Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 study trips won't be operating. Study trips will resume as soon as the situation allows. Thank you for your loyalty to the Wine Scholar Guild Study Trips, and please stay in good health!

Embark on our 2020 Piedmont Study Tour with on site professional-level instruction!

Piedmont Wine Study Tour Highlights:

Don’t miss this unique opportunity to travel through all the key appellations of this authentic wine region of Italy with a notable expert and fabulous instructor!

The stunning wines of Piedmont are among the best in the world. The noble Nebbiolo grape achieves a level of greatness in the hills of Barolo and Barbaresco that cannot be matched in any other wine region. Lesser-known wine treasures such as Barbera, Dolcetto and Arneis are the everyday gems of industry insiders. Traveling to these small yet significant wine districts begets a level of understanding unreachable in books or podcasts. See and taste the difference between villages, appellations and vineyards.

• Discover the Piedmont wine region with your instructor, Kerin O’Keefe, Italian Wine Editor for Wine Enthusiast Magazine.
• Explore Piedmont’s iconic wine villages including Alba, Asti, Barolo, Barbaresco and Serralunga.
• See the famous Langhe and Monferrato Hills firsthand and discover why they were made UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
• Delve into the fascinating terroirs of Barolo and Barbaresco, the king and queen of Italian wine
• Drink history as you learn about the evolution of the region’s wines and taste winemaking philosophy in the glass
• Experience insider tastings with winemakers at some of Piedmont’s most exalted wineries. Compare vintages and vineyards as you learn local details directly from the people who grow the grapes and make the wine.
• Lunch and dine in the region’s best restaurants and discover the region’s epicurean delights paired with fantastic local wines.

Travel with a group of wine students who are serious about wine, either as wine professionals or committed wine lovers. Share an educational, epicurean and unforgettable experience while discovering Piedmont wines. Trips are open to people from all countries, and are held in English.

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Your Instructor & Guide: Kerin O'Keefe

• Award-winning journalist and author
• Italian Wine Editor at Wine Enthusiast Magazine
• Author of three books including "Barolo and Barbaresco the King and Queen of Italian Wine

Your Tour Manager: Claudia Cesarino

Assisting the instructor and making sure logistics run smoothly and that your needs are answered will be Claudia Cesarino.

Claudia’s career started in the international hospitality industry and event organising at the St. Regis Grand Hotel in Rome and then at Vinopolis in London. She then worked in India for the famous Italian wine company Marchesi Antinori, training the staff about wine at prestigious hotels like the Hyatt, Sheraton, Kempinski, Taj, Oberoi and Park.  Now a very experienced wine tour guide, Claudia is a member of the Italian Sommelier Association.

Piedmont Wine Tour Itinerary*

Sunday, Sept. 13 | Torino/Turin

• Participants arrive independently in Turin and check into the centrally-located 4-star NH Collection Torino Piazza Carlina Hotel.
• Take the evening to explore this beautiful city and dine on your own with our restaurant suggestions.
  
  

Monday,Sept. 14 | Alto Piemonte | B, L, D

• Meet your instructor, Wine Enthusiast’s Italy Editor Kerin O’Keefe, and begin your explorations in Alto Piemonte. Lessona and Gattinara are two historic growing zones that have undergone a real renaissance in the last decade. The area is home to extraordinarily elegant and vibrant wines made entirely with Nebbiolos and Nebbiolo blended with other local native grapes, including Vespolina and Croatina. You’ll visit some of the area’s most important producers including those who played a major role in Alto Piemonte’s on-going renaissance.
• Visit producers in Alto Piemonté like Villa Guelpa in Lessona, a rising star in the area whose dynamic owner Daniele Dinoia is focusing on organic viticulture and is turning out fragrant, refined Nebbiolos; the excellent Le Piane estate; and another great local producer, Traviglini.
• Enjoy lunch of local specialties at one of the area’s charming trattorias, Ristorante Villa Cavalleri. 
• Your welcome dinner is at Michelin 1-star Ristorante Carignano in Turin, paired with great Piedmont wines.
  
  

Tuesday, Sept. 15 | Asti-Monferrato | B, L

• Besides Barbera, the Asti-Monferrato area is also celebrated for fresh, savory and lightly sparkling Moscato d’Asti. You’ll try some of the best in the cellars of the denomination’s most iconic producers, where you’ll taste great wines made only with the typical Piedmont grape varieties from four production areas (Barolo, Barbaresco, Asti and Gavi).
• Visit fine producers like Michele Chiarlo, where their great wines are made only with the typical Piedmont grape varieties from four production areas; Azienda Paolo Saracco in the heart of the Moscato d'Asti, and the classic estate Incisa della Rocchetta.
• Stop along the way for a delicious lunch.
• Check in to your accommodations for the rest of the trip, 4-star Hotel Calissano in the lovely historic city of Alba.
• Enjoy an evening on your own in Alba with our suggestions for fine restaurants
  
  

Wednesday, Sept. 16 | Barbaresco | B, L

• No longer living in the shadow of Barolo, Barbaresco is a world-class wine in its own right. You’ll visit renowned producers in the wine’s namesake village and in Treiso.
• Learn more about Barbaresco with a presentation and tasting by the Produttori del Barbaresco.
• Visit other top producers like Cascina della Rose, a small organic producer whose wines are remarkable for their elegance, grace and perfume; or the Rizzi estate, perched atop a panoramic hilltop, whose vineyards are within four great zones of Barbaresco.
• Enjoy lunch of Piedmontaise specialties at Tratorria Antica Torre.
• Return to Alba, where you’ll have the evening to explore and dine at your leisure.
  
  

Thursday, Sept. 17 | Barolo | B, D

• Known as the King of Wine and the Wine of Kings, you’ll visit storied producers and rising stars in the village that lent its name to the wine and other nearby villages.
• In Barolo, you’ll visit and taste at great estates like Renato Ratti or Cavallotto in Castiglione Falletto, or Brezza, family owned since 1885.
• Enjoy some free time in the charming village of Barolo, with lunch on your own.
• Your farewell dinner is in the ancient vaulted cellars of Enoclub restaurant in Alba.
  
  

Friday, Sept. 18 | Barolo | B, L

• Today, visit more top Barolo estates in the villages of Verduno and Serralunga d’Alba like Fratelli Allessandria or Sergio Romano.
• Lunch is at the wonderful wine-oriented restaurant La Rosa dei Vini, with wonderful views of the vineyards.
• Late afternoon group transfer to Turin train station and airport.
  
  

Legend for meals included in your tour: B=Breakfast, L=Lunch, D=Dinner

* Itinerary subject to change: every effort will be made to keep the itinerary as close as possible to what appears here; however, the final itinerary and estates/winemakers included may vary due to wine producer schedules, availability and factors beyond our control. The wine estates visited during this trip will all be of the highest quality.

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Your 6 Day, 5 Night Piedmont Immersion Study Trip includes:

• Instruction throughout by author and Wine Enthusiast Magazine’s Italian Editor, Kerin O’Keefe
• The services of a Tour Manager throughout, to provide customer service and logistics support
• Deluxe, air-conditioned motor coach transportation throughout, with bottled water on-board
• 2 nights at 4-star NH Collection Torino Piazza Carlina Hotel  in Turin, double occupancy
• 3 nights at 4-star Hotel Calissano in Alba, double occupancy
• 2 gastronomic dinners expertly matched with top-quality wines, including one at a Michelin 1-star restaurant
• 4 gourmet lunches expertly matched with top-quality wines
• 5 delicious buffet breakfasts
• All professional-level tours and extensive tastings at renowned wine producers
• All hotel and other taxes, and gratuities for included restaurants

Pricing

Price per person, double occupancy: US$ 4,795.00

Single Supplement: US$ 395.00

Deposit upon reservation: US$ 1000.00 per person, per trip

Get US$ 150 off each additional trip you take!**

NOTE: There are a limited number of twin rooms available. Please let us know if you’d like to share a twin room with another participant to avoid the single supplement and pay the double occupancy price instead.

**After you have reserved your first Study Trip in 2020, you will receive a Discount of US$150 for each additional Study Trip you take in the same calendar year. This Discount will be deducted from the final balance payment for each additional Study Trip. You must pay in full for the first Study Trip you reserve to be eligible to receive the Discount for additional Study Trips.

Space is limited to 15 participants, so reserve your space today!

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Enjoy memorable meals at Gastronomic restaurants and estates

 

MEMORIES FROM OUR PAST PIEDMONT WINE TOURS:

All upcoming tours: