Premier Vineyard Tours

10/21/2024

One of our recent highlights was a visit to , located just outside of the charming village of Novello. Elvio Cogno produces Barolos from the prestigious Ravera Cru. Even on a cloudy day, the surrounding hills of vineyards are stunning. What a wonderful tasting and visit! In addition to their outstanding 2020 Barolo Cascina Nuova and 2020 Barolo Ravera, we were were fortunate to try their 2022 Pre-Phylloxera Barbera d’Alba (wow!) and a 2023 Anas-Cëtta (Nascetta).
Grazie to our gracious guide Sara, and to Valter Fissore and Nadia Cogno for their warm hospitality.

10/15/2024

We were fortunate to have visited the winery in Monforte d’Alba on two separate occasions recently. The family winery dates back to 1864 and produce high quality Barolos from several Crus including: Bussia, Villero, Castellero and Cannubi vineyards. Continuing the tradition is winemaker Claudio Fenocchio, his wife Nicola and their two daughters Letizia and Eleonora who all help operate the family estate. Such a fun time we had with this beautiful family. Grazie!

Giacomo Fenocchio lineup:
2023 Roero Arneis
2022 Barbera d’Alba Superiore
2022 Langhe Nebbiolo
2020 Barolo “Villero”
2020 Barolo “Bussia”

10/15/2024

10/05/2024

Barbaresco time! Surrounded by Nebbiolo vines as Enrico Nada winemaker at explains the geo viticulture of the Macarini and Casot Crus. Apologies for the lack of wine photos, but I was living in the moment 😊🍷: Our yummy tasting included:
Langhe Riesling DOC, Langhe Bianco DOC “Armonia”, Langhe Nebbiolo DOC, Barbaresco Casot DOCG and Barbaresco Macarini DOCG. Grazie Enrico!

10/04/2024

We spent a fun couple hours with the amazing Andrea Faccio of . First a tasting lunch then a walk through a couple of his vineyards, Gamba di Pernice and Quercia (Barbera). Our beautiful lineup of Villa Giada wines: Gavi, Roero Arneis, San Pietro Monferrato Dolcetto, Barbera d’Asti, Dani Nizza Barbera and Dedicato Nizza Riserva Barbera. Grazie Andrea!

10/03/2024

For the sparkling wine enthusiast, a visit to the historic cellars of Contratto winery in Canelli is a must! . Their Metodo Classico wines are all hand riddled and aged from 30 months on the lees for the Millesimato, and up to 100 months for their Cuvée Novecento Pas Dosé. Grazie to our knowledgeable guide Giovanni for an incredible look into their amazing world of fine bubbles.

10/02/2024

Such a fun time last week wine touring with this wonderful group from Seattle. Our time together started with a visit to the lovely Ronzano family producers of Langhe and Monferrato wines since 1963. With 20 hectares total (8 located in Neive, Barbaresco region) their high quality wines beautifully express the terroir of the area. Plus - their Ronzano 2022 Barbera d’Asti was just awarded 94 points from Wine Enthusiast, congratulations!! 😊👏🍷
Grazie Paola and her brother Marco for their warm hospitality!

06/03/2024

Over the weekend we made a quick trip to Tuscany. One of our stops was to the charming family winery and farm in the Chianti Colli Senesi wine area. The Conforti family have been living and working in this hamlet for 7 generations! In addition to wine, their organic farm produces olive oil, fruits & vegetables as well as their own flour for their homemade pasta.

Our tour and tasting was hosted by Vittorio Conforti, who oversees the winemaking and winery visits. We also met his lovely mother Fiorella (pictured with Vittorio) who prepared a delicious salami & cheese board for our tasting. Vittorio’s father Giorgio and brothers Carlo & Guido also work on the farm.

A surprising part of the tour was visiting their beautiful old cellar that dates back to 1756. Their operation is small (only 20k bottles) but what an incredible contribution to their community (and beyond) with all of their quality products. We look forward to visiting again in the future and hopefully can try their new restaurant that’s opening soon. Grazie Vittorio and Fiorella for your warm hospitality!

Tasting at Montemorli Famiglia Conforti:
2022 Chardonnay di Toscana IGT
2023 “Maria Giulia” Rosato IGT 100% Sangiovese
2020 Chianti Riserva DOCG 100% Sangiovese
2020 “Cornacchino” Rosso di Toscana IGT 90% Cab. Sauv., 10% Canaiolo
2021 “Angelico” Rosso di Toscana, 40% Sangiovese, 40% Merlot, 20% Cab. Sauv.
2011 Vin Santo Del Chianti DOC 70% Trebbiano,
30% Malvasia

05/29/2024

We had a fantastic tour and tasting in Treiso. This small production winery is owned and operated by Francesco Guermani (pictured with Vincenzo Nicotra, Sales & Hospitality) who acquired the historic property in 2011 and converted the 9 hectares of vineyards to be organic and Certified Organic in 2019. The result is exceptionally elegant and complex Barbarescos. Our superb tasting included their 2021 Metodo Classico Brut Nature, 2022 Nebbiolo, 2020 Giacone Barbaresco, 2021 Serragrilli Barbaresco and their 2021 Barbera d’Alba Superiore Tres
Grazie Francesco & Vincenzo! 🍷

And that’s not all! The property offers 7 beautiful guest suites with vineyard views, as well as lunch service Saturday through Monday by reservation. Everything you need to relax and enjoy the Barbaresco region is here!
Note: The food is outstanding too (Grazie Lucia)! Homemade bread (Vincenzo) and some of the best agnolotti we’ve tasted! 😋

05/26/2024

A fun day trip to Parma for a Parmigiano Reggiano tour and tasting . Caseificio Ugolotti is located just outside of Parma and has been a family-run Parmigiano Reggiano producer since 1930. It was fascinating to see how the “King of Cheeses” is made: from the cooking, to the curing process and finally the aging of the cheese. The best part of course was the tasting at the end! 😊

05/23/2024

We’ve been wanting to visit ever since we were gifted a bottle of their beautiful Alta Langa (Metodo Classico sparkling) a few years ago. What a delight to experience their other high-quality wines: Nascetta, Chardonnay, Dolcetto d’Alba, Barbera d’Asti, Barbera d’Asti Superiore, Nebbiolo and Moscato. This small family winery located in Santo Stefano Belbo started back in 1945 with Tomasso Capra. Several generations later, it has been in the excellent hands of Marco Capra since 1999. Grazie Martina for the informative tasting and visit!

05/12/2024

What a fun evening with blind tasting 20 of the 2021 Barbarescos, organized by . We have so much to look forward to from this vintage! To complement the tasting was a wonderful menu prepared by Osteria taStè in Tre Stelle.