Langhe: heritage, history and wine to discover

Vigne delle Langhe CC BY 2.0, Alessandra Cimatti

The Langhe and its natural treasures are particularly interesting in the fall season: truffle,  hazelnut groves and the vineyards from which superb reds like Barolo,  Barbaresco,  Nebbiolo are born!!

An experience full of sensual lust, wild nature but also regular vines as far as the eye can go! So let us going through the Langhe, a trip which follows the crest of the hills looking for the castles, churches, abbeys, villas, buildings, rural hamlets, groups of houses dating back to medieval times.

Almost 85 kilometres starting from Alba the “capital” of the Langhe and “the city of a hundred towers”,  going trough Diano d’Alba and from here reaching Grinzane Cavour , a little town gathered around its  beautiful castle, aka the headquarters of the Piedmont Regional Cellars. A trip for gourmet, among famous wines, toma (a kind of cheese), meat dish good for a winter night when the wind is outside, blowing and whistling its voice against the vines.

Monforte d’Alba is a stunning viewpoint over the legendary “land of wines” beloved by the Italian writer Cesare Pavese: an interrupted strings of vineyards spread all over, descending graciously the hills, which you go through to get to Barolo, a town well-known for its lovely wine and for other gastronomic specialities like the Brasato al Barolo we already talked about in a previous post.

La Morra is another great viewpoint of the Alps, Monviso and Alta Langa. The seventeenth and eighteenth century cellars of the Benedictine abbey in  San Martino di Marcerasco are worthy to visit as well as Cherasco, a medieval town surrounded by walls in  the shape of a star!!!

The Baroque Bra with the elegant church of Santa Chiara , the parish-church of Sant’Anna and the Traversa Palace and a funny museum: the Toy museum with its rare and unique, pieces on display.

Alba and The International Truffle Fair Edition 2011

The summer is coming to an end and everything is burning with the colour of the coming Fall! In Italy the sensational Autumn will open in the North with a luxury taste: in Piedmont if you travel there for a little gourmet holiday, The International Truffle Fair Edition 2011 will satisfied your wish and wait for you until your arrival!

Where? But in Alba! the town is  famous worldwide for its white truffles, and  the annual Truffle Festival is one of the greatest event for all the “buongustai” in Italy and abroad.

Getting there is not that easy, as Alba is accessible only by car: go on the Torino-Piacenza highway to Asti, and then follow signs for Alba.

Which is the programme? Firstly, on Sunday 25th September, Alba’s historical centre, that goes from Piazza Risorgimento to the end of the main street – Via Maestra- will open to a gorgeous wine festival: it will bring a taste of all wines the producers have to offer coming from both Langa and Roero regions.

From 8/10 to 13/11 on Saturday and Sunday at Palatartufo the fab  Alba White Truffle World Market is opening up! AlbaQualità will present also an exhibition of gourmet food and wine from Piedmont. Do not forget that if you come here the first Sunday of October is traditionally happening the Alba’s famous and traditional Donkey Palio. The Palio is a painted cloth and represents the prize for the winning jockey or donkey of the race, who in turn, represents one of the town’s nine boroughs.  And to top it all The Truffle Bacchanal and The Village recalls its origins! On Saturday 15th and Sunday 16th October, you will a star in the Truffle Bacchanal and the The Village Recalls its Origins events, two very special ideas to get to know more about Alba’s incredible history and traditions.
This old town  is the “capital” of the hilly area of Langhe, and is famous for its white truffle, peach and wine production.