Even locals are more likely to associate the town of Borgomanero with factories than with wine. Luckily for us though,  the area boasts a wonderful award-winning winery - just 20 minutes from Arona and Lago Maggiore. Even better, they seem to be the only outfit offering wine-tasting for groups as small as two.

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Other than its attractive car-free centre, Borgomanero is a fairly unprepossessing sort of place and the drive to Fontechiara through modern industrial and residential areas can be somewhat off-putting. Suddenly though, you find yourself meandering down a narrow country lane in the country side, you turn into a farm driveway surrounded by woodland and vineyards and you’ve arrived at the cascina.

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If you have booked, the staff will be there to meet you, full of smiles, and you immediately know the wine-tasting experience is going to be fun. When we visited at the end of September, the organisation was faultless and aged owner, who still does the heavy-lifting in the winery, stopped by to share his knowledge and his enthusiasm for growing grapes without chemicals.

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Fontechiara seems to have corned the local market in wine-tasting for both small and large groups. Fortunately it is now no longer necessary to traipse down south to Langhe or Barolo for your wine-tasting experience. During the busy summer you are likely to be sharing your popular host with other clients.

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After showing you round the cantina and the steel tanks and the French wooden barrels, it’s time for the wine-tasting to begin. The family produce three types of wine: a rosato made from nebbiolo grapes, a single variety nebbiolo and a single variety vespolina, each of which is paired with local cheeses and salami.

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Prices of northern Piemonte wine have been on an upward trend over the last decade but Fontechiara wines are surprisingly affordable: 10 Euro for the rosato and vespolina, 12 and 15 for the two nebbiolos.

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The family also sell an interesting range of local products most of which contain their wine: chocolate, cosmetics and pasta.

Make sure to ask for a guided tour of the didactic vineyard on the slope behind the farm; twenty different grape varieties have been planted here.

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Prices for wine-tasting range from 15 to 20 Euro, depending on how many types of wine you taste.