Where exactly is Piedmont in Italy?
Piedmont is at the foot of the Swiss Alps – where Italy meets France and Switzerland. Ancient volcanic activity has left its mark on the landscape, with over two million hectares of vineyards covering the hilly terrain. The Aosta Valley resides next to Piedmont and both regions bring us some of Italy’s finest wines.
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When visiting with friends JoAn and Jim, we visited several towns in the Piedmont region:
Each of these towns was beautiful, as you can imagine. This blog isn’t large enough to hold all the photos I took – each a treasure, and a memory. Yet…
There were two main reasons for the trip – wine and truffles. The adventure for the four of us was a vacation I will never forget. It truly was incredible between experiencing the food, excursions to various towns… and of course, visiting several wineries.
The Wine of the Piedmont Region
Piedmont is one of Italy’s most acclaimed wine-growing regions. Of the 20 regions in Italy, Piedmont ranks sixth in the highest production volume. It is known for its high quality and produces more DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita) – Italy’s top wine classification than any other region. According to the Internet, there are over 20,000 wineries in this region alone.
Piedmont’s wine region has a variety of grape varieties, each with its unique flavor profile and characteristics. The most famous grape varieties grown in Piedmont are Nebbiolo, Barbera, and Dolcetto. Dolcetto is a lighter-bodied red wine while the bold, full-bodied red wines include the famous Barolo and Barbaresco.
This area is also known for its sweet sparking wine, Moscato d’Asti. Made from the Moscato grape, this is a light, sweet wine with flavors of peach, apricot, and honey. Gary has done many a post on wine, and you can always search for more information on the blog.
White Truffle Festival in Alba
From October to December, the city of Alba hosts the International White Truffle Fair. A major event for Italian cuisine. We were on the hunt for white truffles which are different from black in that white truffles have a taste that is significantly softer and lighter than the taste of black truffles. JoAn and Jim wanted some, and they were purchasing for our friends Rebecca and Nicola from Vinarkia.
Then comes another difference – the cost. Since the black truffles are more common, they cost less. The white truffles also are seasonal, extremely difficult to grow, and have a short shelf life. Perhaps we’ll do a post on truffles in the future.
Two Special Places in Piedmont
The Cappella del Barolo
Traveling to this church through the beautiful countryside was awesome. Reaching the most colorful church in Italy among the vineyards of Piedmont was spectacular. It’s located in the Langhe area of Cuneo in the territory of the municipality of La Morra. That’s where you will find the incredible colored hidden church – unique of its kind in Italy.
It was built in 1914 as a shelter from storms for the workers of the surrounding vineyards. The Chapel of SS. Madonna delle Grazie, better known today as Cappella del Barolo, was purchased by the Ceretto family in 1970. It has now become one of the most well-known and admired buildings in the area.
Address:
Cappella del Barolo – La Morra CN, Italy
We use this program ourselves… It’s $27.00! Wouldn’t it be fun to create an eBook with your child(s) (or grandchild’s) school year drawings, photos, etc.
Hazelnut Farm Experience
We enjoyed an incredible hazelnut experience at a farm, Cascina Barroero. I’m very happy the weather was beautiful that day because of the winding, small roads to get to this experience.
This family-owned farm produces some of the best hazelnut products we’ve ever tasted. A brief tour ended at the shop where Gary and I proceeded to purchase bundles of nuts in flavors such as cinnamon, sugar, salt, and spices.
I would highly recommend this farm if you’re in the area. It’s worth finding it!
If you’ve visited the Piedmont region, please let us know your thoughts in the comments below…
