| La Raia welcomes guests back for the new season with an expanded hospitality offering, as new apartments at Borgo de La Raia further broaden the estate’s experience alongside Michelin Green Star dining, biodynamic wine, wellness and landscape-led itineraries |
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| Borgo de La Raia (R.Gasperoni) |
| Novi Ligure, Piedmont, 2 April 2026 – Locanda La Raia, the biodynamic winery and boutique hotel in Piedmont, Italy, has officially reopened, welcoming guests back for a new season in the rolling hills of Gavi, in Lower Piedmont. Set within the biodynamic 200-hectare estate of La Raia, where vineyards, woods, lakes, gardens and farmland form a singular ecosystem, the reopening marks a new chapter for the estate’s hospitality offering with the expansion of Borgo de La Raia: an ancient rural hamlet carefully restored in 2024 into a space for hospitality, and now further developed with the addition of two new apartments, Ape Regina and La Villa, introducing a more residential style of stay. Located just over an hour’s drive from Milan and under an hour from Genoa, La Raia offers an immersive countryside retreat where hospitality, wine, gastronomy, wellness and culture are deeply intertwined. For Spring 2026, the estate presents a wider and more flexible approach to hospitality, responding to different rhythms of travel, from intimate stays at Locanda La Raia to more spacious and independent accommodation within the Borgo. Positioned at the northern edge of the estate in one of Gavi’s most evocative settings, Borgo de La Raia overlooks an unspoilt valley, surrounded by woods, vineyards and a small hidden lake reached on foot. The original farmhouse, barn and patio are arranged around a large circular courtyard, bordered by the rows of the Cortese vineyard, from which the estate’s cru, Gavi Pisé, is produced. For the 2026 season, Borgo de La Raia expands with the addition of Ape Regina and La Villa, two restored apartments accommodating up to nine guests in total, further strengthening its role as a private and residential counterpart to the Locanda within the wider La Raia experience. |
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| La Villa Interiors (P.Calamarà) |
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| Ape Regina Double Bedroom |
| Carefully restored in line with the same philological principles that define the wider estate, the Borgo preserves its architectural identity while adapting it for contemporary hospitality. The apartments, including Ape Regina and La Villa, the latter distinguished by its characteristic tower, are furnished in continuity with the Locanda, combining antique Piedmontese pieces with contemporary design objects and artworks, and are conceived for guests seeking space, privacy and a slower rhythm of stay immersed in nature. Ape Regina, located on the first floor of the Borgo’s main farmhouse, is a 115 sqm apartment designed for up to four guests, with the possibility of an additional child’s bed. It features two bedrooms, a spacious open-plan living area with dining room and fully equipped kitchen, and a balcony overlooking the inner courtyard and surrounding valley. La Villa, a detached house arranged over two floors, offers a more expansive layout of approximately 150 sqm, accommodating up to five guests. Its bright living spaces open onto a terrace with sweeping views across the Borgo and surrounding hills. Both residences are equipped with fully fitted kitchens and stocked with a selection of local and organic products, allowing guests to experience the estate with greater independence while remaining connected to its wider offering. |
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| La Villa Double Bedroom (P.Calamarà) |
| The Borgo also represents one of the estate’s most atmospheric settings for private events and celebrations, including intimate weddings and multi-day gatherings, where the combination of historic architecture, open landscapes and a sense of complete seclusion allows for a deeply personal and immersive experience. From ceremonies overlooking the valley to dinners in the courtyard and moments shared across the estate, La Raia has increasingly become a destination for those seeking a refined yet understated countryside setting for weddings rooted in nature, food, wine and culture. Within the Borgo, guests can also encounter one of the permanent site-specific works of Fondazione La Raia: OUSSSER by artist Koo Jeong A, a mural in enamel whose luminous presence reveals itself only at night, further reinforcing the dialogue between art, landscape and architecture that defines the estate. |
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| Locanda La Raia within La Raia’s Estate (L.Chiaudano) |
| Seasonal cuisine At the heart of the experience remains La Raia’s gastronomic offering. The estate’s restaurant, awarded a Michelin Green Star, continues under the culinary direction of Tommaso Arrigoni, alongside resident chef Mirko Natali, whose menus interpret the traditions of Gavi cuisine through a contemporary lens shaped by seasonality and sustainability. Rooted in the meeting point between Ligurian and Piedmontese influences, the kitchen draws on the estate’s own biodynamic produce, ancient cereals, herbs, eggs, honey and Fassona beef, as well as ingredients from local farmers and Slow Food producers. The new spring selection includes dishes such as creamed salt cod with courgettes in two textures, pine nuts and crunchy bread, Acquerello risotto with Bra Duro cheese, pea cream, wild garlic and sprouts, potato gnocchi with knife-pounded Fassona beef ragù and black truffle, and lamb loin with braised artichokes, Taggiasca olives and egg sauce. The recently introduced Borgo menu, which continues this season, offers a more explicitly rural expression of the estate’s culinary identity, with dishes including traditional Easter savoury pie with wild herbs, soft cheese and quail eggs, poached egg from the estate’s hens with spinach foam, charred ricotta and toasted almonds, and strawberries with Barbera Bruente wine, white chocolate cream and cocoa crumble. |
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| Acquerello Risotto |
| Wine from Gavi to the Langhe Wine remains central to any stay at La Raia. Guests can explore the estate’s biodynamic philosophy through cellar visits and tastings, discovering wines produced from the surrounding vineyards, including its Gavi DOCG expressions from Cortese grapes, Piemonte Barbera and limited Pinot Noir and Passito di Cortese. These are also joined by wines from Tenuta Cucco, the Rossi Cairo family’s sister estate in Serralunga d’Alba in the Langhe, whose organic Nebbiolo and Barolo further extend the wine narrative from Gavi to one of Piedmont’s most celebrated territories. This dialogue is reflected in the estate’s “Across Gavi and Langhe” tasting menu, which pairs dishes with labels from both La Raia and Tenuta Cucco. |
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| Set of La Raia’s Signature Wines |
| Art, Landscape and Wellbeing Beyond the table, La Raia invites guests to discover the estate through its three itineraries: the wine itinerary, leading through the vineyards to the cellar; the art itinerary, which runs across the estate and connects the permanent site-specific works commissioned by Fondazione La Raia; and the biodiversity itinerary, a three-kilometre route through cultivated land, woods, lakes and streams, revealing the rich environmental mosaic that defines the estate. Founded in 2013, Fondazione La Raia – arte cultura territorio forms an integral part of the estate’s identity, having commissioned works by international artists including Remo Salvadori, Adrien Missika, Michael Beutler, Tami Izko and Koo Jeong A. |
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| Remo Salvadori’s Site-Specific Art Piece |
| Wellness continues to shape the guest experience across the estate. At Locanda La Raia, the wellness area includes a sauna, Turkish bath, Himalayan salt wall, indoor and outdoor temperature-controlled pool, and a Technogym-equipped gym overlooking the garden. At Borgo de La Raia, yoga and Pilates sessions, as well as ceramics workshops, offer slower and more meditative ways to engage with the landscape. Guests can also make use of the estate’s tennis court, explore cycling routes through the surrounding hills, or join guided trekking excursions in the nearby Val Borbera and Val di Lemme. |
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| Locanda La Raia’s Swimming Pool |
| Piero Rossi Cairo, second-generation custodian of the family project, comments, “With the reopening of the new season, we are pleased to further expand La Raia’s hospitality offering through the addition of new apartments at Borgo de La Raia. This allows us to welcome guests in different ways, while remaining true to the spirit of the estate: a place where wine, landscape, food, art and a sense of quiet coexist in balance.” With the addition of the new Borgo de La Raia apartments, the estate enters the 2026 season with a broader and more flexible stay offering, inviting guests to experience its landscape, culture and way of life through both the intimacy of the Locanda and the privacy of the Borgo. For more information, visit www.la-raia.it/en. To explore curated itineraries across the estate, visit https://la-raia.it/en/locanda/itineraries/. |
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