foodwineclick

#ItalianFWT 2 – The Piedmont
This post is my contribution to a monthly exploration of food, wine and travel in the individual regions (20 in all) of Italy.  This month we discuss the Piedmont, located in the northwest corner of Italy.  Home of the famous wines Barolo and Barbaresco, the Piemonte offers much more than just two wines.  Since I have actually visited the region, I’m starting the month off with an activity you might want to include in your next visit!  You’ll find links to the other bloggers contributing to the event at the bottom of this post.  Go take a look at what they are sharing!

If you’re reading this on Saturday, December 6, make sure to join our bloggers conversations on Twitter throughout the day at #ItalianFWT .  We also post on #ItalianFWT throughout the month so feel free to join us all the time and share your Italian experiences!

Sentieri Hiking Trails in the Langhe
The Langhe is the sub-region within the Piemonte which contains the vineyards which produce the grapes that become Barolo and Barbaresco, as well as many other highly regarded wines.  On my first trip to the Langhe region, I had the opportunity to take a guided walk through famous Barolo vineyards between La Morra and the town of Barolo.  Our guides, Robert and Leslie told us there are hiking trails (sentieri) all through the Piemonte region. On our trip this year, we decided to try our luck on our own!

If you want to hike on your own, you’ll need some maps

Hiking with a Sense of Adventure
Our plan was to hike from Neive to Barbaresco, enjoy lunch and return. I had picked up a hiking map of the Barbaresco region on our trip last year, so we knew we’d be able to figure it out. A few wrong turns?  Yes.  A beautiful walk?  Yes!
(click on any photo for the slideshow)

Our destination: Barbaresco (tower on the left)

Our plan: Follow the top red line from the Medieval hilltop Neive (red circle) to Barbaresco, and return via the bottom red line.

The signs at the start of the hike are encouraging.

Parts of the trail are clearly marked.

Sometimes you’ll just trust you’re going the right way

Roadside poppies add a burst of color

There’s always something to do in the vineyards

The Guns of Barbaresco: sound cannons fired during thunderstorms to prevent hail.

Almost there!

A beautiful summer day hiking in the nebbiolo vines!

The tower of Barbaresco

The Enoteca Regionale del Barbaresco

The Enoteca is in a beautifully preserved priori.

There are always several Barbarescos to taste

Our tasting lineup

Pranzo! (Lunch) Trattoria Antica Torre

Tajarin con sugo di carne: Julie could live on this!

Finanziera w/ shaved truffles, peasant fare?

A nice bottle of Nebbiolo with lunch

Nebbiolo in its’ home

The fields are full of vines, but there are lots of other crops as well.

Future hazelnut, Nutella bound?

With a variety of grapes grown, we see several different trellis methods

The vineyard workers don’t mind walkers, just behave (no litter, etc…)

Almost back, Neive is just ahead

We had so much fun hiking on the dormant railroad tracks that we willingly abandoned the official trail.

Barbaresco in the afternoon

Apertivo time is a perfect finish to a day of hiking

The best start to apertivo? Sciabola!

We don’t see Alta Langa wines in Minnesota, so we enjoy them all the more in Italy.

After your hike, you can find the cru’s you visited.

Map Resources
The maps are pretty good, the hardest part is finding them. Note that the trail markers are better in some areas than others, however, you’re never far from a small road, so you can’t get too lost. The Barbaresco footpath map comes from the Associazione Trekking in Langa. In writing this post, I inquired about the availability of the maps as they are difficult to find in the region.  Prof. Elio Sabena sent me a very nice reply regarding the maps.  They have lots of maps of many different areas in the Langhe.  If you’re interested, you can contact him at info@trekkinginlanga.com in advance of your trip.

Hard to find, this is the best guide to the Barbaresco region hiking trails

If you’re interested in a deep dive into the individual vineyards after your hike, look for Alessandro Masnaghetti maps of the region. US Source for the maps: The Rare Wine Co. With these maps in hand, you can figure out which of the individual named crus you walked through on your hike. The maps offer a wealth of detail and are beautifully done.  Then, arrange your visit to one of the winegrowers in the area, you’ll have the whole story.

Piedmont Travel References

• Are you a first timer?  Here are my top 5 tips from my first visit to the Langhe (includes both Barbaresco and Barolo)
• Travel Langhe: Robert and Leslie Alexander lead individual wine tours in the region.  You can book a day or a week and they will show you the region in depth. They have become more than just guides, they are our friends.
• WinePass: Excellent travel website for the region with lots of content in English.  Maps, hikes, vineyards, wineries and events; this is the closest thing to an all-inclusive guide to the region anywhere.

#ItalianFWT: Italian Food Wine & Travel
Thanks for joining again our 2nd Italian Food, Wine & Travel event on Piedmont, but it doesn’t stop here.  Follow along with some other great blogs featuring all elements of life in Piedmont and what it has to offer.