Exploring Piedmont's Wines and Villages

The truffle festival events were mostly on the weekends, so there was plenty of time available during the week to explore the wines and landscapes of this region. 

We visited two prominent Barolo wine producers. Marchessi di Barolo had a gorgeous facility right in the town of Barolo where they have been producing wine for over 200 years.  Harvest was in full swing so we had to dodge the tractors bringing in grapes during the tour.  At Oddero Poderi e Cantine, the same family has been making Barolo wines since 1878.  The wine-making tradition is deeply rooted in the history of the Piedmont.

Barbaresco was another quaint little village with its own wine-making heritage.  We tasted wines at Bruno Rocco and toured the hilltop village of Neive on the way home. 

Asti's market day was Wednesday so we returned there to see the market and walk the city.   Once again, we were embroiled in a traffic jam and driving in circles looking for parking.  We finally found street parking and made our way to the market.   It was very big and set up on several streets through out the city.  It is their open air Walmart, you can buy almost everything you need.  The town of Asti was an enjoyable walk with many sites to see.  

Asti Market tents

Turtles in the park

More Asti marketers

On Thursday morning we woke up to heavy rain and fog so thick we could not see out our windows. There were many signs along the roads warning of fog, but this is the first we had seen it.  We had lunch reservations at a little agriturismo not too far from our house.  The curvy roads provided a little drama in the fog and rain, but we pulled up to Brusalino at 12:30 for lunch.  Unfortunately due to the fog, we were not treated with spectacular views.

Upon arrival, we saw one table set for 4.  Mike and I arrived first and were treated to a tour by the owner of the agriturismo.  There were photos of him as a little boy from many years ago in front of the same house. He also let us peak into his small winery as he was pressing grapes.

The daughter, who spoke English took our order for lunch and explained that the restaurant wasn't  normally open for lunch, so they had opened just for us.  Wow!  Her mother was in the back cooking and we heard a little giggle that sounded like a baby.  The daughter brought out her son, 4 month old Fabio, he was so cute.   She then excused herself to put him down for his nap and her mother continued to serve our meal.  It was a tremendous lunch served by a very gracious family.

Private dining room at Brusalino

Veal carpaccio

Homemade polenta gnocchi

Chocolate salami for dessert

   

On Friday the bad weather had cleared and we were once again greeted with autumn temperatures and sunshine.  We explored the city of Bra on their market day and enjoyed a lovely afternoon touring and tasting at Vietti in the tiny little village of Castiglione Falletto.

Every wine tasting and tour we did gave us a better understanding and appreciation about the wine culture of this region. Nebbiolo, is a very old grape varietal dating back to the 13th century.  It derives its name from nebbia, the Italian word for fog.  The very best Nebbiolo vineyards are sites located on steep south or south-west facing slopes at an altitude somewhere between 250 and 450 meters, just above the fog that collects in the valleys. Barolo, Barberesco and Reoro wines and are all made from this exact same finicky to grow grape.  The differences in the characteristics of these wines is largely due to the specific soil location in which it is grown and the rules for storage/aging prior to release.  The precision of adhering to all the rules is what sets them apart from each other.  

When talking with these vintners, the amount of history, terrior, farming, science, passion and luck that goes into each bottle is truly astounding.

   

The Donkey Palio Race - well not really a race

One of the most coveted events of our Truffle Festival itinerary was attending the annual Donkey Palio.  A crazy race of donkeys that sees the nine boroughs of Alba compete for the conquest of the Palio (a drape). The Palio is preceded by a historical parade with over a thousand characters, during which each village performs a historical episode of medieval inspiration.  One heat of the race is on a donkcy your borough picks, the second heat of the race is done by random drawing of the donkey to be ridden, adding a bit of mystery to the proceedings. No?

Pre-race donkeys in the square for random drawing

Glazed Veal Check with Porcini Mushroom

We drove to Alba as we had the day before a little later in the morning and the traffic was nuts.  There were thousands of cars, buses, people on foot to attend the festival. Once we found parking, we wandered through the tents and crowds again and had a lovely lunch at Voglia di Vino Laconda.  Just the beginning of our decadent eating extravaganza while in Alba.   Luckily, we got a seat without a reservation, everything was packed.  

Lacquered Baby Pork belly with Aubergine

The moment had arrived to take our seats for the 2pm race.  The crowd filtered in slowly but was electric with excitement.  We had a Barolo wine tasting event scheduled at the Truffle Festival tent at 3:30 pm, but figured how long can a donkey race last anyway?  We thought we might have to run through town for the tasting, but we were trying to pack all our fun into one day. 

As we sat there, we were regaled with many speeches in Italian from the local dignitaries. Then the parades and reenactments began by each neighborhood/borough, which was clearly customary prior to the donkey race event.  As time time ticked by via a giant hourglass (really), we realized that we may not see the donkey race at all before we had to leave. Mike was inconsolable about missing the donkey race.

While the pageantry was beautiful, with glum faces we left our seats and confirmed the we could re-enter the palio later with our tickets and made our way to the wine tasting.







The wine tasting event was in Italian only, so we understood nothing but got to taste 3 lovely Barolo wines. About an hour later we were slightly tipsy from the wine tasting and still sad over missing the donkey race.  Quickly we made our way back to the palio stands to see if we could catch a glimpse of the donkey race.

When we arrived back to our seats, the original musicians appeared to be performing their finale performance. We were dejected all over again.  Then at about 5pm, two tractors came out onto the track and appeared to be preparing for the race after the performances, just like the Zamboni. Our mood began to improve.  Then Mike began looking for his cell phone and realized he did not have it after the wine tasting. Panic ensued. I made a beeline back to the tasting room. They were cleaning up but had his phone.  I made it back to the race, just in time to see the end of the 2nd heat of the race.

Zamboni tractors readying the track for the palio

A rider decked out in his medieval garb.

Trying to hold this donkey back, he is ready to go.

This was during the race, somebody is going the wrong way.

A rare upright rider.

I desperately wanted one of these vests the judges were wearing. 

This guy was out of control at the start.

We watched and laughed our "asses" off over the donkey race and the craziness of it all. I use the word race very loosely, several of donkeys went backwards around the track, one jumped over the hay bails off the track altogether.  The townsfolk took it very seriously and it was as rowdy as a soccer game when the winners were announced.  It was a full day of highs and lows at the Donkey Palio.     

Lake Garda

On our way out of Verona, it seemed a shame to miss out on seeing Italy's largest lake before heading to Alba.  With 142 square miles of surface area and many resort towns dotted along is banks it is a valley paradise in the summer for Italians and tourists.  I had an idea to expect incredible views from the pictures of the Airbnb we booked for our two days there.

In Bardolino

Our route to the lake took us through yet another wine region (unknown to us) called Bardolino.  Mike had arranged a tasting at Guerrieri Rizzardi.  We tasted some lovely wines and bought a bottle (or 2). I also had to have a bottle of their Amarone Balsamic Vinegar.  I think we are going to need a bigger suitcase. :-)  The winery guide recommended a lakeside restaurant on our route, we plugged the address into the GPS and headed toward it.

Guerrieri Rizzardi Winery

Our plan was to drive the lakeside road up one way to Limone and then depart for Alba the other way around the lake so we could see almost all the coastline As we began to enter the Lake Garda area, the scenery was nothing short of magnificent.  The lake to our left, with adorable little resort towns dotting the narrow strips of land between the road and the lake.  To the right were shear rock walls with more homes, hotels, even campgrounds sprinkled throughout the hillsides wherever they could be nestled into the rock.  I have literally never seen anything so picturesque.  We were lucky to be driving through on a Wednesday with light traffic on the one lane road around the lake.

Glimpse of lake

Castelleto was just one of the many little resort areas we would see on this route.  Unfortunately Ristoranti Da Umberto was closed on Wednesdays when we arrive.  We were sad, and pretty hungry.  We happened upon a little bistro that was also lakeside and were soon happy and full from the delicious tagliatelle with duck ragu and pizza which we ate outside in the sunshine.  We walked around a bit then headed on to Limone Sul Garda.

Lunch in Castelleto

Duck Ragu

It was hard to keep our eyes on the road, trying to soak in all this natural beauty of rock faces, homes seemingly hanging off rocks and water.
We followed the GPS up this incredibly small lane, that looked more like a driveway, and I mean up.  The little Fiat Panda had a hard time climbing us up the very steep inclines to our next apartment.  We got a little lost, but finally met up with our Airbnb hostess.  She was the mother of the apartment owner.  She was very nice, but spoke very little English.  She showed us around the apartment quickly and then we were on our own to explore.

The pink building at the top of the hill in the trees was our apartment

The drive up was pretty hairy so we took off on foot to find provisions.  What goes down, must come up!  As we descended down toward the town, we came across a small local products market where we bought a few items for our short stay.   We did not find the supermarket that we thought was nearby, so we trekked back up the hill to our apartment. I got my steps in here in Limone, no problem.

Surprisingly, the SpaghettiHaus restaurant was just at the base of our first hill, a short walk from our flat.  There was also a pool at the restaurant that was available for our use.  Not being pool weather for us, we did not partake.  The restaurant however turned out to be both very good and a godsend as driving the roads at night in this area would have been a bit challenging. We ate dinner there both nights.  Lake Garda is apparently a preferred tourist destination for many people from Germany and Austria.  All the menus are in Italian, German and English.  We had schnitzel and fries on the first night which was very good and mussels in red sauce and steak the next night, quite the diversion from typical Italian fare.

The weather was spectacular on our first morning so we walked into the town to catch the ferry boat to Malcesine.  On our walk down we were treated with some more amazing natural beauty.  We also found the little supermarket which was about two steps past where we had walked the night before. Duh!  Malcesine was overwhelmed by tourists, every street was a mass of humanity.  We quickly separated ourselves from the main streets and ventured to a little restaurant for lunch.  It was OK, not the best food we had had.

Ferry ride to Malcesine

We walked up to the gondolas for the trip up to Mount Baldo.  After an hour wait, the tram car took us up 5000 ft to the mountain above.  We walked around in awe, briefly contemplating our relative insignificance in the world as seeing large million year old rocks tends to do.

We then happened upon the cliff area where 50 to 70 paragliders were on the grassy hill awaiting take off.  There was a guy acting as "air traffic control" and on his command, one to two persons would walk swiftly toward the edge of the mountain and like a baby bird on its first flight jump from the ground awkwardly until air caught in the glider kite.  Silently they would float up off the edge of the world and fly about like kites on a string but they were tethered to only their rider.  It was stunning to watch.  We had seen them flying down while on the ferry which seemed magical, but watching them take off from the top was truly wondrous.

Paragliders

We took the gondola back down in time to catch the ferry back to Limone.  We had a lovely walk through the downtown streets and made our way back up the long hill to our flat.

Limone Sul Garda

We had some wine and cheese on the deck watching the sun set over the lake.  While we noshed, we were treated with several small bats that flew around above us at dusk, cleaning up some of the insect population over the olive trees I assume.

Happy Hour view from our flat

Breakfast view from our flat

Lake Garda is a special place, may have to come back and stay longer and lower. :-)

But Janice, where are all your signature pictures of food and wine?  Just wait, up next the Alba International White Truffle Festival, you will not be disappointed.

Ma ma ma ma My Verona

Our arrival into Verona was so lovely thanks to our very gracious host Alberto.  He met us on the street to help with parking so we could off load out luggage for our 3 night stay in his flat.  It was on the top floor with an elevator. 👍 He showed us around his spacious 3 bedroom home with the most awesome views of Verona.

Since we arrived on a Saturday and dinner reservations are usually necessary, Alberto was kind enough to make a reservation for us at one of his favorite restaurants within walking distance.  He also arranged for parking for our car so we could easily do day trips from the city to some wineries in the area.  Just a terrific host and a very pleasant start to our time in Verona.

 Cafe Carducci 💗💗

French Onion Soup Cafe Carducci Style

We settled in.  A short 10 min walk from the flat brought us to Cafe Carducci.  An adorable little bistro that has been operated by the family since 1928.  We were greeted like family as Alberto had made the reservation for us and they know him well there.  The ambiance was perfect.  The wine was perfect.  The food was perfect.  From beginning to end, one of my top ten favorite dining experiences ever.  Loved this place. We made a plan to eat here one more time before leaving Verona.

Crawfish Puff Pastry

Sirloin with Amarone wine sauce

Gnocchi with truffles

Our weather has been nothing short of perfect while here in Italy.  Even when rain was forecast, we seem to be have been lucky enough for it to miss us.  Our first full day in Verona was  a little overcast so we decided to take the Hop On, Hop Off bus (2 routes) around the city to get a lay of the land.  It was a Sunday and we assumed the city would be quiet. Boy were we wrong.  The crowds of people walking around were unbelievable.  The bus routes were pretty good and we got to see much of the city from the open top bus. The bus drivers ability to navigate the tiny old city streets is quite the adventure in itself.  By the time we hopped on and hopped off a couple of times, had lunch and gelato, it was a full day and we relaxed at home in the evening.

Bridge dating from the 15th century

Lovely church on our tour

Out visit to Castelvecchio

Our second day included another free walking tour, it was 3 hours of walking this marvelous city with Francesca.  She was a lively, funny guide and made the time fly by.  One of the centerpieces of the city is their Arena di Verona, built in the first century. It is still in use today and is internationally famous for the large-scale opera performances given there. It is one of the best preserved ancient structures of its kind. In ancient times, the capacity of the Arena was nearly 30,000 people. Nowadays, for security reasons, the maximum attendance is 15,000 people. It is a site to see.  Unfortunately there were no performances in the Arena during our visit, maybe next time. 

Verona arena facade

In the afternoon, our visit to Cantine Bertani.  Bertani has been a wine producer in this region since 1857.  Yes, 1857.  So much history here. We tasted and enjoyed their very fine wines.

Their cellars held bottles of wines from many very old vintages, even as old as 1964...my birth year.  Our guide said it was a very good year and we would very much enjoy a bottle of that vintage.  We thought, gee, wouldn't it be fun to buy a bottle of that year.  After consulting the catalog of their historical vintages, the price was $560 Euros. 

Well, we bought a bottle of 2009 instead, more acceptable price point.   The 1964 Bertani will remain a mystery unsolved.

One morning, I experimented making my coffee with the moka pot, which is literally in every kitchen in Italy.  I think it must come with the Ikea kitchen cabinet package. I had been eyeing them in every kitchen store window as they come in the cutest colors and sizes.  I did some research on-line to learn about how to make that little espresso shot with that caramel colored crema on top from this pot.  I was mostly successful in my experiment, the coffee shot was rich, not bitter and had a slight bit of crema on top.  I think if I had my own pot, I could continue experimenting until I get it perfect.  Or maybe I can just buy a Nespresso machine.  We will see.

Cute Italian Moka Pot

As always, certain days of our longer trips require some housekeeping chores such as laundry and haircuts.  But we still found time to enjoy another wine tour and tasting at Masi Agricola.  Owning the vineyards since the 18th century, Masi is another founding father of wine production in the Valpolicella wine region.   We took a very long tour of the grounds, the grape drying rooms, the cellar and the estate ending with a lovely tasting on the outside patio. This place was the epitome of Italian wine-making lifestyle that fairy tales are made of.  As planned, we enjoyed another phenomenal meal at Cafe Carducci on our last night in Verona.

On our way to Masi

3 grapes varietals drying in racks to make Amarone

Masi wine cellar

 

Entry door from vineyard to Masi cellars

Our time in Verona went by very quickly as there was plenty to do and see both in the city and just short day trips in the nearby wine region.  Next, the little Fiat Panda will take us to visit Lake Garda, about a 2 hours drive and worlds away from the city life of Verona.