to people about what I was doing. There were so many visitors who would come to take a winery tour, come to taste the wines. They would want me to take them on the winemaking journey, to tour with them in the winery talking about what is going on, what we were doing and learn something new. The winery tour and vineyard tour was my favorite part, taking a walk on a crisp autumn morning when the vineyard leaves were beginning to change color. You can tell the grape varietal by the color the leaves change “Gianni one day said to me”, as we were taking a walk in one of the vineyards located in the Asti area.

We would wake up early every morning to be greeted in the cellar by a tractor full of grapes ready for the crush. All of these ruby colored grapes filling every single red plastic crate. When you hold up the Nebbiolo grapes to the sun you can see through them the skins of the Nebbiolo take almost a Rose’ color and in light become transparent.   The Nebbiolo is the king of the grapes here in Piemonte and in all of Italy. The essence of Nebbiolo is like no other, it is elegante, complex, and can sometimes be quite powerful. There is no other grape to compare it to. It is also one grape that does not ever show as wonderful when planted outside of it’s Piemontese home. Even in Piemonte the Nebbiolo grape is quite finicky, it really does not like to go too far away. Just like most Italians, their home is beautiful, their culture is wonderful, and it is hard to find another place in the world as wonderful as Italy.

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As the harvest started to come to an end, Gianni and I would take his fast car to the mountains to have a traditional Piemontese mountain meal. We would drive for hours on these windy streets to arrive to a restaurant that looked more like someone’s home and would be welcomed in to have an amazing meal. We would eat Polenta with cheese, braised meats (my favorite was always the wild boar), have a couple of bottles of Piemontese wine and enjoy hours of laughs amongst us as well as the warm and charming mountain people who were feeding us this wonderful meal. We would then finish the meal with some Genepy or some Amaro from the area. Then head off to some quite grassy spot and take a nap. With the wind blowing in our hair and the sounds of the leaves shaking and the slight kiss of the sun amongst our faces. This was heaven.  I will never forget these times, and this was what made understanding the simplicities of life and how it should be.

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It was hard to return to the states, the flat, same old, East Coast that I have always known. Now I knew something different. A new way of life, one for living.

Even to this day when we go to take a trip even if it is a couple of days, I miss the rolling hills of the Langhe. The picturesque views of the Alps, the windy vineyard lined streets of Piemonte. I am glad that I decided to live here, and I love being able to share with people the wonderful experiences that I have had over the years of life in Langhe. I am glad to be able to tour with people to have more wine tour experience in Piemonte. To get to know much better the area’s of Barolo and Barbaresco and to get to know well the people the families who are behind such breathtaking wines. I now get to know their stories, and can see and feel their passion. But not only for just the wine, but the land, the work that goes into it, their family traditions that have been passed down to them over the years. They like the vines are really attached to the soil, the land, the history. It is amazing to find these things, to be able to share these things with my guests, with you, this is what I love.