Bella Italia
Roero and Monferrato
On a sunny morning we are collected at our hotel in Alba to visit the Roero region. We start with a tour of a fabulous winery with a very ancient cellar and end with a tasting of the flagship wines of the estate. It is great to get to taste a selection of the white Roero Arneis DOCG wines this region is known for.
We get to taste the Arneis from different vineyard sites and different vintages which shows how versatile this grape is. Besides the whites we also taste some Red ‘Roero’ wines. These are made from the Nebbiolo grape which is the same grape variety used for Barbaresco and Barolo (!), but here grown in a very different soil and therefore producing a different style of red wines. Interesting!
For lunch we sit down at a lovely traditional trattoria which serves typical dishes from the region. The starter is a delicious hand cut steak tartare with some freshly grated truffle. The pasta course is fresh and handmade and accompanied by a sauce of wild mushrooms. Heaven! Ofcourse we accompany the plates with more local Roero reds.
In the afternoon we let the meal sink in and visit a wine producer located at a beautiful castle in the Monferrato wine region. Here they make some of the highest quality Barbera d’Asti DOCG in the entire region. Barbera d’Asti is known for its fruity elegant expression, a wine that fits many occasions. After the tasting there is plenty of time to make pictures at the very photogenic estate.
It has been a wonderful day and around 6.30 pm we are dropped off at our hotel to relax and and later in the evening we enjoyed a small dinner with some more local delicacies.
Barbaresco and Barolo
On our second day we travel to Serralunga and Monforte d’Alba. Here we pay a visit to a Barbaresco producer located in the heart of the most important ‘Cru’ vineyards. The tour of the cellar is followed by a tasting of several wines including different single vineyard ‘Cru’ Barbaresco DOCG wines and vintages. It is amazing to taste the different expressions of the wines. I fall in love with some of the bottles and decide to bring a bunch of them home to enrich my wine cellar.
The trattoria in the historic Barbaresco village treats us very well. We enjoy the Vitello tonnato very much as well as the Ravioli del plin (a tiny size of filled pasta very typical for the region). Barbaresco is served throughout the meal. We can’t complain!
In the Afternoon we visit a producer in the Barolo region of Monforte d’Alba. We get an interesting tour in the vineyards where we are explained the different soil types and expressions of the Nebbiolo grape. It’s very picturesque and we take a bunch of beautiful pictures. The winery has a very interesting small museum where we learn about the history of this region and the ancient wine making practices.
The tasting is a highlight of the estate wines including Dolcetto, Barbera d’Alba, Nebbiolo and four different Barolo wines, including a riserva. In the end we try homemade Grappa and Barolo Chinato, a sweet desert wine made from Barolo, sugar, herbs and spices. It is so delicious I buy some to take home.
After the winery we get to visit the village of Barolo. We stroll along the historical streets and discover some great shops with local products. It is impossible not to buy things here, luckily, I brought a big suitcase on this trip!
We spend the evening in our hotel. It has been a busy day so I go to bed early, excited for tomorrows activity!
White Truffle hunting tour
The moment I had been waiting for has arrived. We begin the morning hunting for truffles with a real hunter and his dog in private woods where the highest quality of white truffles can be found. The woods have been managed over many years, so we are told there is no guarantee of finding truffles. It feels very authentic and I am so excited if we will find some!
It is an unforgettable experience to see the dog, a typical Lagotto the breed used for finding truffles, go mad in the forest. He runs around with his nose to the floor, going back and forth. Then he stops and starts to dig with its paws. The hunter runs towards the dog and is right on time to catch a big white truffle straight from the mouth of the dog. Wow! What an adrenaline rush. While we admire the truffle in the hand of the hunter and get to smell it, the dog is already gone, finding the next one.
After this great morning we return to the truffle hunter’s farmhouse for a visit to the cellar. Here we try several wines from the Barrels, followed by a home cooked traditional lunch. We taste locally made salami, two different starters all made from seasonal produce from their garden. The main course is a handmade pasta with alpine butter and of course fresh white truffle! The wines that accompany our meal are Cortese, Grignolino, Barbera d’Asti and Brachetto d’Acqui. The last wine is a sweet slightly sparkling red wine with only 5% of alcohol, it’s delicious with our dessert.
The afternoon is another highlight of the trip. We visit the Truffle festival in Alba. An experience that has been on my bucket list for quite a while! Our guide explains the activities taking place and shows us around the truffle market. We taste lots of truffle and buy great products to take home.
We spent the evening in Alba. There was no program so we had all the time to discover this beautiful town, take pictures and relax at one of the great wine bars. Instead of going back to the hotel early we decide to stay in Alba for dinner, indulging in more local foods of course with truffle!