looking for advice on good towns/vineyards to visit, hotels, etc.

I have not been yet but have done alot of reading and research.I am staying in /Alba which puts you in the center of the wine area.Need a car as vineyards are on small roads.I found a recommended place to stay just outside of alba for very cheap.Villa la meridiana,find it on www.alba-online.it

anyone else? it is so hard to find good info on touring in this region

Hey jr98 and RobertR:<BR><BR>Spent 2 days visiting relatives in my Mothers home town called &quot;Fontanelle&quot;, which is right near Asti and Aqui boarders.<BR>Area is dotted with small villiages and wineries. Most of the local wineries are part of a major conglomorate and do not have 'visits' (like in Napa Calif)<BR>Still, it was a wonderful place to eat and drink before we headed up to the Piedmont Alps.<BR>Stayed with the relatives so no recs on places to stay. Area is developing a trend that they are calling &quot;slow Cooking&quot; or somelthing like that! Idea is to sit down, relax and really enjoy the meals!. Ate in resturants that I do not think are on any maps!! Pure Local and wonderful!<BR>JOHN

Great restaurant La Cantinetta in Barolo. Try their degustation meal and plan to be there about 3 hours.

RobertR, you are one lucky guy. We've stayed twice at La Meridiana -- it's a lovely B&amp;B with a great host/hostess. It's also written up in Karen Brown, I believe, which is how we found it. And Alba is right in the center of several lovely wine villages, so that makes it a great choice too. Enjoy!

Hi again:<BR><BR>Just to let you know todays issue of the NY Times has a nice article on the &quot;Piedmont Barolo wines&quot; in the &quot;dining in&quot; section. Also same section, page 8, is a review on '98 Barolo. Damn! I want to go again!!<BR>JOHN

saw those--thx. still looking for good places to visit, how much time, places to eat/stay, etc. it is amazing there is so little info vs. tuscany

jr98:<BR><BR>Found this website. Its has some very good links in this area.<BR>www.lecoccole.com/inglesse/page4/page4.htm<BR>This area is comming very popular. Although not quite on a Tuscany level, it has its own charm. Lets enjoy it now while it lasts! 2006 brings the Winter Olympics to Torino and by then the secret will be out!<BR>JOHN

John, I would set up a seperate post about the alps but thought you would see it here.<BR>Where did you hike?.I am thinking of staying in Cogne and hiking in Gran Paradiso.I have been sent info and have maps but it is hard to get detailed info,I have even e-mailed some of the authors of books on the area.One of the authors translated a Italian description of one of my proposed routes across the col belleface and said it was over loose rock and dangerous.I also plan on hiking from cogne to daigoz and overnight there looks like I may have to come back the same way if other route is dangerous.RR

Robert:<BR><BR>Sorry to say that all my Alpine experience has been as a Skier! Not as a Hiker!<BR>That being said.....The Gran Paradiso is a very beautiful location! I Cross Country skied in that park. The vistas were wonderful! I have to find the information for you on the hotel where I had a wonderful soup with that Piedmont special..large covering of the Aosta Cheese!! Yummy. It was up on one of the small villiages that dot the G.P area. Also looked like a special place to overnight! I can search my notes if you are interested!<BR><BR>Now I am not sure of this but you should look into the hiking along the ridge between Italy and France. It is in the shadows of &quot;Monto Bianco&quot;, the largest Alpine mountain in Italy. It was one of the greatest ski days that I had ever experienced! It is called &quot; &quot;Italian Haute Route&quot;, or something like that! You take the cable car up from Courmyeur, and then another to the &quot;Alpi du Midi&quot; area. I am sure that they must have &quot;guides&quot; that will lead hikes along that ridge! Look into it if you are in the area<BR><BR>Sorry I can be of no help on the hiking part, maybe someone will add some information<BR>JOHN

Check out alba-online.it for info on the area,borolo and barberesco have consortiums<BR>search internet for addresses.