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In a recent post on the wines of Piemonte I wrote: you will be hard pressed to eat better in Italy - in the world maybe - than in Piedmont. The typical dishes of the local osterias like vitello tonnato and agnolotti del plin have been honed to exacting precision over the centuries. Tajarin al sugo, for example, is really not open to interpretation--the point is to do it well!

Even bagna cauda, which seems nothing more than a simple relish tray, is a thing of profound culinary pleasure. On my first night here in Alba, I walked straight to the Ceretto-owned Osteria La Piola where I had hoped to satisfy my year-long craving for carne cruda, the Piemontese specialty of chopped raw veal. On this particular night, the restaurant was paying homage to bagna cauda, a dish that is normally taken at home among friends given its communal nature of dipping vegetables in a cauldron of hot oil and anchovy. Raviolo in brodo was promised at the end so I thought I could suffer through a platter of raw vegetables. Yet when I crunched into that last cardoon and the last piece of bread sopped up the last bit of oil--I wanted more!

Sunday was a day of snow in the Langhe. At least a foot had fallen by morning and all of my winery visits were postponed. Without wi-fi or even a magazine to read I ventured out onto the streets of Alba in search of an English language newspaper. What I found instead was a translated copy of Nonna Genia, the classic work of Luciano de Giacomi and Beppe Lodi on the cooking of the Langhe region. With a bottle of Barbera and a slice of bakery pizza I read the book cover to cover that afternoon before going back in the snow to find a plate of tajarin.

From Nona Genia:
"In the culinary world tradition is not accorded the same respect it enjoys in other arts. We have great museums proudly showcasing their masterpieces from every era of human endeavour, acclaimed orchestras performing classical music throughout the world and collectors avidly competing for old masters, thereby driving up their value.

But in the culinary world, value is placed not so much on tradition as on the new. Today's culinary culture has adopted the mentality of the fashion world, where "tradition" is almost an embarrassing word."

But here at the peak I decided I had to take it all in and stop for a coffee and a streudel and a roadside chalet advertising their bar.Skiers were decked out in their gear, fortifying for the day with pastry, granola and coffee. I watched as the ski lifts across the street carried the days first passengers to the top.

The Alps are a place of breathtaking beauty and travelling these high mountain roads with their spectacular views are worth the trip alone. My day of tasting that laid ahead would be equally inspiring.

I left the chalet and after several kilometers of switchbacks, weaving through tiny villages that seem to barely cling to the rocks, the valley began to open up. That's when I first noticed the mindbogglingly vertical vineyards of the Valtellina.

Nebbiolo has been cultivated in Valtellina since ancient times. No one would build these now. This is truly viticulture on the edge--the kind of wines we like--and we're happy to be working with some of Valtellina's best wines in the very near future.

Stay tuned for more!

If you follow me on twitter you know that I've arrived in Italy and have been visiting Tenuta di Angoris as well as some exciting new producers in Friuli–Venezia Giulia that we're extremely excited to be working with in the very near future. 

I met up with Angoris' trade manager Matteo Buranu and enologist Alessandro Dal Zovo in their Colli Orientalli vineyard named Stabili La Rocca. Stabili (meaning 'always here') and La Rocca ('the rock') refers to the Ponca soil that typifies the eastern hills of Friuli and gives Friulano wines their signature minerality. 

Ponca is a strata of clay and Eocenic marls, locally known as ponca, with low levels of active calcium. As Sandro demonstrates, this is very friable stuff and the Friulano vines dig deep into this stuff to give wines that ar unique to this place.

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Alto Adige (Südtirol) is the northern, German-speaking section of the Trentino-Alto Adige region of Italy. The Dolomites surround the valley on three sides where vines grow precipitously up the soaring mountainsides. Apple trees canvas the valley floor with villages. Houses feature decorated balconies and sharply-slanting roofs to fend off the heavy snows. Apples are featured in the cuisine of the region, as well as smoked speck and bread dumplings known as canederli served in a warming broth. Menus in Bolzano, the region’s commercial hub, are often written in both German and Italian, a telling sign that Alto Adige is at the crossroads between Italian and Austrian cultures. 

I recently wrote a few words about Alto Adige on our website. Click here and scroll down to read more about all the diversity and pleasure that Piedmont has to offer.