Cascina San Siro

Davide Ghione is the fourth generation to make wine at Cascina San Siro, up on the Costigliole d'Asti hills, and if you turn up on a Sunday he'll still answer the phone. It's a small family operation with fair prices — the Barbera d'Asti DOCG runs about six and a half euros, the Superiore around nine — alongside a white Arneis and a Nebbiolo, and, this being the Alta Langa's doorstep, a good line in hazelnuts.

There's no glossy cellar-door; you buy in bottle or, the old way, by the bag-in-box, and Davide and his son will happily talk you through the lot. Google's small crowd of visitors rate it 4.9, and Vivino is thinner still — a scant thirteen ratings at 3.9. Call ahead on +39 347 048 5792 and treat it as a working farm rather than a tasting bar.