TorreBarolo Blog

A couple of weeks ago, I talked about Alba as a classic regional Piemonte town. One reason I am a big Alba fan is due to the numerous foodie and wine events the city host throughout the year. Given TorreBarolo is just a 15mins car ride to Alba, it is easy to get there and enjoy these events for a few hours. Moreover, given the size of Alba, these events are low-key affairs where you don’t have to worry about queuing to sample a selection of wines or walking endlessly around a huge convention center.

The International White Truffle Fair that commences in October for 2 months is well known and attracts serious foodies given the passion that exists for this mysterious musty smelling fungus. One event that is less well known is Vinum, Langhe and Roreo’s annual wine festival. Vinum’s function is to showcase the mom and pop wineries as well as the regional stars. As many of the smaller wineries don’t export outside the region, I see Vinum as an excellent opportunity to familiarize myself with the vast offerings from the local producers. Also exciting is that the producers use Vinum as the event to release new vintages of Barolo and Barbaresco.

Recently Alba hosted the 34^th edition of Vinum and although I was able to attend, being 7 months pregnant did put a damper on being able to enjoy any of the tastings. The set up this year was different than other years I have attended as this year the organizers decided to contain all the events within three separate marquees/exhibition centers. (I must say I preferred this to walking through the streets of Alba looking for the various kiosks).

This year’s three areas were divided into the following:

Palavinum 1: hosted the “Grand Langhe and Roero wines”. For €12 you would get a ticket book to taste 10 wines, a wine glass, a pouch to carry your wine glass in, a bottle of water and discount vouchers. For an incremental €4, a 2^nd person could join you. Given the quality of wines in this exhibition hall, it looked like a deal to me, especially since I never saw many tickets exchanged and think that as long as you had a pouch and a glass you could go on tasting.

Palavinum 2: hosted both wine and food and was titled “Appetizing Encounters”.  The price for this event was the same as Palavinum 1. The difference with this marquee was that the wines weren’t exclusively from the Langhe/Roero region and were from Piemonte in general, however, most of the placards I saw were of local vintners.  Given I didn’t recognize many of the wineries in this marquee I am going to make the broad statement that this is where the smaller mom and pop wineries exhibit. Also in this marquee there were numerous food producers offering samples of everything from my favourite Castelmagno cheese, to the special Bra salsicca to the delicious local “Torte alla Nocciola” (hazelnut cakes). 

Palavinum 3: hosted the big dogs and instead of kiosks to walk around and sample various wines, there were set times for events and the prices reflected the prestigious wines on offer. For example, there was a retrospective of great Barolo vintages where participates sampled 16 wines for €40. Palavinum 3 events were spread over two days and there were many special events during these days to enhance your knowledge and appreciation of the region’s world famous wines.

Vinum extends over the last weekend in April and first two weekend of May. Mark your calendar for 2011 so you don’t miss out on this excellent wine lover event!

One fun element to spending time in Italy is getting to participate in the numerous food and wine exhibitions the country hosts each year. The main one I am looking forward to this year is Salone del Gusto 2010 in association with Slow Food and will be held in Turin, October 21-25 (advance booking recommended, the official program will be announced on Wednesday 19^th of May).

However, starting today in Parma is the 15^th edition of Cibus, the International Food Exhibition. Together with Dolce Italia, the Confectionery Exhibition, the organizers are expecting more than 60,000 visitors over this 4 days event.

Now given the abundance of food exhibitions in the country why would I highlight this event? One simple answer: Parma. I am a big Parma fan and I am not talking just about the prosciutto. Parma can be reached in less than two hours from TorreBarolo and is a wonderful city to walk around given its long shop lined pedestrian streets and lovely porticos. Parma is continually cited as one of the best Italian cities to live in and an afternoon walking around this elegant city will surely provide you with an insight as to why it gets this ranking.

Anyway, back to Cibus. What you can expect to find will be representatives of European and International retail chains and for the first time, an exhibition area has been set aside for foreign retail chains to display their premium brand lines.

CIBUS will also host “Dolce Italia, the Confectionery Salon” and “Planet Nutrition” which is a new initiative consisting of courses and seminars on topics such as baby food, diet and sports, nutrition for the elderly, and much more.

In the large “Eating Out” Piazza will also include a bar as well as a restaurant area and theme this year will be “Breakfast”, with demonstrations and tasting sessions for breakfast products, from pastries to coffee, fruit juices to cereal-based products. Another innovation will be “CIBUS in the City”, with kiosks by leading food companies located in Parma’s streets and piazzas offering tastings.

So, if you are interested in both Italian and European food products and fancy a visit to one of Italy’s nicest cities, then a visit to Parma for CIBUS is a great day out.

I have written numerous posts in the last year, however, I have failed to write about the one little city (population: 30,000) that I have continuously enjoyed since I discovered the Langhe – Alba, the classic regional Piemonte town … and only a 15min car drive from TorreBarolo.

Often Asti, the main town of the Monferrato, has the pretentions of a provincial capital, however, I agree with those writers that cite Alba as a smaller community that happily conserves much of the best of Piemonte.

Between the end of the 12^th and first half of the 13^th century Alba enjoyed a period of prosperity, which expressed itself in the constructions of fortified buildings (towers) within the town. These towers were a mark of prestige as the higher the tower, the richer and more powerful the family that owned it. There are only four towers in Alba today that retain their original height and are concentrated around the Piazza del Duomo. There used to be so many towers that Alba came to be known as the town of a hundred towers. Although these towers characterize its medieval history, during the renovation of the medieval Palazzo Marro, Roman archaeological finds were uncovered showing traces of Roman Temple that existed during the 1^st half of the 1^st century AD. 

Much of the essence of Alba can be experienced walking down Via Vittorio Emanuele and Via Cavour (both closed to cars) lined with a wonderful mixture of restaurants/cafes, enotecas, clothing stores and gourmet food stores (below I have listed a few). Being the main town in the Langhe, its no surprise that Alba hosts many wine and food related events showcasing the rich wine and truffle production (to be discussed in the second part of this post). However, there is more to Alba than just wine and white truffles as the city also sponsors numerous classical music/chamber music and film events throughout the year that continually refresh the city with new residents/visitors.  

On a first visit to Alba I would recommend heading to the ample parking at Piazza San Paolo and then walking the few minutes to Piazza Savona, which is at the top of Via Vittorio Emanuele II, to begin your stroll. Before you turn left to walk under the short expanse of porticoes on Via Cavour you will enter Piazza Risorgimento (aka Piazza Duomo) with the medieval town hall straight ahead and Cathedral San Lorenzo to your right. Very little remains of the principal cathedral that was built between 1486-1517 and in its place is a neo-gothic cathedral built in the 19^th century. Also in this piazza you will find the Alba tourist office that has an extensive selection of free information on local events/tastings/activities in English and German (the tourist office is open all day). Via Cavour is not a very long street so I suggest a little side diversion to Piazza E. Pertinace which is a nice little piazza that host a small organic food market on Saturday.

Most of the Albese stores shut for siesta so be sure to plan your stroll when the stores are open which is until 12:30/1pm and then between 4pm and 7pm. I suggest select a table at one of the numerous outdoor cafes  – my favourite is Vincafé on Via Vittorio Emanuele 12 – and enjoy an aperitif during the evening “passeggiata”, when the locals come out to view and be viewed. Cin cin.

Bakeries and sweetshops

“Pasticceria Cheinasso”, Corso Langhe 88, famous for its torta di nocciole

“Io, Tu e I dolci”, Piazza Savona 12

“Sacco”, Via Cavour 9, for hazelnut cakes and rum macaroons

“Pasticceria Cignetti”, Via Vittorio Emanuele 5, a wonderful old bar/pasticceria since 1878, famous for its torrone. Also try the albesi al barolo (wine flavoured macaroons)

Bars and Cafes

Vincafé, Via Vittorio Emanuele 12, my long standing favourite cafè in Alba. They serve great food all day long and generally always have outdoor seating that offers a great spot for people watching.

“Casa del Caffè”, Via Macrino 1, a large roasting machine is in front as are sacks of beans for show. But you purchase from plastic containers that preserve the aroma of the beans. 

Dining

“Enoclub”, Piazza Savona 4, contact: 0173 220 629. Closed Monday and Sunday evening. Very good food. Restaurant located in the lower ground floor of a but the room is nice/charming (but no windows). Good service and wine list.

La Libera, Via E. Pertinance 24, contact 0173293 155. Closed Monday and Sunday. A more contemporary setting with glass and chrome tables that serves classic Langhe cuisine.

Osteria Dell’Arco, Piazza Savona 5, contact 0173 228 028. Closed Monday and Sunday. Tradtional setting with good traditional good. The rabbit cooked in Arneis is always very good.

La Piola, Piazza Risorgimento 4, contact 0173 442 800. This restaurant is unique in that it has only a choice of one “primo” and “second” each day but also always serves a choice of pasta and a choice of antipasti. It also shares a kitchen with the Ceretto family’s 1 star restaurant, Piazza Duomo, and so it has been my experience that the secondo is of a higher quality than one might expect for this level of dining. Both are owned by the Ceretto family, so all the wines are Ceretto (the white arneis Blangè being one of my favourite white wines). There is glass extension in front of the restaurant to eat at or else in the restaurant itself (which I always prefer for some reason).

“Ristorante La Capannina”, Borgo Moretta, Strada Profonda 21, this restaurant claims to have invented sliced carne cruda, the raw veal antipasto that is so popular in the Langhe.

“Vineria dell’Umberto”, Piazza Savona 4, closed Monday and August, this is a welcoming place for good food and excellent wine, the main reason to come here is to sample wines from a list that contains 200 selections.

A walk down Via Vittorio Emanuele, one of the main thoroughfares of Alba, contains many shops and stores that merit your attention:

• Cignetti, 5
• Pasta Fresca Corino, 9A
• Pasticceria Beretta, 16A
• Polleria Ratti, 18B
• Pasticceria Petitti, 25
• Ponzio Tartufi, 26
• Aldo Martino, 27

Only 45mins from TorreBarolo, you can be in downtown Turin.  I understand if Turin might not be on your list of “Must Sees” if you only have a week of holiday in the Langhe but I would strongly suggest even an afternoon as it has some of the finest cafes in Europe, wonderful promenades and a strong sense of history that will surely enhance your holiday experience.

Turin has its share of beautiful palazzos and interesting museums but to get a sense of the city’s gracious past, exploring the cafes is a fun way to do this. In experiencing these cafe’s decor, you see that Turin‘s great era has more in common with Paris than with Rome.  I suppose with all these cafes it should not be surprising Turin also is home to the largest coffee company in Italy, Lavazza. They even have their own training center where you can take a class on everything coffee but it is for professionals only.

Torino also produces some of the finest chocolate in Italy as well and often you find in Torino coffee and chocolate are often combined. Gianduia is a good example of their excellence in chocolate, as the blending with hazelnuts (from the Langhe) creates a deliciously sweet confection.

Below are a few suggestions of caffès and sweet shops, though don’t  leave it to a Sunday as almost all these shops are closed on Sunday and even some of the caffès and some even on Monday.

Bars/Caffès:

 Caffè-Pasticceria Baratti & Milano, Piazza Castello 29, closed Monday. This caffè, which opened in 1875, is known for its quiet elegance. Its gracious rooms are ideal for enjoying a coffee or tea with a delicious pastry.

Caffè-Confetteria al Bicerin, Piazza della Consolata 5, closed Sunday afternoon and all day Wednesday. Although this is a bit tricky to find, it is a landmark not to be missed. It is Torino’s oldest locale in continuous operations (since 1763) and it can claim both Nietzsche and Alexandre Dumas as regulars. Bicerin is named for its most popular drink, which is a combination of hot coffee, chocolate and light cream. I can definitely say this is a “must experience” drink and given the quality and richness of the ingredients, dare I say I didn’t even need a pastry to accompany my beverage. The word Bicerin comes from Torinese dialect that means “something delicious”. If a hot drink might not be what you are after on a summer evening, they also make a light refreshing chocolate drink called cioccolato freddo.

Caffè del caffè, Piazza Carlo Felice 49. Many locals say this beautiful bar has the best coffee in town.

Caffè Mulassano, Piazza Castello 15, closed Sunday. This is a classic cafe and considered by many to be one of the most beautiful. It opened in 1907 and its decor reflects a taste for the exotic that influenced the art and design in Torino at the time.

Caffè San Carlo, Piazza San Carlo 156, open weekdays and weekends until 2 on Saturday and 1 on Sunday. Opened in 1837. A perfectly square room, a neoclassical hall of 12 mirrors with a huge Venetian chandelier above.

Caffè Torino, Via Roma 204 (Piazza San Carlo). Closed Sunday. Opened in 1903. They have seating outside under the porticos but the elegance of the decor on the inside is what I enjoy. Inside there is a long carved wood bar on the left and on the right is a display case with chocolate, tiny pastries, gelatine (candied fruit) and breakfast pastries. 

Sweets:

Confetteria Avvignano, Piazza Carlo Felice 50. Closed Monday morning and Sunday. This has been a sweet shop since 1882.

Falchero, Via San Massimo 4 (just off Via Po) Closed on Monday and 3 weeks in August. Famous for tiny fresh creamy pasticcini that weigh only 10g and contain relatively little sugar. You can taste the flavours of all the ingredients.

Peyrano, Corso Moncalieri 47: considered the best chocolate maker in Torino. They can be purchased at Pfatisch (closed Sun/Mon) on Corso Vittorio Emanulele II, 76.

On March 6^th/7^th, the annual “Cioccolato alla Corte del Barolo Chinato” returns to Barolo. For these two days, there will be tastings of 20 versions of Barolo Chinato, which is an aromatized digestive wine with an alcohol level between 16% and 17%. It is created by adding a sugar and alcohol mixture that has been left to absorb various spices with a Barolo D.O.C. 

This recipe is actually a prescription that was used at the end of the 1800 in the pharmacies of Chaplain of Serralunga and Zabaldano di Monforte d’ Alba to fight malaria, but since this produce has been enjoyed in the bars and vermoutheries.

Barolo Chinato production is small so this event provides a unique and fun event to sample this delicious (yet potent) liquor alongside several types of chocolates and desserts from some of the best confectionery houses in Piemonte, like Baratti & Milano and Novi & Venchi.

The event takes place in the Regional Wine cellar in Barolo and the tasting begin at 10:00. And if you can’t make it to Barolo, this event will take place in Turin on the 13^th/14^th of March at the Barolo Palace of Turin (Via delle Orfane) where some of the best pastry chefs in Turin will offer visitors their specialties for coupling with the tasting of the Barolo Chinato, and then again on the 27^th/28^th of March at the Relais Club Venchi of Cuneo (Piazza Europe). We do have availability at TorreBarolo for that weekend, so book now to get your cholcolate and wine fix!!!

Having been touring the Langhe for over 10 years, I wonder why I have never considered a visit to Acqui Terme, as it is only an hour north of TorreBarolo, and 30 mins of it is autostrada driving. Well, last week I finally made the journey as a new friend of mine, Diana Baur, lives there with her husband Michael and together they own and operate a wonderful B&B.

Acqui Terme is an ancient Roman spa town where the mineral rich waters are captured in the towns Terme. In addition to the public Terme, there are private spas and high end hotels that also harness this naturally rich water and it is integral to their various spa treatments, the most well known being the Grand Hotel Thermes.

From Diana’s house, you can see the Alpi mountains of Liguria, so I guess it should be no surprise that this little city (population 23k) has more of a Ligurian than a Piemontese/Langhe feel. The buildings are all shades of pastels and with the palm trees and fountains one feels like they are at a seaside resort vs a  medieval hill top city.

What is most impressive about Acqui Terme is the complete renovation of the historic center. Diana and Michael explained to me that awhile back the residents of the historic town center were given two choices: interest free loans to renovate their buildings or else up and sell to the Comune.

Well, it was a clever idea because given the wide streets, grand piazzas and pedestrian walkways, it is a pleasure just strolling around the city center as each corner brings a photo opportunity. Diana summed it up well by saying it is a very precious city.

The wines in the area tend to be more Barbara d’Asti, Dolcetto and the sweeter wines (ie. Moscato). Surely booking in a spa treatment would be a pleasurable way to spend part of the afternoon if you venture there (I certainly will try on my next visit) and if you find yourself in the city center around aperitvo time, Diana took me to a lovely wine bar, La Fonte del Vino, that has tables outside in the piazza in the summer time and the best buffet of nibbles I had seen in a long time to enjoy along with your glass of wine.

So, of all my “A” neighbours, Acqui Terme would be #1 on my list. Alessandria #2, and Asti comes in a poor #3 relative to the competition. As I mentioned earlier on, Aqui Terme is only 1 hour away from TorreBarolo, but if you want to spend more time in this little gem, I’d highly recommend you booking at Diana’s B&B.