Wine Tastings, Winery Visits and Wine Tours in Roero

Roero wine tasting: which wineries to visit

The Roero is the hill country north of Alba, across the Tanaro from the Langhe and less than an hour's drive from Turin. This page lists more than 20 wine tastings and winery visits at a dozen or so wineries in Canale, Castagnito, Castellinaldo, Vezza d'Alba, Montà, Monteu Roero, Montaldo Roero and Santo Stefano Roero. Nearly nine in ten last between an hour and a half and two and a half hours, usually with 3 to 6 wines. In all, the page has more than 100 reviews on Winedering.

Which Roero wineries are worth visiting?

Castagnito has a third of the experiences on this page and, with Pqlin, Massucco and Cascina Goregn, more than nine in ten bookings; Pqlin alone accounts for more than three in four. Here is Pqlin, with three others that differ in setting and format:

• Pqlin, in Castagnito: 6 wines in two and a half hours, including two Roero Arneis, one of them barrel-aged, and the Roero red, with salami, lardo, vegetable frittata and Piedmont cheeses.
• Malabaila, in Canale: a historic family winery. In good weather you can walk up through the vines to the hilltop, then head down to the underground cellar, hand-built 200 years ago, to taste the wines with salami and cheese.
• La Roerina, in Valpone, a hamlet of Canale: the family pours 4 DOC and DOCG wines in the crutin, the old cellar of their little church of Maria Ausiliatrice, then a short walk takes you to the Big Bench, a giant chair looking out over the Roero hills.
• Cascina Ciapat, in Montaldo Roero: after the vineyards and cellar, a white straight from the barrel and 2 bottled wines of your choice, with salami, cheese and the estate's hazelnuts. You choose between honey and cugnà, a Piedmontese grape-must preserve, and finish with a Nebbiolo Chinato.

What kind of wine is Roero Arneis?

A dry white from at least 95% Arneis. Together with Roero, a red from at least 95% Nebbiolo, it makes up the Roero DOCG, created in 2004. Alongside them come Barbera d'Alba, Nebbiolo d'Alba, sparkling wines and Langhe DOC wines, which despite the name are also made on this side of the river. Roero Arneis is poured in 10 experiences here, often alongside the Roero red. At Poderi Moretti, in Monteu Roero, the visit starts in the vineyard next to the winery and ends with 4 wines: Roero Arneis, a Langhe Barbera or Dolcetto, Langhe Nebbiolo and Roero. Pelassa, in Montà, home of the Rocche ecomuseum, pours 5 wines, from Roero Arneis to Nebbiolo d'Alba and its own Brut, with Piedmont salami and cheeses.

Where is the Roero, and how is it different from the Langhe?

In Piedmont, on the left bank of the Tanaro; the Langhe rise on the right bank, around Alba. The soils here are sandy, the floor of an ancient sea, and the landscape is cut by the Rocche, sand gorges and cliffs carved by erosion after the Tanaro changed course. The rules change too: Roero red must age for at least 20 months and the Riserva for 32, against 38 for Barolo across the river. To taste the difference in one sitting, try Nebbiolo & Nebbiolo at Massucco, in Castagnito: 7 wines, all with Nebbiolo, from Roero Riserva to Barbaresco and Barolo. For Barolo, see the tastings in the Langhe; for the whole region, those in Piedmont.

When is the best time for wine tasting in the Roero?

Spring and autumn: April and May bring about a quarter of the year's bookings, October and November a little more, and autumn adds the harvest and the white truffle season around Alba. In any season, four wineries go beyond the tasting platter: two serve lunch, two pack you a picnic. At Francesco Rosso, in Santo Stefano Roero, Maria, co-owner with Francesco, cooks Piedmontese starters such as vitello tonnato, then tajarin and a cake made with the estate's hazelnuts, served with 4 of their wines. Cascina Goregn, in the centre of Castagnito, pairs 4 wines with 4 local dishes: three are set, and you choose the fourth dish when you book. For an aperitivo or a picnic, Fabrizio Battaglino, in Vezza d'Alba, gives you one bag for every two people, with a bottle and local food, and points you to his vineyards, a short drive away, where a trail is marked by colourful bunse, the tubs once used to mix copper spray. The Riedel glasses are yours to keep. After its winery tour, Massucco also hands you a picnic basket to open among the vines. Many of the tastings on this page can also be given as a gift: whoever receives the voucher picks the date.