Advice - Central & Northern Italy

I'm a bit of prodigal. Was a regular on here several years back when I was much more deeply involved in wine. Hope some of you may remember me.

Anyway, to ask a favor, Lori and are are just starting to plan a 3 week trip to Tuscany and other areas in central and Northern Italy (We almost certainly will certainly get to the Piedmont), in September or October - not sure if we will be there for the harvest . It's all quite thin and vague at this point. Conceptually we'll find a modest villa for a few days centrally located for a series of day trips to wineries worth a look as well as Etruscan and other venues, moving on as the plan evolves. Lori is a white wine girl and a shot across to Friuli is also possible. Nothing has been ruled out

Since most things are undecided, I'd just like any general thoughts any one might offer. as our plans shape up I am hoping I can bump this and bring you up to date on where we are at, and maybe get more specific help at that time.

Anyway, thanks in advance if you have any thoughts.

Cheers, Tim

Hi Tim
Quite happy to offer advice/opinion. I've only been to Tuscany once, but Piemonte/Piedmont ~ 5 times. I'll list the places so that if you want specifics on those, then I should have decent material
Tuscany
- Siena
- Montepulciano
- Pisa

Piemonte
- Torino
- La Morra (Barolo)
- Ghemme
- Alba
- Cuneo

We've also been to Cinque Terre (Liguria) which borders both Tuscany and Piemonte.

The advice I'd give, is to try and keep the number of locations low, to avoid constantly shifting base, packing/unpacking, checking in/out and generally feeling a little lost. Move less to see more.

It's useful to agree beween you what the main focuses of interest are. This can really help narrow down the locations to the ones that appeal most. From your post I can see wine at the top, followed by a little history?

Are there other things that are important? e.g.
- Stunning scenery
- Art / Architecture
- English widely spoken
- A need to escape the mass tourist trail
- Prefer driving
- Prefer public transport
- Like walking & cycling
- city or countryside - or a mix (if so what)
- Food
- Culture
- Famous sights
- shopping (clothes etc.)

Finally (for now), some tidbits from points raised.
- Sept/October - A great time to go. Porcini and plenty of other mushrooms at the start of that period, with Truffles typically arriving in October. Harvest might be going on in September (we saw the grapes come in at Mirù in Ghemme in mid-late September last year), but can vary + or - a few weeks depending on the weather that vintage. Likewise mushrooms and truffles have vintage variations.
- Villa - You'll find plenty in Tuscany, which really is set up for it. If you stay in Tuscany I'd recommend the apartment we stayed in in Montepulciano and also the apartment in Pisa. Happy to dig out the details. For Piemonte, the local tourist office www.langheroero.it are very efficient and have an extensive list. October can get busy, so book early.

regards

Ian

bump

Ian - Thanks so much, sorry I'm slow. (always have been) I'll get an ordered response to you later tonite or tomorrow.



Cheers, Tim

[Jenise]

Tim, no help as I've not been to Piedmonte myself, but I just wanted to say: of course I remember you!

two cents from here. white wine person should be sure to visit san gimignano while in tuscany. lovely place and lovely white wine.

why not head to veneto - soave, etc. these can be really lovely wines! and just a couple of hours north are some really beautiful vistas as well as some beautiful and distinctive wines in the alto adige/subtirol. here there are dry gewurtz, dry muscat, distinctive sauvignon blanc plus some distinctive local reds from lagrein,etc. sure, go to piemonte esp. the northern part - lago maggiore etc. great stuff. i'll be doing this next year i hope.

Ian - Thanks so much, sorry I'm slow. (always have been) I'll get an ordered response to you later tonite or tomorrow.



Cheers, Tim

Tim, did you get my note ref Birger email address?

I'm a bit slow reacting because Ian has already said most of what I would.

I have no experience of renting a villa in Piedmont or Tuscany but we did rent one in Umbria a couple of years ago through Homes Away and were very satisfied; they even have a search facility to identify pet friendly owners which was important to us.

Our last visit to Langhe was a few years ago but I remember fine meals in the mushroom season at Giardino-da Felicin (Monforte d'Alba) and at La Ciau del Tornavento (Treiso). The former has a wine list which is a sort of museum of fine Barolo, including old vintages, and the latter is, of course, strong on Barbaresco. Wine mark-ups in these two places seem modest compared with similar places in Northern Europe. Most Italian wine towns have well stocked enoteche; air conditioning there is rare but thick old walls do something to provide insulation in many such shops.

I guess that you will be planning to hire a car. Forgive me if you already have experience of driving in Italy and for what is becoming a recurrent rant of mine, but first timers should know that many Italian drivers still regard driving as an exciting sport rather than simply a way of getting safely from one place to another. When I was younger and had a fast car I used to enjoy it too. Nowadays, however, I have to make a deliberate effort to avoid getting stressed by the slaloming vehicles in heavy traffic (including police cars ) and the need for constant vigilance on expressways watching for heavy goods vehicles pulling out to overtake without warning and for very fast cars coming up from behind. The expressway speed limit is 130 kph, I think, but it is widely ignored by those with the means to buy a fast car and, probably also, to get their fines and bad motoring record suppressed .

I also did a at the snaking train of drivers tail-gating the ambulance (with flashing lights) working it's way out of Naples on the motorway.

For me it's not so much the main roads, which tend to the same dullness the world over, but the town/city centres that are very stressful to navigate. Get out into the country (i.e. wine regions) and the driving can become a real joy though.

No rush Tim - just wanted to make sure it didn't disappear out of sight (Birger Vejrum will no doubt post some thoughts later - he's the real Piemontephile!)

regards
Ian

Thought I might jump in here. Nancy and I will be going to Alto-Adige/Trentino for a couple of weeks and are looking for a place(s) to stay. We are leaning toward agritourismo or apartments but would consider other possibilities as well. Recommendations would be most appreciated. Sight unseen, it is easy to rent a place for 2 weeks that turns out to be a disaster. The region looks to be small enough that one centrally located place might do it, but again, would appreciate advice. Send me a PM if you prefer.

Dan
We've not been there yet, but it is on our radar for the next couple of years. Logistically we're looking at tying in a few days in Verona, as that appears to be the nearest airport (at least in Italy). Will be interested in how you get on there.

Might be worth a look at the Alasdair Sawday 'special places to stay' website, but also www.agriturismo.it and I tend to find the reviews on Slowtrav.com trustworthy (more so than Trip Advisor which needs some healthy filtering).

regards
Ian

Dan, I have PMed you about where you might get some advice.
Ian knows Italy very well, he is always so helpful!

Thought I might jump in here. Nancy and I will be going to Alto-Adige/Trentino for a couple of weeks and are looking for a place(s) to stay. We are leaning toward agritourismo or apartments but would consider other possibilities as well. Recommendations would be most appreciated. Sight unseen, it is easy to rent a place for 2 weeks that turns out to be a disaster. The region looks to be small enough that one centrally located place might do it, but again, would appreciate advice. Send me a PM if you prefer.

The Alto Adige wine area is pretty compact, at the least the part around the 'Strada del Vino/Sudtiroler Weinstrasse', although the Isarco valley is maybe 20 minutes up towards Austria (and well worth a visit). The Trentino wine area is quite a bit more spread out, as a good map will tell you. The two regions are right next to each other, you could stay in the AA and reach Trentino regions pretty easily (the autostrade shoots straight down the middle of the valley that defines the main growing area for both regions).

There are some excellent small hotels in the AA, I've stayed at Rentschnerhof just north of Bolzano and Pacherhof (a working winery) in the Isarco valley and heartily recommend both. I haven't used 'agriturismo' here but I completely agree the best examples are a great way to get the local flavor (and flavors). Towns to visit include the historic centers of Bolzano, Trento, Bressanone/Brixen; restaurants include the excellent, sophisticated Zur Rose in Cortaccia and the simple but equally excellent Patscheiderhof in the hills north of Bolzano. In the hills outside Trento, Maso Cantanghel is outstanding.

I also did a at the snaking train of drivers tail-gating the ambulance (with flashing lights) working it's way out of Naples on the motorway.

For me it's not so much the main roads, which tend to the same dullness the world over, but the town/city centres that are very stressful to navigate. Get out into the country (i.e. wine regions) and the driving can become a real joy though.

I do actually feel that the Italian main roads are more exciting in the wrong way than in most European countries. In France also they used to be frighteningly competitive but in recent years things have calmed down a lot with the authorities imposing regular checks and savage penalties. In Germany there are fast drivers but usually disciplined.

I agree about the lovely country roads but one is never sure of not meeting another driver overtaking in a corner , particularly on that spectacular road along the edge of the Sorrentine peninsular.

At least such Italians are usually skilled at handling their vehicles, whereas in Portugal I have seen both wayward and frighteningly unskilled drivers.

Sorry for harping on about this subject.

At least the Italians (in my experience) are usually paying attention, whereas here they're sipping on a latte and texting. It's the tailgating that gets me in Italy, always takes a day or two to get used to it. I think they've all watched too much Formula 1.