Castles construction, witches serving mulled wine, monks offering food, competitions organized in a traditional way and omnipresent flavor of roasted meat (pigs rotating over the fire included). Alba immersed in Medieval time and all the city center changed completely the look. Event called il Baccanale del tartufo and il Borgo si rievoca – started on Saturday October 20th at night and finished on Sunday afternoon.
This time I will show you a little bit different face of Alba – Alba that not only feeds good, but also respects its own history and likes joking. 80 years have already passed since the first Palio degli Asini (the donkey race) was organized. Every year it takes place on the first Sunday of October, at the beginning of Alba International White Truffle Fair and certainly it’s one the most expected Piedmont (in Italy) touristic attractions.
On Sunday September 30th Alba city center turned into a huge wine bar under the sky. Tourists and Langhe and Roero (Piedmont, Italy) citizens took part in Festa del Vino event. Between 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. you could taste different types of celebrated wines, choosing between ca 700 labels!
From the next weekend the busiest time of the year in Langhe and Roero vineyards is going to start. The grape harvest (la vendemmia) is just around the corner. This summer, except a couple of rainy days, the weather has been cooperating and nobody could complain about lack of sun. Therefore the harvesting period this year is a little bit earlier than usually.
Neive is 4,5 km far from Barbaresco and to reach it you basically need to go downhill and then to go uphill. Although it doesn’t have such marketing name like Barbaresco, or Barolo town, it’s also a popular tourist destination in Langhe region. Even in the middle of a hot day I met people taking photos, eating lunch in cozy restaurants. I noticed even drawing course students capturing this lovely Italian spot.
My relatives visit and beautiful sunny weather created a perfect occasion for a trip. We departed equipped with a camera and GPS navigation, that, as often happens, turned out to be useless and wanted me to drive through the fields…
The first stop was Barbaresco. It is a small (650 citizens) and charming town in Lange, famous for precious wine – Barbaresco which is called younger Barolo’s brother (like Barolo is made from the Nebbiolo grapes, but it requires shorter ageing process – 26 months, 9 of which in oak).
Like many small towns in Southern Piedmont, Barbaresco is situated in a very picturesque place, 274 meters above sea level. Driving winding road, surrounded by vineyards, we saw from the distance a characteristic tower – the symbol of the town. It dates back to 11th century and in the Middle Ages it was a part of fortified complex, consisting of the castle, three towers (two, smaller and crenellated and a square one). It was built to defend the village from the Saracens attacks. Then, during 13th century Alba and Asti towns fought for its dominance, in 17th century it was taken by the Savoy Royal family, to became at the end (in 1694) an independent city. During the turbulent history the castle and smaller towers were destroyed and nowadays we can admire only square, massive, thirty-six meters high construction. In the past it was a watchtower to looking for enemies and today it’s a perfect viewpoint for surroundings, Tanaro river included. In 1695 in place of the castle it was built a new construction that now it’s property of Gaja winery. Continue reading “Barbaresco – town and wine”
Hazelnut (la nocciola), next to grapes, plays a significant role in local agriculture. Italy takes the second place (after Turkey) in global production of this fruit, and Piedmont hazelnut groves provide 8-9% of total Italian cultivation (of which 85% comes from Langhe). Other important regions on the this fruit production are Lazio, Sicily and Campania.
The Langhe region is not only famous for the quantity of its cultivation, but also for the quality, because of a precious variety called la nocciola tonda gentile della langhe IGP (IGP stands for protected geographical indication). It’s valued for (almost) perfect round (tonda = round) shape and big fruits which makes it suitable for confectionery industry. Continue reading “The hazelnut variations”
