The landscape of Barbaresco is a viticultural text. The newly opened viewing station atop Barbaresco Tower is a tool for reading it.

Above: the new viewing station atop the historic Torre di Barbaresco, the iconic tower of Barbaresco village (image by Barbaresco producer Giovanna Rizzolio).

The view from atop the newly restored Barbaresco Tower “is spectacular,” writes leading Italian wine blogger Alessandro Morichetti in a post for Intravino this week.

“It gives you a 360° panorama and if you really want to look really cool when you visit, be sure to bring your Enogea map” (the meticulously detailed Barbaresco atlas by celebrated enocartographer Alessandro Masnaghetti).

He is referring to the fact that the now-open-to-the-public tower offers visitors an unparalleled tool for studying the viticultural landscape of one of the world’s greatest appellations and its highly coveted wines.

Visit Alessandro’s post for a breathtaking video on the restoration (in Italian).

Once a medieval fortification, the former ruin is now a destination for wine lovers and visitors to the UNESCO Heritage site known as the Vineyard Landscape of Piedmont: Langhe-Roero and Monferrato.

It includes a tasting room, a wine cellar, a multi-media “history of Barbaresco” exhibit, and the viewing station (above), which is accessible via elevator.

It was opened to the public for the first time earlier this month.

As of the publication of this post, a Google search did not reveal hours and visiting information. Contact information for the offices of Barbaresco township, which manages the site, can be found here.

Image below via the Barbaresco township website.