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.