Northern Italy

[likesred]

Innkeeper, you're tremendous! Thanks for all the info. OK, so I like red, sure, but I also like those New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs, and their citrus, non-oaky tastes. How would you characterize the Vermentino that you praise?
Here's the tentative plan (over ten days): make a sort of circle by car from Milan counter-clockwise through Alba to Genoa, Portofino/Cinqueterre, then to Emilia-Romagna (Piacenza?), maybe a lake, then back to Milan. Too ambitious? Workable? Are the towns you mentioned (like Gattinara) also good places to stay for a couple of days to relax and enjoy the countryside, or should we drive there, visit and stay somewhere else?