Salute Piedmonte
Travelling from the Northern tip of Lake Garda at Riva to our next destination in the rolling hills of Piedmont was a good 5 hours. Obviously, the landscape changed in that time. However, to leave the constant villages in Emila Romagna behind – skirt around Milan, and then dramatically find yourself surrounded by rice fields in the Po Valley as far as the eye can see. Here, rice is grown to satisfy the demand for Risotto – not only in Italy but worldwide.
I was fortunate to be provided with a marvellous contact called Flavio who not only gave us such an interesting and informative visit of his Risaio which, along with 4 generations before him since 1821 is carrying on the farming, production, and packaging of many rice varieties – like Carnaoli, Vialone Nano and Arborio - grown on his farm. The equipment was impressive and looked horrifically expensive.
He also arranged lunch at the local restaurant which was hilarious. Along with the local workers, families and a group of Nuns we had the best local lunch – homecooked and served again by a family – we were spoilt with an antipasto platter of thinly sliced salami, lardo and zucchini, chunks of sausage, pickled onions, Russian Salad ( served everywhere) followed by their famous Risotto called Paniscia with beans and salami.
For the next four nights, we were indulged at the beautiful accommodation of Villa Amelia. Overlooking the vineyards and acres of hazelnut trees it was a rather ‘lovely‘ place to enjoy a swim, sit in the courtyard with a pre-dinner drink and appreciate the service and quality of the evening dinner.
Philip and I have a very dear friend in Piedmont called Jeffrey Chilcott- many people on previous tours will have met him. He has lived and worked in Piedmont for the past 25 years and is known and respected all over the region. He is the vineyard manager at Marchesi di Gresy and although they were busy with bottling he found time to join us for a superb visit and wine tasting at Vajra of Barolo wine late in the afternoon. Like many businesses in Italy, it is family-run with Mamma, Pappa and 3 adult siblings, fully involved in the wine production. Not dissimilar is Marcesy di Gresy who Jeffrey works for, although many other people are employed to run these estates.
Jeffrey’s wine tasting of their Barbaresco wine was vast and very generous, followed by an equally impressive lunch sitting outside on the deck with vines spilling over the fence. Lunch included dishes of … and the finest egg pasta, roasted lamb and veal and delicious …., plus hazelnut cake for dessert all served with more wine.
Over the four days, we have become familiar with the landscape – vines hug the rolling hills literally everywhere, and if it’s not vines it’s hazelnuts - sold to the massive Ferro Rocher chocolate factory. Many boutique wineries have cellar doors and the richness of Piedmont is evident in its food and wine. The market in Asti also showed off the abundance of fruit and vegetables – all grown locally and it also sold masses of cheap clothes, shoes and anything you can think of.
Jeffrey’s contacts extended to another family trattoria run by the young vivacious Altea, where she provided a simple lunch of local dishes after our morning at the market.
But, our visit to the slow food capital of the world of Bra and Pollenzo was highlighted by calling into a famous Cheese monger called …. And yes one of Jeffrey’s best friends!!!! – He is known all over Italy and supplied us with more delicious cheese in one sitting than I think any of us would have had before, also accompanied by his favourite wine. It was locals night and he was busy showcasing cheese from the south of Italy. A big long day – but how special and lucky have we been to get under the skin of Piedmont.
Finally, you can’t go to Piedmont and not visit the capital of Torino. This is one of the most beautiful cities with imposing magnificent architecture which portrays its elegant but tumultuous history. Once it was the first capital of Unified Italy before Florence and of course now Rome. We spent 2 ½ hours with a great guide called Piero. He described his city with enthusiasm and walked briskly showing us so many incredible features that we could have stayed several days to visit all the galleries and museums.
Torino is famous for its old cafes which have retained their style and ambience – most serving the famous Biceron drink made of layers of chocolate, coffee and milk. However, we experienced a great lunch in café Baratti where we ordered the local Vermouth spritz which came accompanied by a 3-tier plate of bite-sized portions from little meatballs and salad, pizza slices to yummy sandwiches and savoury toast. What a treat.
In fact, I must say Piedmont was a treat. It’s a visit I have been wanting to do for many years and we were certainly wowed and not disappointed – away from bustling tourists, rich in history and character and famous for the Piedmontese’s generosity and friendliness.
