Monferrato Poolhouse

Are you a wine lover and an aesthete looking to holiday off the beaten track? In love with Italy and the Italian countryside, but loth to battle crowds of tourists? Come to Piemonte and discover the gorgeous, unspoiled green and vine-covered hills of Monferrato next to one of the rare Nebbiolo DOCs outside of the Langhe. Sample fabled Piemontese cuisine—vitel tonné, Fassone beef and vegetables and vegetarian dishes, a mere stone’s throw from historic royal Turin, a train ride away from the Duomo and shopping of Milan and in the other direction, Genoa and the Ligurian coast. Stay in our two-room casetta, furnished with antiques and linen sheets and enjoy our baroque garden with 12-metre pool, gym and sauna. Your hosts, can arrange local wine tastings, e-bike rentals and direct you to fantastic local agriturismo restaurants with reasonable prices and fabulous wine, all in a small village with food shops, cafés, a world-famous gin distillery and a local farmers’ market on Thursday and Sunday mornings. A place for all seasons—in winter, alpine skiing just over an hour away in the Via Lattea group of resorts; in the autumn, unbeatable truffle, porcini and wild boar season along with artichokes and traditional bagna caüda, if you are a garlic fanatic; eat local asparagus all through the spring and luscious cuore di bue tomatoes and local vegetables as you lounge by the pool in summer.

On foot, follow local walking circuits through vine-covered hills to a Romanesque convent with plenty of spots for a romantic picnic. Take a day trip by car to Roero or Barolo or just take in the fragrance of jasmine, lavender and rosemary and linger by the pool and do nothing at all.