Sunday lunch at I due Regni

Around Easter it seems to be one set menu after another which is a good opportunity to support local restaurants that are not necessarily regular haunts. Recently for example we booked at “i due Regni” a local pizzeria that was offering a set lunch and were blown away by the quality of the food, wine, service and company! Just 2 long tables and we were the only non Piemontese. As usual, although we didn’t know anybody apart from the staff, they knew about us and where we lived. We were seated with an 86 year old wine producer and his wife of 60 years , the President of the local Truffle Association and other smiley locals. We had drunk and enjoyed his wine in a local bar: (Cantina Parroco Azienda San Michele) originally founded by the Parish priest and some friends 40 years ago. Whoever says or thinks that the Piemontese are “closed” must have been lost. €30 provided 8 courses including suckling pig, rabbit in Barbaresco and wine. (more…)

Royal Palace Turin

Turin is a much underrated City full of history, museums, monuments, bars, restaurants and everything you would expect from an Italian Provincial Capital. Our friends Robert and Leslie Alexander at Travel Langhe  often take visitors there who are invariably surprised at its charm: check out their excellent app. in “Links”.  (more…)

Digging for truffles

Alba White Truffle

Well not exactly gold but at €5,000 a kilo the famous Alba white truffle is worth getting your hands dirty for. It’s one of life’s luxuries and I love them but unfortunately we usually have to make do with the black variety that are a fraction of the cost. Where to find the best is, not surprisingly a closely guarded secret. But even if you did know  a special, highly trained dog is essential equipment. I often wondered how it’s done and now I know, after a splendid afternoon tagging along with one of Travel Langhe‘s tours in the woods behind La Morra. (more…)

Claudio & Mariagrazia Icardi

Bob Hamblyn (Bobsbuzz.com) had never visited Piemonte and seen the producers and their vineyards or even tasted their wines, that is until last month. His sons Gary and Ian are great fans and brought him over so that he could add something from the experience to his new winemaking venture in Eastbourne. 4 of our friends here made it a special occasion and deserve a special thank you for taking time to show Bob around. Fortunately he walked around with his mouth open in disbelief which made it easier to taste the wines! It has already had an immediate impact as he signed up for an bio-dynamics course immediately on his return to the UK. An afternoon with Claudio and Mariagrazia Icardi provided that impetus  (more…)

Torres Neive

Barbaresco a Tavola got off to a cracking start last Friday with 20 Barbareschi 2009. We had also chosen well in La Torre del Monastero as the meal was excellent, particularly the tagliatelle with a sauce featuring our local butchers’ sausage (Cordero Figli, Neive) and  a main course of braised duck breast with pears. I am glad we are already booked in there again this Friday as I suspect they will be booked out.

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Castello di Barolo

Barolo is a minefield with so many producers that I take every opportunity to taste whenever I can. For  the past 3 weeks, every Friday, there have been tasting dinners held at various Barolo restaurants with the wines of 10 different producers each evening. Sounds fantastic, and the restaurants were, but among 30 wines I struggled  to find more than a handful that I truly enjoyed. (more…)

Il Nostro Gavi, Giustiniana

Clemens looking girly

I knew I liked Gavi but I didn’t realise just how much until I visited Tenuta La Giustiniana last weekend with my mate Clemens who has a wine business, (MonVino), exporting principally to Germany. He had received some enquiries from Stuttgart and Berlin for quality Gavi and had arranged the appointment. It was cold and miserable and just starting to snow when we arrived and Alessandra took pity on him and found a nice blue girly umbrella. But I digress…. (more…)

Herstmonceux Castle

In conjunction with Herstmonceux Castle I have arranged a wine-tasting and typical Piemontese dinner in this historic setting. The wine-tasting will include Barolos and Barbarescos (dubbed the King and Queen of wines), made by several of my passionate and dedicated neighbours and I can promise you that they are exceptional and not found in your local supermarkets. The price is £49.50 inclusive of dinner, wines and VAT and is strictly limited to 50 places.

For reservations and further information please contact the Conference office at the Castle on  01323 834479  or by email at conf@bisc.queensu.ac.uk

I look forward to seeing you there.

Adolescent Amo & Mocha

Having had a Summer with little or no rain the weather in the past week made up for it. After the tragedies in Liguria last week we now have our fingers crossed that the rain of the past couple of days is absorbed locally although Her Outdoors had to make several detours to get home from shopping on the other side of the Tanaro. The principal bridge we use to cross it was closed and necessitated a 30 minute detour via Asti where the floodwater was also threatening the road. The weather has had little impact on our excursions although our adolescent puppy has been another matter. (more…)

Darryl Baldwin and chef Davide Odore

View from the terrace

There are no shortage of classy restaurants in Piemonte and the best quite often  have prices to match but every now and then we stumble upon a gem that provides exceptional cucina without breaking the bank. Davide Odore is a talented chef and Io e Luna in Montebello a frazione of Guarene is a must for visitors to the region. (more…)