The Other Tuscany: The Piedmont Wine Country
My friend, Laura Giannatempo, is always traveling to the dreamiest places in Italy (and, in fact, has just started her own travel company, ViaVai Travel) so I asked if she would share another one of her favorites with us—I loved learning about the Ligurian Riveria last month—some place we might not have heard about…
It’s happened to me more than once that I’ve shown people a certain photo of rolling hills with a castle in the distance or another image I have on my phone of a straw-yellow hill with a cluster of cypresses at the very top, and invariably they exclaim: Tuscany!
Yet, both those photos were not taken in Tuscany. They were snapped in its north-western neighbor, Piedmont—proving a point I’ve been making for a while that the hills of the Piedmont countryside are just as beautiful as Tuscany’s—and the food and wine just as lovely—but with the added benefit of fewer tourists.
I was born in Turin, the capital city of Piedmont, so it’s only natural that this Italian region is near and dear to my heart. But this is not the only reason why I think it’s worth adding it to your travel list. Piedmont is surrounded on three sides—stunningly—by the Alps (the name Piedmont means “at the feet of the mountains”). So on a clear day, you can actually see white mountain peaks from almost anywhere you are. And yet, it pains me to say, Piedmont is often left off of travelers’ lists of places to visit in Italy. Personally, I think they’re missing out on a lot—from swanky winter ski resorts to perfectly Instagrammable landscapes, Game-of-Thrones-worthy medieval villages and castles, and vibrant cities.
Plus, ask any wine lover for their favorite Italian wine region and chances are Piedmont will be at the top of their list. The region produces some of Italy’s most iconic wines, like Barbera, Barolo, and Barbaresco. The whole Piedmont wine country—including Langhe, Roero, and Monferrato—was recently designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. So as you drive up and down those hills and taste your way through the area’s top wineries, you’ll take in some of the most picturesque and culturally rich landscapes in Italy.
Yes, I may be biased, but I think a trip to Piedmont, whether it’s your only destination or you’re tagging it onto another Italian destination (Liguria, anyone?), needs to be on your bucket list. At ViaVai Travel, we have a small boutique group trip to Piedmont that focuses on the wine country, but there are many things to see and do, even if wine is not your thing. Here are some ideas…
