During Piemonte’s Harvest, Sticky Fingers & Fat Bunches
Cumingsuma a vendemmié!
That’s “Let’s start the harvest” in Piemonteis. With a later summer lingering into October, the Nebbiolo grapes ripened early this year. Add a rare weekend-long gap between preparing and guiding trips, and I was thrilled to finally help harvest at our friend Sergio’s vineyard in Rio Sordo, Barbaresco—one of the most famous sub-regions of the Piemonte wine region.
Is it back-breaking work? Actually, Barbaresco’s steep hillsides are a plus here: standing on the downhill side to harvest with the plump, luscious bunches hanging high, no deep bends are required.
“Harvesting is a wonderfully social activity.”
And better still, harvesting is a wonderfully social activity. We worked in pairs, chatting about wines, weather, grapes and local gossip in a mix of Italian and Piemonteis. The work of snipping bunches, untangling a few from branches or wires, and trimming dried or red-tinged berries that hadn’t quite ripened to full colour, went fast and the red plastic boxes filled quickly. In the golden autumn sun, fondling such fat luscious grape bunches, it was a joy to help.
And sometime after 2015, when the Produttori di Barbaresco release this Rio Sordo Riserva vintage, I’ll savour its taste all the more knowing my sticky fingers helped it to happen.
Experience Piemonte With B&R
Scheduled Group Biking Trip
As the home of Barolo, Barbaresco and Slow Food, Piemonte tastes as good as it looks. On Piemonte Biking, we’ll hunt for truffles and get a firsthand pasta-making demo from an expert chef. Delizioso.
DETAILED ITINERARYScheduled Group Walking Trip
Slow down, sip and stroll your way from the well-heeled wine hub of Piemonte all the way to pastel-hued Portofino. We traverse to each side of the Apennines on an epic Piemonte to Portofino Walking trip!
DETAILED ITINERARYMORE FROM Italy + Piemonte

Back to the Roots: Finding Prosperity in Food & Community in Rural Italy
Puglia
The Best Hotels in Rome (2020)
Rome
A Day in Florence: Rediscovering the City with Family Post-Lockdown
Tuscany
B&R Fund: Replanting Trees in the Dolomites with Wow Nature
Dolomites
Why Your Next Private Family Vacation Should Be to the Dolomites
Dolomites
The Hugo: A Refreshing Cocktail from the Dolomites
Dolomites
Gravel Biking in Tuscany: Q&A with Edoardo Bausani
Tuscany
The Nose Must Travel: A Research Trip in Puglia
Puglia
A Walking Tour of Florence
Tuscany
A Walking Tour of Rome: Discovering Caravaggio
Rome
The 19 Best Shops in Florence
Tuscany
Introducing Matera: European Capital of Culture 2019
Puglia
Bespoke Stories: A Singular Sicilian Adventure
Sicily
Cycling the idyllic, sun-kissed heel of Italy’s boot
Puglia
18 Best Shops on the Amalfi Coast
Amalfi Coast
The Taste of a Place:
How to Savour Like a Sicilian
Sicily

In Praise of Puglia (and Basilicata)
Puglia
Seeing Through Sardinian Eyes
Sardinia
Our Favourite 22 Shops in Venice
Veneto