Castagnole Monferrato

A small museum-cellar telling the Ferraris family's story and how Ruchè came back from the brink, with old photographs and a short film. The visit ends in the tasting room, where several Ruché wines — including the Vigna del Parroco, from the parish priest's own vineyard — are poured by warm, knowledgeable hosts. Just off the main square.

Crivelli is the no-frills end of Ruchè, and people mean that as praise — one family, a working cellar up on Bricco la Morra, about 23,000 bottles a year and a guided tasting that's all substance. You'll try the Ruchè di Castagnole Monferrato DOCG they're known for, usually with the Grignolino, a Barbera and the Neos rosé alongside. It's appointment-only, so call +39 339 597 6211 or email ahead; a little Italian goes down well here. Some regulars have driven back every year for three decades, which tells you most of it.

A giant dark-red bench set among the Ferraris vineyards, high enough to look out over rows of Ruchè to the hills beyond. There's a small parking area and a short path in, plus a fountain for walkers and their dogs. Best at sunset, glass of wine optional.

Tenuta dei Re sits at Cascina Nuova, right in the thick of Ruchè country — its Rubidio Ruchè, a Grignolino and a Barbera to go with it, and some wines now aged in terracotta jars for a rounder, more perfumed style. Tastings are by appointment and often drift into lunch, bread and grissini and salami on the table with the vines just outside. It's a small operation, so book ahead on +39 0141 292147 rather than turning up. Ask for Paolo, and ask about the jar-aged Favorita — that's the one that catches people off guard.

The old Regina Elena nursery school, whose brick-arched courtyard was renamed the Cortile dei camminatori di domande — the Courtyard of the Question Walkers — in 2018. Perched on the town walls, it opens onto the whole valley, and on summer nights it fills for starlit theatre. The gate stays shut otherwise.

Montalbera calls Ruchè the "red prince" and is one of the biggest names in the grape — this is the estate behind Laccento, the Ruchè most people meet first. The guided visit drops into a long barrique cellar and a room of terracotta amphorae before the tasting, and the wine shop's open every day if you'd rather just buy a few bottles. Ring +39 338 735 6001 or email visite@montalbera.it to book a proper tour; reservations are strongly preferred and the price depends on which wines you open. The hilltop pool terrace over the vineyards is theirs too, if you're staying the night.

Ruchè was nearly gone by the 1960s — a country priest, Don Giacomo Cauda, replanted the last rows behind the church and talked the village into believing in it again. The Ferraris family tells that story at the Museo del Ruchè on Via al Castello, in a restored cellar of brick arches and a hand-dug infernot, then sits you down in the old barn to taste. Two ways in: €15 gets the guided museum and a glass of Ruchè di Castagnole Monferrato DOCG (about 45 minutes); €30 opens five wines with a board of local salami and cheese, closer to ninety. Booking's required — through their site or WineAround — and they'll switch to English if you ask. Kids under 13 come free.

When the cellars shut, La Bottiglieria on Via Mazzini keeps pouring — a wine shop and bar in the middle of Castagnole where you can line up Ruchè side by side and argue about it. The €25 tasting runs about an hour: four wines, two young ones from steel and two barrel-aged reserves, with cooked salami, robiola di Roccaverano and lardo to eat alongside. Book through Winedering (two people minimum) and you'll get a few euro off any bottles you carry out. Handy on a day the growers are closed, and they'll happily switch to English.

The vitello tonnato comes with a drizzle of balsamico, and the wine list stays local and honestly priced — barely a few euros over cellar rates. Part restaurant, part wine bar, with a sunny terrace and a pistachio croissant at breakfast; the owner also rents e-bikes and points visitors up the right hill.

A tiny pizzeria where the pizzas are good, cheap and made with a smile — one late arrival got a fresh one well after closing. Simple, friendly, and unbeatable value for a quick dinner or takeaway.

The tasting menu is what to order here — a mixed antipasto, a primo, a secondo and dessert of Piedmontese dishes at a price that surprises. The dining room looks onto a preserved local crotin, the welcome from the owner is warm, and the agnolotti and bonet get named again and again.

Lunch is a fixed, multi-course menu served family-style under frescoed ceilings and among antique furniture. The chef-owner cooks local ingredients with real care — a pumpkin fritter for vegetarians, house tiramisu — and pours Monferrato wine at a gentle price. It feels like eating in someone's home rather than a restaurant.