Piedmont · Wine route · 2 days

Asti and Monferrato Route Two days across the Asti hills: Ruchè at Castagnole, Barbera at Costigliole and Nizza, spumante cellars under Canelli, and hot springs to finish at Acqui Terme.

87

km end to end

2

days

6

stops, Asti to Acqui Terme

6

denominations crossed

Why this drive: Three DOCG wine zones sit within an hour of Asti, and this is the only drive that gives you all of them in a weekend. Ruchè waits at Castagnole Monferrato, the Barbera heartland at Costigliole and Nizza, the Moscato country around Canelli. Two of the six zones of Piedmont's UNESCO vineyard listing are here, and at Canelli you walk into it. Contratto, Coppo, Gancia and Bosca all open their cathedral cellars, dug up to 32 metres under the town. The Langhe crowds never make it across, and the roads show it.

The route, drawn

2 days, drawn in two colours

Tap a day in the legend to bring its legs forward. The map follows as you scroll the stops, and a press on any marker jumps to it.

Layers

Day 1 Day 2 Numbered stops

Day 1 · Asti, Ruchè and the Barbera hills

1

Stop 1 · The Palio city start

Asti

ZTL city, see the driving notes

Provincial capital of the Asti hills, name-giver of the sweet spumante, and the drive's only city.

What to taste here

AstiDOCG The gentle sweet fizz that carries the city's name worldwide
Grignolino d'AstiDOC Pale, peppery local red the city mostly keeps for itself

Walk the Corso Alfieri spine and the Palio square, then stock up before the villages: the late-afternoon merenda sinoira at a piola is the local institution.

Where to eat

Agnolotti and a merenda sinoira spread

La Piola di Garibaldi. Via Garibaldi 6, open 8 to 23 daily: coffee at dawn, the wine-and-plates merenda sinoira from late afternoon.

Find it on the map Its own site

2

Stop 2 · Ruchè's seven-village patch

Castagnole Monferrato

Hilltop village at the centre of the seven-commune Ruchè DOCG, twenty minutes northeast of Asti.

What to taste here

Ruchè di Castagnole MonferratoDOCG Rose and violet on a dry red: DOC in 1987, DOCG since 2010
Montalbera Laccento The estate above the village farms around 60 percent of the whole DOCG

Taste Ruchè in the village or book at Montalbera above it, then drive back over the open Monferrato ridges.

Where to eat

Agnolotti with the village Ruchè

Osteria Il Ruchè. Via XX Settembre 32; Giuliana Borga and chef Davide Gatti reopened it in 2023. No website; ring 335 8156298.

Find it on the map

3

Stop 3 · Barbera under the castle

Costigliole d'Asti

Barbera d'Asti heartland village under a four-towered castle that now houses ICIF, the international Italian cooking school.

What to taste here

Barbera d'AstiDOCG These slopes are its heartland, from carafe wine to single vineyards
Cascina Castlèt The village estate whose Barbera grows on Costigliole's own slopes

The castle school explains the food-first feel of the village. Cascina Castlèt's Barbera grows on the commune's own slopes.

Day 2 · Spumante cellars and the spa finish

4

Stop 4 · The spumante cathedrals

Canelli

Spumante's home town: the cellar cathedrals under the streets age classic-method wine and earned Canelli its place in the UNESCO listing.

What to taste here

CanelliDOCG Moscato from the town's own DOCG zone, picked steep and drunk young
Alta LangaDOCG Classic-method bottles resting in the cellars 32 metres below the streets

Book one cathedral tour rather than trying them all: Contratto's cellars under the Gancia castle run to about 5,000 square metres, 32 metres down.

Where to eat

Roast suckling pig after a cellar tour

Ristorante Casa Crippa. Corso Libertà 65/A, set inside a mid-1800s underground cellar; closed Sunday evening and Monday.

Find it on the map Its own site

5

Stop 5 · Barbera at its grandest

Nizza Monferrato

The Barbera capital that gave its name to the Nizza DOCG in 2016; Palazzo Crova holds the regional enoteca, a taste museum and the osteria.

What to taste here

NizzaDOCG All Barbera, a DOCG of its own since July 2016
Barbera d'AstiDOCG Six wines open every week at Palazzo Crova's regional enoteca

Palazzo Crova is the one-stop version of the town: six wines open every week in the enoteca, the Palazzo del Gusto museum, La Signora in Rosso in the cellars.

Where to eat

Territory plates built around the town's Barbera

La Signora in Rosso. In the cellars of Palazzo Crova, Via Crova 2, beside the regional enoteca and its 600 labels.

Find it on the map Its own site

6

Stop 6 · Sweet fizz and hot springs

Acqui Terme

ZTL city, see the driving notes

Roman spa town on the Bormida, home of Brachetto d'Acqui and of the Bollente, the 74 degree spring in the middle of town.

What to taste here

Brachetto d'Acqui/AcquiDOCG The rose-scented sweet red these hills turn into Brachetto
Dolcetto d'AcquiDOC The dry everyday red Acqui pours before dessert

Finish with the Bollente and the old-town enoteca crawl. The historic centre is permit-restricted, so park on the squares south of it and walk.

Where to eat

Local cheeses against a thousand-label list

Enoteca La Curia. Via alla Bollente 26, steps from the hot spring, open since 1997; closed Monday.

Find it on the map Its own site

Before you go

The practicalities

Visit prices are set by the winery and availability should be checked before travelling. Bookings open on the estate page or the provider's site.

When to go

September is the show

Early September stacks the Palio bareback horse race, the Festival of Festivals food fair and the Douja d'Or wine fair into two Asti weeks. The Douja alone runs ten days from the second weekend. Harvest follows through October, when the hills are at their best and the cellars at their busiest. The cathedral cellars under Canelli hold 12 to 14 degrees all year, so a winter visit works: pack a layer and book ahead.

Driving notes

Fuel up in the valley towns

The hills between Asti and Acqui are gentle by Piedmont standards, and the provincial roads are wide and lightly used outside harvest. From mid September to late October expect tractors and grape trailers on every climb, and give them room on the bends. Fill the tank in Asti, Canelli or Nizza: the ridge villages, Castagnole among them, have no fuel. Asti's Wednesday and Saturday market also swallows part of the Campo del Palio car park, so arrive early on those days.

ZTL

Cameras in Asti, permits in Acqui

Asti's old town is a camera ZTL that runs day and night, with nine cameras on the entrances. Park at Piazza Campo del Palio instead: more than 1,400 spaces, paid Monday to Saturday 8 to 19, free on evenings and Sundays. Acqui Terme restricts its historic centre around the Bollente too. Leave the car in the pay bays on the squares south of the centre, Piazza Maggiorino Ferraris among them, and walk in.

Getting a car

Fly Turin, or train to Asti

Asti sits on the Turin to Genoa rail line, so the cleanest plan is to arrive by train and collect a hire car in town. Turin's Caselle airport, an hour away, is the flying option. You need the car for the whole route: no bus links the wine villages. The only stop where you can drop it and walk all day is Asti itself. Keep the car small, because village parking is tight.

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Tours in this wine area

Nearby, not the route itself

Langhe & Monferrato: Vineyard Tour and Wine Tasting

Enjoy a true Italian experience while in the wine region of Piedmont. Treat yourself to a vineyard tour led by an expert guide paired with an exquisite wine tasting wi...

105 minutes From €20

Book via Getyourguide

Langhe e Monferrato: Tour & Wine tasting of Agliano Wines

Discover the winemaking process with a guided tour of a winery in Agliano Terme. Learn about the winemaking process from grape to bottle, and taste a selection of wine...

1.5 hours From €30

Book via Getyourguide

Langhe e Monferrato: Amerio Vincenzo Wine Tour and Tasting

Enjoy the view of the vineyards from our panoramic terrace, take a guided tour of the winery, and experience the warm hospitality of the Amerio family with a tasting o...

1.5 hours From €25

Book via Getyourguide

Before you ask

Asti and Monferrato Route, answered

Not one single road. The southern half overlaps the Strada del Vino Astesana network, whose marked Moscato and Nizza loops cover Canelli and Nizza Monferrato. This drive adds Asti, Ruchè country at Castagnole Monferrato and the Acqui finish, so you cross three DOCG wine zones in one arc.

About 90 kilometres and roughly two hours at the wheel, split over two days. Day one is Asti, Castagnole Monferrato and Costigliole; day two runs Canelli, Nizza and Acqui Terme. Add a third day if you want the Acqui baths at spa pace.

Book ahead. Contratto, Coppo, Gancia and Bosca are the four houses that open their cathedral cellars, and visits run as guided tours rather than walk-ins. The cellars sit as deep as 32 metres and hold 12 to 14 degrees all year, so bring a layer whatever the season.

Piazza Campo del Palio, the huge square below the old town: more than 1,400 spaces, paid Monday to Saturday from 8 to 19 and free on evenings and Sundays. The centre itself is a camera-controlled ZTL day and night, and the market takes part of the square on Wednesday and Saturday mornings.

Early September if you want Asti at full tilt: the Palio horse race, the Festival of Festivals and the ten-day Douja d'Or wine fair all land inside two weeks. Late September and October are harvest, the prettiest and busiest weeks in the cellars. Winter works for the cathedral cellars, which hold their temperature, if you book.

Nizza is Barbera d'Asti's top tier grown up. Since July 2016 it has been a DOCG in its own right: all Barbera, from a tighter ring of hills around Nizza Monferrato, aged longer before release. Barbera d'Asti covers the wider province and runs from carafe wine to serious single vineyards.

Ruchè is a rare aromatic red grape grown around seven villages, with Castagnole Monferrato at the centre. It smells of roses and violets and drinks dry. It became a DOC in 1987 and a DOCG in 2010, and one estate, Montalbera, farms around 60 percent of the entire zone. Almost none leaves the area, which is the reason to come.

Yes, for the switch from cellars to steam. The Bollente fountain in the centre pushes out thermal water at about 74 degrees, 560 litres a minute, and the town has been a spa since Roman times. Brachetto d'Acqui, the local sweet red fizz, is the cellar side of the visit.

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