Piemonte has the finest wines anywhere in Italy. Barolo, the grandaddy of Italian wines comes from Piemonte. It is called "il re dei vini, il vino dei re" which means "the king of wines, the wine of kings". It rivals the best wines in the world. Piemonte has seven wines that have the prestigious stamp of D.O.C.G. or Denominazione di Origine Controllata Garantita. These are Barolo, Barbaresco, Gattinara, Ghemme, and Brachetto d'Acqui in red wines and Asti and Cortese di Gavi in white sparkling wines. There are more wines in this category than in Tuscany, a popular wine destination. The hub of our tour is in the middle of Gattinara-Ghemme wine country. On this tour you will be able to sample many wines that are either too expensive to try in the United States, are hard to find or don't even make it to the United States at all. Because of the nature of the tour, only adults will be allowed to register.

Friday: We will pick you up from Milano Malpensa Airport. You will arrive at the house and get settled. We will prepare a special welcome dinner for you at the house including a sampling of local wines.

Saturday: Check out the farmers market in front of the house, take a walk around Romagnano Sesia and visit the Ethnographic Museum, a block away that has a section dedicated to the cultivation of the wine grape and wine production. After lunch we will visit Il Rubino Winery in Romagnano Sesia and L'Enoteca Regionale di Gattinara. We will go to Novara to shop at Ipercoop, one of the largest supermarkets in the world. You can purchase wine for yourself or you can shop at the attached San Martino Mall while we buy groceries. Dinner at the house with local wine.

Sunday: Optional mass at Santo Stefano Church, the Eleventh Century church near the house. We will visit a local vineyard and the Cantalupo Winery in Ghemme. Dinner at Barone di Gattinara, the one time wine castello turned hotel and restaurant.

Monday: We will go to Barolo to visit the Enoteca Regionale del Barolo at Castello Falletti. Besides wine tastings at Castello Falletti we will visit the ethnographic museum where you can see items used in wine production, glass bottles, wedding menus and costumes of the people who have collected the grapes over the years. There is also a wine library with over 3000 antique books to peruse. We will sample wines at winery stores in Barolo. We will have lunch and dinner in Barolo.

Tuesday: We will spend the day visiting wineries and wine shops in Asti, Alba and Barbaresco. We will sample Barbaresco, Barbera and Asti Spumante wines.

Wednesday: We will sample wine at the Enoteca Regionale del Monferrato at the Fifteenth Century Palazzo Callori and have lunch in Monferrato. We will drive to Crea where we will taste wine at Tenuta La Tenaglia in their winetasting room with a breathtaking view of the vineyards from their large window. We will visit the wine cellar where they make, age and bottle the wines. Dinner at the house.

Thursday: The group will choose between an excursion to Milan, Torino or Lago Maggiore. Farewell dinner.

Friday: We will take you back to Milano Malpensa airport where you can catch your plane.