Hic et Nunc is the new face of Monferrato winemaking — a glass-walled cellar you can watch working from the tasting room, set on a ridge with the vineyards falling away on every side. The name means "here and now", and the wines lean that way: native grapes handled with a contemporary hand, plenty of zero-dosage sparkling, and labels with attitude — the Barbera Superiore 'Monumento', the Grignolino 'Altromondo', a Cortese called 'Mè Frel'. The Barbera d'Asti is the one visitors keep singling out.
This is a place built for the visit as much as the bottle. Book ahead through the website and you can pick your experience: a stargazing tasting, a truffle hunt with wines to match, even a mystery dinner, the food sourced from small local makers. Reckon on €50 and up, and expect the view and the sommelier to do as much work as the glass. Open right through the weekend, unusually.