Three days in Piedmont, Italy

La Morra Cerequio

This suggested itinerary accompanies my earlier blog, More Than a Oenophile's Dream. Read the blog for more detail and photos. 

Access: Piedmont is within easy reach of Milan, Genoa as well as Nice and Monte Carlo but you will need a car to reach the towns and get around. The main city of Turin is well connected by train so you could opt to rent a car in Turin. However, if you are in Milan, I recommend picking up the car in Milan and...

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Barcelona’s Disfrutar – Most Enjoyable Meal

Barcelona's Disfrutar restaurant

Disfrutar means “enjoy” in Spanish; and this new addition to Barcelona’s dining scene lives up to its name. It was one of my favorite experiences in a recent trip to Spain and the one restaurant I would say you must try if in Barcelona. The food is modern but yet comfortable although some dishes definitely held surprises. The pedigree of the food reflects Disfrutar’s chef-owners, who were ex-El Bulli head chefs and I suspect that there is probably a fair degree of similarity in some...

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Piedmont – More Than a Oenophile’s Dream

Piedmont sunrise

Given Tuscany’s medieval and renaissance jewels, visitors often overlook Italy’s other wine region Piedmont. But with its delicious Barolo and Barbaresco wines, super restaurants and sculpted vine covered hillsides, Piedmont is a worthy culinary and scenic destination especially since it’s within easy reach of Milan. Best of all, you can get a great meal and a fantastic room at prices well below that of comparable establishments in Milan and much of Tuscany.

I discovered...

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Piedmont’s La Ciau del Tornavento – All the Wine to Dine For

La Ciau del Tornavento

For a Michelin one-star establishment, La Ciau del Tornavento packs a punch. The restaurant sits on a hilltop in the town of Treiso in Piedmont with the dining room opening up onto a fantastic view of the vine laden slopes and valley below. The cuisine takes Piedmont’s traditional dishes up a notch - largely recognisable, nothing foamy here. But best of all it has the most impressive wine collection I’ve ever seen with its cellar holding more than 38,000 bottles.

We came here on...

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Palas Cerequio – In Barolo Bliss

I won’t normally write about hotels but in this case, Palas Cerequio is a destination unto itself. Firstly, this luxury bed & breakfast is set amidst some of the world’s most famous Barolo vines - great landscape. Secondly, its airy and modern suites come with their own sauna or Turkish bath. And last but not least, this b&b possesses an amazing wine cellar full of the regional favourites to accompany the fine cooking provided on site. So, one could stay at the property an entire...

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