After they finished processing the grapes, Paolo gave the group a tour of Demarie winery, followed by a four course lunch (prepared by Paolo’s wife Monica), where we got to taste eight Demarie wines: Arneis (crisp white), Sebnia Arneis (orange), Roero Riserva (Nebbiolo, aged in Botti), Valmaggiore Roero Riserva (Nebbiolo aged in barrique), Barbaresco, Barbaresco Riserva, Barolo, and Barolo Riserva. #travel #food #wine
The next day (September 30), the tour group visited Demarie winery, where winemaker Paolo gave us a tour. It’s harvest time, and we arrived at the same time as a load of Nebbiolo grapes from their vineyard. Paolo’s brother Aldo was transferring the grapes from a hopper to a crusher/destemmer in preparation for fermentation. #travel #wine
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
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
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
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
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.
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!
