Cantine Aperte a San Martino: Eight Piemonte Doors Open to 15 November
Seven Piemonte estates and a distillery open their doors for San Martino, with tastings, a truffle lunch and cellar tours to 15 November.
Il Vino Bello ·
In the old farming calendar, 11 November is the day of the svinatura: the young wine is drawn off its skins and the new vintage begins its life as wine. San Martino is also the patron saint of winegrowers, and around his feast the Movimento Turismo del Vino runs Cantine Aperte a San Martino, open cellar days that this year last from 1 to 15 November. Today, 8 November, the programme also marks Wine in Moderation Day. The Piemonte list is short, which makes it easy to plan a weekend around it.
What Cantine Aperte a San Martino is
The Movimento Turismo del Vino is the national association of wine estates open to visitors. This year its autumn edition takes time as its theme: the time that turns grapes into must, must into a new vintage and a bottle into an aged wine. According to the national programme, producers take visitors from the vat to the bottle, pouring the new wine next to older vintages, with snacks by the fire, new olive oil, chestnuts and truffles, and visits to ageing caves and distilleries.
Each estate sets its own calendar inside the fortnight. Some experiences run every day, others only at weekends, and most need booking. In Piemonte the regional programme, updated on 30 October, lists eight addresses: seven wine estates and one distillery, spread across the provinces of Alessandria, Asti and Cuneo. The weekend still ahead, 14 and 15 November, is when most of them overlap.
Roero: a three hour visit at Poderi Moretti
The only Cuneo address is Poderi Moretti, a family estate in the Occhetti hamlet of Monteu Roero. The programme lists guided visits on Saturday 14 November at 10.30 and 15.00 and on Sunday 15 November at 10.30, plus this morning's slot. The tour starts at the winemaking cellar at Frazione Occhetti 40, takes in the nearest vineyard, then moves a short way along the same hamlet to number 15 for a guided tasting with a board of Piemonte cured meats and cheese. The estate puts the whole visit at about three hours.
Prices depend on the wines. The programme lists four packages, from 23 euro for three wines (a Roero Arneis, a Langhe DOC and a Roero DOCG) to 42 euro for a line-up of four DOCG wines that includes the Roero Occhetti, a Roero Riserva and the estate's Barolo. Booking is by email only and paid in advance, everyone in one booking takes the same package, and vegetarian or gluten-free boards are possible if requested beforehand.
Monferrato: truffle lunch, Grignolino and chocolate with Gavi
In the Monferrato Casalese, Paolo Angelini at Ozzano Monferrato serves a "Tartufo e Vino" lunch on Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 November at 12.30: a tasting with a board of cold cuts, agnolotti with black truffle and hazelnut cake, for 20 euro a person, booking required by phone or WhatsApp. The family grows Barbera and Grignolino alongside Albarossa, Viognier and Syrah; its Golden Arbian Grignolino and Ecate Albarossa are among the wines it pours in its regular tastings. Our Grignolino guide explains why the grape is worth the trip.
Near Casale Monferrato, the Leporati family's Tenuta La Pavesa opens throughout the fortnight, 10.30 to 12.30 and 15.00 to 18.00, for a cellar visit and, weather permitting, the vineyards. A classic tasting costs 15 euro and an aperitivo-style one 25 euro, with eight wines from Grignolino and Barbera del Monferrato to Chardonnay and Pinot Nero.
Further south, Cascina Binè at Novi Ligure offers a guided visit of its Vigna Rotonda and winemaking cellar, then four wines by the fireplace paired with handmade chocolate pralines chosen for Gavi DOCG and Barbera: about an hour and a half, 2 to 16 people, 35 euro. Cascina Roccabianca in Cartosio, an organic farm above the Erro valley in the Alto Monferrato, invites visitors to catch the smell of the fermenting must, with a San Martino experience on 11 November booked through the farm.
Marenco in Strevi held its foliage walk and merenda sinoira yesterday, but its cellar is open to visitors every day of the year by appointment, with tastings built around Barbera or around its Moscato and Brachetto, such as the Scrapona Moscato d'Asti and the Pineto Brachetto d'Acqui.
Canelli's cellars and a distillery
In the province of Asti, Bosca opens its Cattedrali Sotterranee in Canelli from Tuesday to Sunday, booked through its website. The house dates its winemaking in Canelli to 1831, and describes the galleries as dug into the calcareous tuff of the town's hills between the 16th and 19th centuries to age sparkling wine; they have been part of the UNESCO World Heritage site since 2014.
The eighth address is not a winery but Mazzetti d'Altavilla, distillers since 1846 at the top of Altavilla Monferrato. Its guided tastings of grappa, brandy and liqueurs need no booking, and alcohol-free drinks are on offer for drivers, which fits the day.
Before you go
The organisers stress that programmes can still change, so confirm times and prices with each estate. Plan who drives: the national programme ties today to Wine in Moderation Day, with the message "the best wine is the one you can remember" (our translation). And if what you want is the new wine itself, check what will be poured, since San Martino vino nuovo is not the same thing as novello, a separate category with its own rules.
See Poderi Moretti, Paolo Angelini and Marenco on the site for their wines and how to visit the rest of the year.
Sources
- https://movimentoturismovino.it/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/CantineAperteSan-Martino2026-Piemonte.pdf
- https://www.informacibo.it/cantine-aperte-san-martino-2026/
- https://www.igrandivini.com/news/cantine-aperte-san-martino-2026/
- https://www.bosca.it/cantine/
- https://www.agriroccabianca.it/
- https://www.leporatiwine.com/