The truffle time

In the last weekend of Alba International White Truffle Fair (Fiera Internazionale del Tartufo Bianco d’Alba) weekly market in the center of Alba was immersed in sun. I filled my eyes with vivid colors of flowers, seasonal fruits and vegetables, enormous boletus (poricini) and definitely smaller white truffles. This time the autumn didn’t spoil wine producers, but truffle hunters had a lot of work, which was reflected in gray diamond price. A year ago you needed to spend 4-4,5 € per 1 g and the current price is around 2,5-3,5 €/ 1 g, not to mention about special promotions during the last day of the festival – “only” 2 €/1 g. Well, still it’s not a cheap product, but truffles like jewels must cost dearly.

White Truffles, Alba, Piedmont, Italy
white truffles

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Nebbiolo harvest

It’s 9 a.m, Friday, the end of October. Humid air envelops Piedmont hills and the castle of Serralunga d’Alba can be barely seen behind a heavy of water curtain. The sun is trying to break through the low clouds and although a beautiful and warm day is forecasted, I bottom up my jacket. I’m in the Rivetto vineyard and with a camera in my hands I’m waiting for a start of Nebbiolo harvest. The last big grape picking this year. Year not easy for wine producers with rainy spring, moderate hot summer and capricious autumn: sunny and warm September, but irregular weather in October.

Nebbiolo wine grape variety, Piemonte, Italy
a cluster of Nebbiolo grapes

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The straw men

Novello. A tiny town near Barolo in Piedmont with well preserved old buildings and picturesque eighteen-century castle adapted for a hotel. Townspeople’s life is concentrated around wine and grapevine cultivation. Knowing that I wasn’t surprised to see a kind of interesting and quite original exhibition of the straw men that appear out of the blue in the last expected nooks of the town showing everyday life of winegrowers in the past. Well, probably in the light of the moon they can be even scary but in the middle of the day they look so homely and friendly…

Novello, Piedmont, Italy
a sweet country life

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Langhe in autumnal dress

Autumn. Weather not always spoils us, even in sunny Italy. But only few beautiful days are enough to compensate a gloomy period of the year and to feel summer for a moment. Taking advantage of harvest time and I made a tour around the Langhe. I was watching grapevine under every possible corner, in any possible composition, from the distance and from close-up, I was filling my eyes with stunning views admiring an incredible landscape of castles and little towns spread over the hills.

Langhe hills, Piedmont, Italy
colorful combs of a grapevine – Diano d’Alba area

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Parade and truffles

Like every year in the first Sunday of October Alba organized Palio deli Asini (donkey race). Usually it takes part of Alba International White Truffle Fair program, but this time it anticipated the festival for one week. The capital of the Langhe was decorated with flags of nine borghi (suburbs in the past) that competed in donkey race and a colorful procession was marching on the town’s streets: knights on horses, ladies in medieval dresses, peasants, gli sbandieratori that were entertaining spectators with a spectacular flag flipping.

Parade of Palio degli Asini, Alba, Piedmont, Italy
aristocracy

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Fancy some Cheese?

Every two years “Cheese” fair visits Bra (Piedmont) and it’s nothing but an amazing cheese feast accompanied by great wines, beers and music. This year the event, organized by Slow Food, took place during the weekend: September 20th – 23rd. As always fair was dedicated to a wide range of multinational handmade cheeses, produced according to traditional recipes.

Bra, Piedmont, Italy
corso Garibaldi during “Cheese” fair

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Waiting for truffle festival

The beginning of autumn is in my opinion the best time to visit Langhe and Roero area. Yellow, orange and red grapevine leaves are changing image of the landscape, the sun is shining, and warm air encourages for walks. In vineyards winemakers follow the weather forecast to take strategic decision whether start harvesting or wait a couple of days to let grapes maturing better. Wine lovers organize special tours in the harvest time to take part in each phase of works observing how heavy and swollen juicy fruits change into a precious liquor.

Langhe and Roero vineyards, Piedmont, Italy
colorful vineyards

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