Discover Serralunga d’Alba in Italian Barolo
Stunning Serralunga d’Alba in the Langhe Piemonte - Source: Winekeller
A village in the heart of Barolo in Langhe Piemonte, where you can experience the world-famous Italian Barolo wine and spectacular scenery
Of all the Italy wine regions, the hills and wines of the Piedmont - or Piemonte - region, are the most famous, especially for the most celebrated and collectable wines of all, those produced in the small region of Barolo, which gives its name to the same wines. The Barolo wine region is located in the Langhe region of Piemonte.
We travel to the heart of Italian Barolo wine, to the small, but perfectly formed village of Serralunga d’Alba and explore its wines and its wineries - with special attention focused on a very special winery and winemaker - Rivetto - and we also explore truffle hunting Piedmont style!
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About Piemonte
First of all, an introduction to Piemonte and the Italian Barolo wine region.
Wine is produced around most of the Piedmont region in the northwest of Italy and it’s known for its famous Barolo and Barbaresco red wines - as well as its pungent truffles! This is mostly due to the unique soils in Piedmont - a result of the region once being underwater and then subject to constant flooding and earthquakes.
Piemonte may be famous for its wines and its truffles, but it is also stunningly, achingly beautiful, especially in the Autumn time when Nature’s colours are at their most rich and impressive, days are still warm and the morning fog adds that extra element of romance and beauty.
There are 3 famous hill districts in Piedmont that were all listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2014 - Langhe, Roero and Monferrato.
Beautiful Piemonte in the Autumn - Source: Winekeller
Red wine from Piemonte
Piemonte is a wine region which is all about one grape variety - ‘Nebbiolo’ - Piemonte’s late-ripening grape which produces the world-famous, tannic, long-lived and alcoholic red wines - Italian Barolo wine and Italian Barbaresco wine. Nebbiolo is named after the fog - ‘nebbia’ - which is a common sight over the Langhe hills in the Autumn.
Piemonte also produces great quantities of juicy ‘Barbera’ wines and soft ‘Dolcetto’ wines, which are designed to be enjoyed much younger than Barolo and Barbaresco wines and these along with Nebbiolo wines can offer some of Piemonte's best wines, at a fraction of the cost of a great Barolo or Barbaresco.
Traditionally, Piedmont was home to single, 100% varietals, but an increasing number of producers now experiment with red blends, for example Nebbiolo blended with Barbera, Merlot, Cabernet or even Syrah.
White wine from Piemonte
Piemonte is also home to a variety of local white grape specialities, including Cortese - the grape of ‘Gavi’ - and Muscat, the grape of the famous Italian sparkling wine, ‘Asti Spumante’ and ‘Moscato d’Asti’, extremely light, low alcohol and refreshing, ‘frizzante’ wines. The perfumed Arneis grape is also fashionable as ‘Roero Arneis’ while Favorita (the local form of Rolle or Vermentino) is also grown in Roero just north of Barolo and Barbaresco country and the white grape variety Nascetta comes from Novello.
Many of the Piemonte wines are labelled by grape varietals, for example Nebbiolo d’Alba, Barbera d'Asti and Dolcetto di Diano d’Alba.
Piedmont wine map - Source: Wine Spectator
Top DOCG Piemonte wines
In addition to the Barolo and Barbaresco top DOCGs, other significant ones include:
Asti and Moscato d’Asti DOCG
Barbera d’Asti DOCG
Dolcetto di Diano d’Alba DOCG
Brachetto d’Acqui DOCG
Dogliani DOCG
Nizza DOCG
Roero DOCG
Ruchè di Castagnole Monferrato DOCG
Langhe is an important DOC as is the Piemonte DOC.
About the Langhe Piemonte
The Langhe hills are located in the south west of Piemonte around the famous wine town of Alba , forming waved hill crests, all pointing in the same direction, from southeast to northwest. Each hill has a steep side that holds up the next, gentle slope, generating a unique sun exposure, perfect for the cultivation of the Nebbiolo grape, which produces the famous Italian Barolo wine and Barbaresco wine. The Alps tower over the Langhe hills to the north and west. The Upper Langhe, (‘Alta Langa’) hills face south, toward the Apennine mountains. Here the landscape is dominated more by meadows and hazelnut groves.
The main centre of the Langhe region is the wine town of Alba - home to the International Truffle Fair and a great place to base yourself when exploring the Langhe Piemonte (see later).
The Langhe hills, Piemonte - Source: Winekeller
About Barolo Langhe
The world-famous region of Barolo is located inside the Piemonte’s Langhe - famous for its wine, but also truffles and hazelnuts and also its spectacular villages and castles.
Since 2014, the Langhe and Barolo Hills have been recognised as a Unesco World Heritage Site.
Italian Barolo wine is known as Italy’s ‘wine of kings and king of wines’ and it can only be made in the 11 different small villages and communes that make up the Barolo DOCG. Italian Barolo takes its name from the village of the same name located 15 km to the south of the town of Alba. Serralunga d’Alba is one of the 11 Barolo villages.
Read about the 11 Barolo Villages here.
The world-famous village of Barolo - Source: Winekeller
Italian Barolo wine
Barolo wines are expensive because there is 4 years hard work behind a Barolo wine (compared to 3 years for neighbouring Barbaresco wines). Approximately 15m bottles of Barolo are produced each year across the region.
All fine Barolo wines share some common features, notably a light red colour (Nebbiolo, like Pinot Noir, never produces dark, opaque wines); full flavours and aromas of cherries and plums; a dense texture and substantial tannins. Alcohol levels are typically 13-14%.
Some Barolo producers use small French oak barriques to age their wines, whilst others prefer the more traditional large oak casks - a topic which caused much division in Barolo in the latter half of the 20th century between the so-called ‘traditionalists’ and ‘modernists’, but it is now recognised that there is a place for both approaches.
The Barolo and Langhe hills, Piemonte - Source: Winekeller
Our visit to Serralunga d’Alba
We chose to visit the Barolo Langhe region in the Autumn, when the colours are at their finest and it’s truffle season!
We based ourselves in the beautiful mediaeval Barolo village of Serralunga d’Alba - a distinctive landmark in the Barolo hills with its towering castle and impressive defences, standing proud in the middle of the vineyards.
The Castle of Serralunga d’AIba ( Via del Castello, 1) is unique for its exceptional vertical structure. After being purchased by the Italian State in 1949, the castle was restored and brought back to its former splendour and can be visited with guided tours, on different schedules depending on the season.
Where to stay in Serralunga d’Alba
We stayed in wonderful ‘agriturismo’ accommodation, in the centre of the vineyards in Serralunga d’Alba and part of the winery and wine producer, Azienda Agricola Boassa Franco (see later). The farmhouse, Agriturismo I Grappoli offers 4 independent apartments, 2 with 2 bedrooms and 2 with 1 bedroom. There is a wonderful breakfast room in the cellar and we found the selection of food and the service and hospitality really excellent. The family are so hospitable and really keen to help you experience the local food, wines and countryside. We also dined in the restaurant here one evening and can recommend.
You can easily walk, either through the vineyards or down the road, to the centre of Serralunga d’Alba.
Where to eat in Serralunga d’Alba
There’s a good selection of casual and smarter restaurants in Serralunga d’Alba. We can recommend:
Locanda Italia - for casual, traditional food;
Osteria Tre Case - a little more formal, excellent food/service;
Vinoteca Centro Storico - great shop and wine bar - excellent choice of wines. Make sure you book as there are only a few tables - located right by the castle.
Serralunga d’Alba vineyards and wineries
The vineyards of Serralunga d’Alba (see map) are amongst some of the best in the Barolo region and they are tightly packed on the Barolo hillsides.
There are a few top family-run Barolo producers based in the centre of Serralunga d’Alba, including:
Palladino, Paolo Manzone, Schiavenza, Ettore Germano and Massolino - there’s certainly a lot of choice if you wish to visit wineries in Serralunga!
We chose to stay local and visit the winery where we were staying - Azienda Agricola Boassa Franco - as well as an amazing and unique wine producer between Serralunga d’Alba and Sinio, Rivetto.
Azienda Agricola Boasso Franco
Boasso Franco farms 7 hectares of vineyards in the Serralunga d’Alba region and is located in the centre of the ‘Gabutti’ vineyard - known to be one of the best Barolo vineyards. As well as plots in the Gabutti vineyard, Boasso Franco also has plots in the Margheria, Meriame, Lazzarito and Le Turne vineyards and produces 4 types of single vineyard Barolo wines, Barbera, Dolcetto and Nebbiolo wines and Roero Arneis and Moscato d’Asti white wines.
Today 2 brothers, 4th generation, run the family business - one being the winemaker and the other looking after wine tourism and the agriturismo accommodation.
We enjoyed a superb tasting of Boasso Franco wines and especially enjoyed the amazing views from the tasting room over the vineyards and over Serralunga d’Alba. Contact Boasso Franco to arrange a tasting in advance.
Azienda Agricola Rivetto
Years ago we used to import Rivetto wines and our customers were always astounded at the quality of the wines and rated them very highly in terms of value for money. We were so excited to visit the farm and winery and to spend time with owner and winemaker Enrico Rivetto, who is nothing short of an institution in the region.
An introduction to Enrico Rivetto
On his website, Enrico introduces himself in an intriguing manner ‘Welcome to the corner of my consciousness’, not often found on a wine producer’s website. Enrico describes himself as a farmer who grows vines, cereals, herbs and fruit trees and he is passionate about and believes in protecting the environment and the soils and creating harmony with nature. This has led him to sacrifice vineyards to rest the soil, to plant trees, herbs and wildflowers instead of vines and to plat 5 kms of ‘biological corridors’ through his 35 hectares of land. Only 15 of these are planted with vines. This is not a typical approach in this region, famous for its expensive Barolo wines, where land can fetch up to €3 million/hectare and where other wine producers have found it a challenge to understand and adopt these quite radical principles, considering the way things have been done traditionally here.
Enrico is not just a winemaker and not just a farmer, he has created a unique space which he loves to share with others, so we can learn and appreciate - he has even created a small school on the site to help young children to learn all about the environment and how we can create harmony with Nature and protect the soils and land for generations to come.
The Rivetto biodynamic farm
The Rivetto farm is in the region of Lirano between Alta Langhe and the Barolo hills, on a ridge between the villages of Sinio and Serralunga d’Alba. The soils here are calcareous clay with a layer of iron.
Rivetto has been certified biodynamic since 2012. The journey to organic certification took about 3 years, but the transition to biodynamic typically takes at least 10 years to start seeing the benefits in terms of the soil, biodiversity and the wine quality. This is not a short term process and requires incredible commitment and passion to achieve.
Key to the biodynamic process and any biodynamic farmer, is compost. Enrico develops his own compost, made up of manure and vegetal layers, which after 2 years creates a substance full of microorganisms giving the precious soil the nutrients it requires to regenerate. To aid biodiversity and make the compost, Enrico keeps several donkeys on the farm and there is also a natural pond and several bee hives.
Rivetto wines
Rivetto produces approximately 100,000 bottles of wine each year, 90% of which are red wines, including several Barolo wines, a Barbera and a Nebbiolo. They also produce a white Nascatti wine and a sparkling wine which we loved!
This sparkling wine is white and incredibly elegant, but is made from 100% Nebbiolo grapes. The secret is to use the grapes from the tip of the bunches, where there is more natural acidity, with no contact with the grape skins.
Rivetto’s top wine is the Barolo Briccolina, which is made from grapes from his top single vineyard of the same name, which was Enrico’s pioneer biodynamic vineyard, described as a vineyard-garden, entirely worked by hand.
Visiting Rivetto
Visiting Rivetto is so much more than visiting a vineyard and a winery - yes you can see and experience these, like on any other winery/vineyard tour - and of course you can taste the wines too!
However this is about so much more - you can book a wine tasting where you are sure to also learn and your thinking will indeed be challenged, about how we can work more harmoniously with Nature.
You can also enjoy different experiences in the Nature here - maybe a walk through the vineyards, fields and woods to discover more about biodiversity, or perhaps learn about truffle hunting, which of course the Langhe and Piedmont is famous for! Autumn is the perfect time to visit Piedmont and enjoy the seasonal 'white gold' truffles, but you can learn about this wonderful, traditional product from this part of Italy any time!
Truffle Hunting
The Lirano wood on the Rivetto estate has been officially recognised as a ‘Regional Truffle Area’ for the reserved search of truffles and you can book a truffle hunting experience her to learn about and experience it first hand, with the wonderful local experts Francesca and Coco!
We spent an incredible morning learning all about truffles, what to do with them and how to find them with the help of a wonderful, trained truffle-hunting dog - we can highly recommend this experience!
Rivetto accommodation
Rivetto also offers excellent apartment accommodation - Rivetto Suites - in nearby Alba.
Exploring Serralunga d’Alba and Barolo Langhe
The best time to visit Piedmont Italy
From early Summer through to November in the Autumn is the best time to visit Piedmont and the Langhe region. The region has a temperate climate, with warm summers (Jun–Sep) and cool winters (Dec–Feb), but July to November is also peak white truffle harvest season. The absolute best time to visit however is when the long-running International white Alba truffle Fair (Fiera Internazionale del Tartufo Bianco d’Alba) is on - from the start of October to the end of November. The international fair is a truffle show with cooking demonstrations and displays, plus artistic and cultural events.
Where to stay in Piedmont Italy
When visiting the Langhe region of Piedmont we would suggest you choose one of the lovely villages - for example one of the 11 Barolo villages including Serralunga d’Alba, which was perfect for us.
Another option though is to stay in Alba, the famous wine town surrounded by the Langhe hills, which offers an excellent base for exploring both the Barolo and Barbaresco wine regions.
Discover Alba, capital of the Langhe region
Alba is a very special town and the capital of Piedmont - there’s much to discover here! As well as being the capital town of Piedmont’s Langhe region, Alba is acknowledged by UNESCO as a ‘Creative City for Gastronomy’, known for its fabulous Italian wine and food, as well as its beautiful attractions!
Getting to Piedmont Langhe
We recommend travelling to Alba, or wherever you choose to be based in the Langhe region, from Turin.
You can hire a car and it takes just 1 hour and 15 minutes to get to Alba or you can travel from Turin airport by train direct to Alba. We would always recommend hiring a car as that gives you the flexibility to explore the beautiful villages in Piedmont.
Combine with a visit to Turin
We flew into Turin - or Torino - airport and decided to combine our visit to the Langhe region of Piedmont with a couple of nights exploring this magical city. (See our wine travel article about visiting Alba and Turin).
Discover the other villages of Barolo
See our wine travel article about visiting the other famous Barolo villages!
Out and about in the Langhe
Visit “Strada del Barolo e dei grandi vini di Langa” (Barolo wine route) to help you plan your visit to the beautiful Barolo Langhe region. This website gives lots of information about wineries to visit, places to explore, where to stay, where to eat and much more, covering the municipalities of Alba, Barolo, Castiglione Falletto, Cherasco, Diano d’Alba, Dogliani, Grinzane Cavour, La Morra, Monchiero, Monforte d’Alba, Montelupo Albese, Novello, Roddi, Roddino, Rodello, Serralunga d’Alba, Sinio and Verduno.
See here for lots of ideas and inspiration about what to do in the Langhe, as well as Roero and Montferrato.
If you enjoy cycling, then visit ‘Rentyourbike.it’ to learn how to discover the Langhe and Barolo by bike!
For more about the Langhe and Barolo, see here.
Conclusion and personal highlights
What an incredible trip we had discovering the Langhe in Piemonte and specifically spending time in Serralunga d’Alba. This is a must if you love wine - and especially Italian wine and food! - but we would highly recommend visiting Rivetto to understand a different perspective about this incredible land and to learn about different way forward, to both produce superb wines but at the same time to restore, nurture and protect the land from ourselves, working at one with Nature.
Interested in a wine tour discovering Serralunga d’Alba and its wines in the Barolo Langhe
Let us help you plan your trip to stunning Serralunga d’Alba! Start here by sharing some information about you and your perfect wine tour with us!
