PIEDMONT & CINQUE TERRE TRAILS

Surf ‘n’ turf, Italian style. This 7-day hiking & wine tour spotlights two regions: Piedmont offers truffles, mushrooms, hazelnuts, and powerhouse red wines like Barolo and Barbaresco. The Cinque Terre offers fishing villages, rocky cliffs, seafood, and white wine fresh as an ocean breeze.

Highlights:

• Private wine tastings at Ceretto, Silvio Grasso, Villa Sparina & more

• Hikes of 3-4 hours (7-10 miles) on country paths & sea-cliff trails

• The Cinque Terre and Portofino

• Lunch at an artisan cheese farm in Piedmont

• Gourmet wine dinners

Day 1 – Welcome to the Langhe 

Our first hike follows the Barolo Wine Trail, which cuts through prized vineyards. A complementary welcome lunch in the town of Barolo introduces Piedmont’s elegant cuisine: raviolo con uova, pâté with caramelized red onions, tagliatelle with porcini mushrooms, and bounet (chocolate–hazelnut pudding). We'll pass by the enoteca of the Castello di Barolo and learn the story of Barolo wine’s creation in the 1800s by a Marchesa from France. Our first tasting of “the king of wines and the wine of kings” will be at Silvio Grasso, a family-run winery that makes stellar cru Barolos. L, D

Day 2 – The Wine Trail of Barolo

In La Morra, we'll pick up another part of the Barolo Wine Trail and walk through some of Barolo’s most famous vineyards, including Brunate and Cerrequio. After lunch, we'll have a tour & tasting at Ceretto, a hunting lodge of King Carlo Alberto and his son, Vittorio Emanuele. Still family-run, Ceretto is known both for its innovative architectural commissions and its portfolio of Barolo wines and Arneis. Dinner offers more of Piedmont’s woodland cuisine, such as stewed rabbit, roasted guinea fowl, and beef braised in Barolo wine. B, D

Day 3 – Mountain Cheese

Piedmont’s Alte Langhe hills are renowned for their cheese. Our hike takes us through this zone, on the old Via del Sale – the path on which salt was transported inland from Liguria. Our destination is an artisan cheese farm and a buffet lunch of cheese. salumi, and other regional treats. Thus fortified, we'll head to either Fratelli Alessandria or Osvaldo Vibert, Barolo producers with excellent cost/value wines. F.lli Alessandria additional makes the rare wine Pelaverga, a light, spicy red indigenous to this village. Dinner offers a superb wine list to complement the plin, tiny ravioli stuffed with meat and spinach. B, L, D

Day 4 – Ring around Gavi di Gavi

During our transfer from Piedmont to the Riviera, we'll stop in the white wine district of Gavi di Gavi, Italy’s first white wine to gain international fame. Our winery of choice is Villa Sparina, the preeminent leader in Gavi. We then continue south to the Riviera town of Sestri Levante where we'll settle into our second hotel, a sunny seaside spot with a balcony overlooking the Bay of Silence.  

Day 5 – Portofino & the Riviera cliffs

Today’s spectacular hike goes from the fishing village of Camogli over a promontory to San Fruttuoso, a medieval abbey located in a protected cove. We ferry to Portofino, a picturesque village where amorous movie stars once hid from papparazzi. Today's wine tasting on our hotel balcony offers an introduction to the wines of Liguria, including seafood-friendly Vermentino and Pigato. Dinner will feature the Riviera's fresh-from-the-sea cuisine. B, D

Day 6 – The Cinque Terre

The fame of the Cinque Terre ("five lands") is well deserved, with its sweeping vistas and charming seaside villages. We’ll hike from Vernazza to Riomaggiore up and down mountain steps, and through wild terrain and cultivated terraces. A handful of heroic wine producers continue the work the land, wrestling limited quantities of grapes from this vertical terrain. We’ll reconvene on hotel balcony for another wine tasting, Beyond Vermentino. Our farewell dinner highlights such local fare as zuppa di pesce (fish soup), steamed mussels, pasta with fish sauce, or Ligurian pasta with pesto. B, D

Day 7 – Arrivederci!

A shuttle to the Sestri Levante train station and assistance with your travel plans. B

For more details, see website.