Alba & its Truffle Festival
Alba has a tremendous
amount to offer: Castles, fine wines, magnificent scenery, hazelnuts, and much
more, so it's worth a visit at any time, though if you can you should time your
visit to conicide with the truffle fair in the fall. Getting there does take a
bit of planning, however, as Alba is not easily accessible except by car, and
is far enough out of the way that you should plan to stay for at least a
weekend (take the Torino-Piacenza highway to Asti, and then follow signs for
Alba). The festival takes place weekends during October, with
activities scattered throughout
the town; the dealer's tent mentioned above is in the Cortile della Maddalena,
off Via Vittorio Emanuele.
If truffles aren't
enough for you, there's much more to see and do.
To begin with Alba,
though the town is beset by urban sprawl its heart is quite pretty, with
beautiful medieval brick towers and a number of churches. You'll also want to
explore the delicatessens on Via Vittorio Emanuele, which extends from Piazza
del Duomo to Piazza Savona: You'll think you've stumbled into a corner of
paradise as you behold platters of truffles surrounded by other truffle-based
products, including pasta, cheeses, cold cuts, oils and extracts. In
particular, you should drop into I Piaceri del Gusto, a curious
delicatessen/bookstore/wine cellar with green décor about half way up
the street on the left (as you face Piazza Savona). In addition to truffles,
you'll find incredible wines made by tiny virtually unknown Barolo and
Barbaresco producers – you're certain to come away with an amazing
accompaniment to your truffles that will turn your wine-loving friends an
envious green. If you also like nougat, don't miss the Casa Del Torrone (the
Italian name for nougat), in Piazza Savona – many gourmands consider their
torrone the best in northern Italy.
Once you've seen Alba, take to the hills -- the town is surrounded by fortified hamlets and castles of the kind one normally associates with fairy tales and mounted knights. In particular, you should plan to see Serralunga, the tower at Barbaresco,Castello di Grinzane Cavour, which is a fascinating museum, and Castello di Barolo, an imposing fortification that now hosts an enoteca regionale. While you are at Serralunga you should also stop at Vigna Rionda di Massolino, a historic winery whose Baroli consistently garner top honors – they make both traditional and modern (what's called international by the Italian wine press) wines, and you should take advantage of the occasion to try them both to see which you prefer. You should also visit the late Renato Ratti's wine museum in the cellars of the convent at L'Annunziata di La Morra.
Where to stay? You can stay in Alba.
However, there's a wonderful sense of peace in the towns of the Barolo
district, and a timelessness that is especially pronounced in the fall when the
leaves of the vines in the vineyards turn russet and gold. The Hotel Barbabuk,
a three-star hotel in Novello (Tel I- (0173) 731298), is genteel and quite
elegant, with wonderful breakfasts. If you'd rather something less expensive,
the Grappolo d'Oro in Monforte (tel. I-(0173) 78-293), the town on the next
ridge over from Novello, is clean and you may find yourself joining the locals
in the bar on the ground floor.
There's another reason to visit the town of Monforte: The Trattoria della Posta (ask for directions; everyone knows it; closed Thursdays). This time I had mixed pickles as an appetizer, which sounds a lot less impressive than it was: delicately flavored baby zucchini, grilled eggplant with just a touch of oil (beautifully balanced by the tartness of the vinegar), an egg fried easy over and lightly pickled, and a breaded cutlet fried and then marinated in a mix of minced vegetables seasoned with a few drops of vinegar. The people at the other tables around me progressed to chicken salad, stuffed peppers, and other goodies, while I passed straight to the first course, tagliatelle verdi ai funghi, pasta made with spinach and cut into ¼-inch strips, served with an abundance of porcini mushrooms sautéed in butter with juts a hint of tomato sauce. Very good. Piemonte is known for its stews, and this time I had wild boar. It was cooked to perfection and flaky, with the slightly bitter tang that's typical of wild boar nicely balanced by a faintly peppery marinade. At some point a baked porcino cap also appeared -- beautifully presented on a grape leaf. It was rich, meaty, and delicious. To close, a selection of goat cheeses from the highlands above the vineyards, served with dollops of granulated honey and cugnà, a traditional jam made from grape must. The wine? The wine list covers all of Piemonte and rivals some novels in length – I finally asked Massolino Sabino, the hostler, to select one for me. A wise move on my part; Cerequio's Tenuta Secolo Contratto 1990, from La Morra, is one of the finest Baroli I've tasted. It's a spectacular deep red and has an astonishingly powerful, complex bouquet, with stewed maraschino cherries, roses and spice. On the palate it's rich, full, and powerful, with good fruit wonderfully balanced by well-rounded tannins, and tremendous persistence – the classic fist of steel in a velvet glove that all Barolo lovers seek.
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