Has anyone stayed at Orso Bevitore in Verduno (in the Langhe / Piedmont region)?
website is www.burlotto.com
It looks cute, and they have a nice website. I just wanted some Fodorite Feedback.

Hi Cee.
We - my husband, myself, my sister, and my sister-in-law, are planning to stay at Locanda dell'Orso Bevitore in late October. I'd be glad to give you some feedback when we return if you are still interested. I picked this agriturismo because I wanted one that made their own Barolo, had easy access to the langhe, northwest Piemonte, and the other places we plan to visit, and had at least one room that had a separate bedroom so we would have a separate sitting area for the 4 of us. Their website was interesting and they seemed to have everything we wanted at reasonable prices. They were very accomodating in our e-mail correspondences (all in English).

BDG --We will be back before you go, so I can give YOU feedback! My family is going the last week of September, and it sounds like we are planning similar trips! We will be spending a week in the Piedmont region, and chose Orso Bevitore because Verduno looked cute and well located. I have seen no other posts or information about it other than the website I came upon in my planning. We have hired a guide who lives and works in that area, and he confirmed that it is a good place to stay.
What other places are you planning to visit in that area? I would love to share information with you!

Hi Cee,
Your trip will probably be different than ours as we are all senior citizens (this trip is to celebrate my husband's 75th birthday). We love Barolo, truffles, porcini (which we actually find here in Vermont in August), and Piemontese cooking (which my husband grew up on), so this is strictly a food and wine trip unlike our other trips to Italy (which of course also included great food and wine). Our only definite plans so far are a visit to the truffle fair in Alba one day and a visit to Pont Canavese one day (the town in northwest piedmont where my husband's mother was born). We want to go on a truffle hunt, which Orso Bevitore said they could arrange for us, and also some winery visits. Haven't decided on Torino yet, but plan to go to Biella on the way back to the airport, hopefully to buy some things for the kids and grandkids to take back home.
Would love any feedback after your trip.

BDG --We are doing very similar things, including the truffle hunt.
This is turning into a correspondance between the 2 of us -- is there a way to exchange contact info without posting it on a public forum?

Hi Cee,
I sent an e-mail to Fodor's asking if they could contact each of us privately to exchange our e-mail addresses. If they agree, you should be hearing from them.

The place looks great! They certainly have a sense of humor. I wish each of you a wonderful trip and hope that you will report here upon your return...one of these days I will make my own food and wine trip to Piemonte and I would love to hear about your experiences.

Just a note about prearranged truffle hunting: certainly it is a service that places can provide, but please remember that finding truffles is something that the hunters actually do completely out of the eye of any observer. They would never actually bring a stranger to one of their truffle areas. Truffle hunts which involve tourists are, for the most part, staged.

In addition, with the dry weather in Piedmont during 2007, truffles (and porcini, unless it rains heavily in Sept.) will be a rarity this year. So no one is going to be giving them away.

The reason that actual truffle areas remain secret is easy to understand...since truffles come back to the same areas, year after year, a truffle hunter wants to be the only one to know about a particular tree, etc.

Just know that the activity of going on a truffle hunt is, well, a tourist thing, not a real thing.

Hi Cee,
I haven't heard from Fodor's about exchanging e-mails, so I have an e-mail at hotmail where you could e-mail me after your trip. I'd love to hear all about it and ask you some questions.
[email protected]
Have a great trip.

Topping this thread to see if anyone has actually stayed there. Thanks!!

ttt