Murazzano: Edge of the Langhe

High on the southern rim of Piedmont, where the vineyards give way to woods and pastures, lies Murazzano — a hilltop village that seems to hover between sky and sea. From its medieval tower, the view sweeps across the Barolo hills to the north and, on clear days, all the way to the shimmer of the Mediterranean an hour to the south.

This is the heart of the Alta Langa, a quieter, wilder counterpart to the famous wine lands below. The slopes here are steeper, the air cooler, the rhythms slower. Goats graze on the meadows that patchwork the hillsides, giving milk for Murazzano DOP, one of Italy’s oldest protected cheeses — soft, tangy, and made by hand in small stone dairies much as it was centuries ago.

The same altitude that favours goats also shapes the vineyards. Here the grapes ripen slowly, building the structure and acidity that make Alta Langa DOCG Metodo Classico - among Italy’s most elegant sparkling wines. Each bottle spends years resting on its lees before release, carrying the clarity of this higher elevation — a brightness that feels both Alpine and maritime.

Murazzano sits on the threshold between worlds: the sacred geometry of Barolo’s endless Nebbiolo vineyards to the north, and the temperate, fresh winds of Liguria to the south. It’s a place of transition and synthesis, where white grapes flourish, the light changes constantly and life still moves slowly, with contentment at its core.