Don't be put off by the building — a big concrete shed on the edge of Moncalvo with a car park to match, the kind of place you'd drive straight past. Inside is a cooperative that's been going since 1960, when growers from seven Moncalvese villages pooled their grapes rather than sell them off cheap; the name means "seven hills." Walk in and someone will pour you a few without ceremony — last we heard, four wines across the counter and bottles from around €6.50. This is where locals fill the boot, not where you come for a curated flight.
The reds are the reason. Grignolino d'Asti, the local pale one that drinks lighter than it looks; a couple of serious Barberas (the Piciodur d'Asti Superiore, the Monferrato "le Monache"); and Ruchè di Castagnole Monferrato, the perfumed red that grows only in a handful of villages near here. There's a Chardonnay and a Brut too, and you can still buy sfuso — wine by the demijohn — the way the valley always has. Prices are honest, the staff know their stock, and nobody rushes you out.