Italy 2008 – Piedmont and Siena

The wine conference lasted 3 fun-filled days. Leave it to the Italians to plan the best conference yet. It was held in the ancient hospital (which is now a museum) across from the Duomo, and the sessions were very information. Lunch, which included wine each day, was an amazing stand-up affair with luscious cheeses, meats, pastas, and salads. There were several highlights to the conference: Grand Gala Dinner at the Cloister Piccolomini – a beautiful villa in the Tuscan countryside. Everyone dressed up for this special event, and each professor brought a favorite bottle of wine from their country to [...]

The day dawned sunny and bright, and we took our time enjoying our last breakfast on the flowered terrace of the Hotel Barolo. Our original plans called for us to go back to the Monferrato to visit another winery and not leave Piedmont until noon, but once we looked on the map and realized how long the drive to Siena was, we had to cancel our appointment. Instead, and because we were feeling sad about leaving such a beautiful place, we decided to take the scenic drive along route 661 and over the rolling hills and mountains of Piedmont. Therefore, [...]

If the previous day was full, July 15th was even more jam-packed with wine adventures in Piedmont. We hadn’t meant to schedule all 3 wineries in one day, but that is what worked best with the winery owners. After a nice breakfast on the sunny terrace (it came with the room, which was only $100 Euros per night for two – two twin beds with a private bath), we drove to the town of Barbaresco to view Angelo Gaja’s house – the very famous vintner from this town and also visit the Producttori de Barbersco. This is a type of [...]

Enroute to the 4th International Wine Business Conference in Sienna, Italy, my good friend Janeen and I scheduled 3 days in Piedmont. She found a great hotel online in the hilltop town of Barolo, called – simple enough – the Hotel Barolo. It was family-run, quaint, and very friendly with an amazing view over the vineyards and the charming village of Barolo. Several weeks before the trip, I began doing research on wineries and enotecas to visit. I also contacted my friend, Doug Cook, who knows everything about Italian wines and wineries for recommendations. He got me in touch with [...]