how to reach the
Germano's wine shop
in Barolo

At our Barolo showroom you will have the opportunity to enjoy a free sampling of our finest wines. Upon booking you can also arrange to match your wine tasting session with a sampling of the area’s finest gastronomical products;
For more information on how to book please go to the “come and visit us” page.

Enoteca Germano - Via Roma, 65 - 12060 BAROLO CN
tel. +39 0173 566408

The house in Via Roma, Barolo, property of the Germano family since 1936 (photo 1) used to be “l’Albergo Svizzero” (The Swiss Hotel) from 1800 to the first years of the 1900s. There are photos to be found within the wine bar testifying to this, in addition to the tales told by the older generation (photos 2&3), which depict the rooms whose windows open up onto the main town square. The “CANTINA SOCIALE” (wine growers cooperative) used to reside in the wine cellars with the wine bar adjacent.

The former glory of the rooms of chalet-style Svizzero Hotel has been restored through recent refurbishing works. This period building has now been converted into an agritourism facility, the new name is "Casa Svizzera". We obtained three rooms where we can accommodate those wishing to spend a few days in the Langhe in a particularly rich historical and cultural context.
See the rooms pictures http://www.casasvizzera.com/

This house, which through the years has been a home to many of the town’s businesses like the post office and the chemist, has always remained, along with the castle, the heart of the village. Under its balconies you will find the “littorina” (photo 2), which was joined in time by the men who gather to wrangle over the price of the grapes; the “trifalau” (truffle hunters) sneak furtively by with their precious bundle and faithful hounds, while children play with their marbles, throwing them to see who can get theirs closest to the wall (photo 4). It is in this way that the Germano family has participated in the life of the village, looking down on it benevolently as from the gallery of a theatre (photo 5).

A further peculiar characteristic of the wine bar was to be found in the surface of its walls; they were in fact entirely painted in such a manner as to offer a truly spectacular optical illusion. They seemed to be completely constructed from planks obtained from enormous tree trunks. Unfortunately the costs involved in maintaining such a beautiful fresco were very high and with the advent of the war the painting was lost for ever (photo 6).

In these historic rooms, which have been renovated keeping the bricks in full view and the fireplaces which were used to both heat the rooms and cook food for the banquets, the Germano wine bar now resides. During the renovation work that took place on the building an old notebook was discovered, written entirely by hand, in which some old recipes were kept. We like to imagine that it once belonged to the chef of the old hotel. These recipes have been transcribed for you in the “yesterday and today” section.