Verduno.

Verduno sits on a narrow ridge at the northern edge of the Barolo wine zone, with views opening over the Langhe hills toward the Tanaro valley. The village lends its name to one of Barolo's official communes, where Nebbiolo ripens on steep, terraced slopes below the houses.

Its real distinction is Pelaverga, a pale, peppery red grape grown almost nowhere else. Bottled as Verduno Pelaverga, it is poured in the village's cellars and trattorias alongside the deeper, more powerful Barolo wines.

At the highest point of the village stands Castello di Verduno, once a hunting residence for the House of Savoy and now a working winery with cellars open for tastings. Below it, narrow lanes run past stone houses to terraces where the vineyard rows drop toward the valley floor.

Village trattorias serve Piedmontese staples such as agnolotti alongside the local wines, and paths cross the vineyards between Verduno and its neighbouring villages, through hazel groves and open ridgelines that shift colour from one month to the next.