Grazzano Badoglio

One of Monferrato's Big Benches, painted red and set among the vines with a wide view over the hills. Park by the cemetery and follow the signposted path — about 300 metres downhill — to climb up and feel small again. Bring the stamp book; the passport stamp lives at the nearby Locanda Casa Costa.

Vittorio is the fifth generation to make wine on the Madonna dei Monti slope, and he tends to guide the tastings himself — the family's been at it since 1919. Alongside the Barbera and Grignolino you'll meet the varieties they've held onto: a pure Baratuciat white, the red Slarina that catches people off guard. Visits and tastings are by arrangement, and they'll happily switch between Italian, English, French and German. In warm weather they set tables out among the rows; ring or email ahead to book.

A small museum in the house where Marshal Pietro Badoglio was born, its rooms lined with photographs and period memorabilia, shown by volunteers who know the history well. Badoglio is a divisive figure, and the collection reads as memory more than tribute. Visits are usually by appointment.

Book ahead and they'll take you down into the infernotto, a cellar cut 17 metres into the tufo where the Barbera and Grignolino age in French barriques and big Slavonian botti — a good few degrees cooler than the yard, and part of what earned these hills their UNESCO listing. The Alleva family have run the estate since 2000; visits are by appointment at 11.30 or 15.00, and you can pitch it anywhere from a €20 flight of Monferrato wines up to €85 sitting down with the winemaker. Add a board of Piedmontese cold cuts and cheese for €15 if you're making an afternoon of it.

A hilltop picnic spot on the edge of town, worth the climb — by bike if you're feeling strong — for the open view across the Monferrato hills. A stele up here remembers Badoglio and the coachbuilder Pininfarina, and there's room to park.

Tenuta Santa Caterina, a wine estate and relais in Grazzano Badoglio, sends you out on guided walks through the UNESCO vineyard landscape around it, an environmental hiking guide leading. Three easy-going routes are on offer: an 11 km 'sea of hills' loop with a picnic, and two gentler 7 km walks around Cella Monte and Olivola. They'll tailor a route too; book at least three days ahead.

The abbey Aleramo founded before 961 — the marquis remembered as the founder of Monferrato — is now the parish church of Santi Vittore e Corona. His tomb was moved inside in 1581 and rests beside a fragment of medieval mosaic floor. The Romanesque bell tower and cloister survive from the older church.

A farm butcher's shop where you pick your cut at the counter and it's grilled to order — mixed veal grill, fiorentina, and the offal the regulars swear by, with raw meat and vitello tonnato to start. The house wine pours well and the welcome is warm; book ahead.

Perched on a hilltop with a long view over the vineyards — the terrace in fine weather, a table by the fireplace when it turns. The kitchen leans local, from potato gnocchi in prawn bisque to bunet, and the owner will gladly bend a dish for vegans or children. English is spoken, and prices stay fair.

A family-run kitchen in the countryside, at its best in funghi and truffle season — fried porcini, pasta under shaved truffle, veal cooked with care. Locals come for the pizza, and the bunet and hazelnut cake are worth the room; ask for the house amaro and, in winter, a table by the fireplace.

Part grocery, part deli, part bar — pick up salami, focaccia and a bottle, or sit at the outdoor tables under the pergola for cured meats and a glass of local wine poured to order. The coffee's good, the muffins better, and the family who run it send cyclists and picnickers off happy.