Author
ceperry
After visiting Santa Caterina, we cleaned up at our hotel, then joined winemaker Paolo Demarie of Demarie winery (https://demarie.com/en/) for a dinner featuring his wines and some regional food specialties, including black truffle. Paolo is a close friend of Adam & Natalie’s, so I’ve heard a lot about him over the years. It was great to finally be able to meet him. #travel #food #wine
Posted on October 1, 2025
The first stop on the tour was Tenuta Santa Caterina winery (https://www.tenuta-santa-caterina.it/en). We toured their grounds & barrel cellar, and then tasted six wines with lunch. They had the usual Piedmont wines, including a Barbeea and a Nebbiolo, but they focus on Grignolino grape which is uncommon. They have two versions of Grignolino: a light chillable summer sipper, and a full-bodied version that spends time in oak. #travel #wine
Posted on October 1, 2025
All of Adam & Natalie’s tour company is called “Joy of Wine Journeys”, so this tour (like all of them was wine focused. #travel #wine
Posted on October 1, 2025
The last two days have been a bit of a whirlwind. Among other things, our friends Adam & Natalie are tour guides. Heather and I joined the first two days of their current tour, so for the last two days we joined Adam, Natalie, and two other couples as they explored Piedmont (specifically Langhe and Roero). #travel
Posted on October 1, 2025
After breakfast, we drove around Langhe to take in the countryside before stopping in La Morra, one of the larger villages in the Barolo area. It’s a cute little village. Wine tourism is clearly an important industry for the village—they have more enotecas than the resident population could possibly support—but it didn’t seem overrun with tourists, even on a Sunday. And the hilltop views are pretty great too.
Posted on September 28, 2025
Adam and Natalie are hosting a tour group later this week. Heather and I will be joining the first two days of the tour before splitting off to do our own thing, so we’re staying at the tour hotel, Castel di Guarene (https://www.castellodiguarene.com). It’s fancier than we’d usually pick, but it’s convenient. We woke up to spectacular views of the countryside with the Alps in the distance. I can see why they chose this hotel for the tour!
Posted on September 28, 2025
More photos from Grasso Fratelli. All the wines were good, but the 2015 Grasso Fratelli Barbaresco Riserva excellent. A real stand out.
Posted on September 28, 2025
After a leisurely lunch, we visited Grasso Fratelli, a small family owned winery whose owners Adam & Natalie are friends with. And when I say small, I mean very small. All the winemaking is done by brothers Luigi and Alfredo, while their niece Eliza handles the business end of things. We walked their vineyards, toured the winery with its 50 hectoliter boti (giant barrels), then tasted their wines. It was a fantastic time.
