Fontanafredda: a winery and a walk in the hills of Piedmont

Located just outside the town of Alba and about an hour from the city of Turin, the vineyard of Fontanafredda has recently taken on new life after being purchased (from the bank) by gourmet food giant Eataly. On a recent March morning, I did the Bosco dei Pensieri (Wood of Thoughts) trail, a one hour walk that goes through Fontanafredda’s forests and vines, and offers some great views.

The walk is very well signposted and starts next to the pond, pictured below. The orange and yellow striped building is characteristic of Fontanafredda (and that one, by the way, has clean and new flush toilets). The glass building next to it is the Eataly restaurant.

It was easy to follow the Bosco dei pensieri signs, and there were more detailed signs describing flora and fauna along the trail.

We soon reached a lovely picnic spot with views over the vineyards and over the yellow and orange striped buildings of Fontanafredda borgo. It would be easy to walk up there with a bottle of wine and a few glasses [mental note for next time].

At the highest point of the hike, we had some gorgeous views over the Langhe countryside. The town pictured is Castiglione Falletto. I love the red house!

Most of the trail was wide, well-marked, and easy to follow, though my guide was full of interesting information about the area, the history, the views and towns, as well as the flora and fauna.

If I hadn’t already made lunch plans and wine tasting plans for later in the day, I would have happily eaten in the Fontanafredda cafe (much more casual than the Eataly restaurant, and the menu looked great) and stayed to taste some of the Fontanafredda wine.