2016 FWG Travels in Piedmont, July 2016

2016 FWG Travels in Piedmont, July 2–8, 2016

The Fine Wine Geek had the great good fortune to travel to the heavenly place known in Italian as Piemonte. Most of my trip was spent in the Langhe Hills where Barolo and Barbaresco are made. This region is like a fairy tale land with castles on every hilltop, but also with great people, great food, and great wine.

My friends, Daniel and Amanda Moritz, traveled to the Langhe shortly after I did. Daniel wrote this about their trip, and I just could not say it better:

… we’ve travelled to many wine regions – all through California, Bordeaux, up and down the Rhone Valley, Tuscany, and others – nothing captures my heart, my mind and my soul like Piedmont. It's magic, and if you’ve been there you understand. The vistas as you drive through the Langhe are just stunning. The food is so genuinely delicious. The wine, well … you know how good it is. But most of all the people are just so great. The hospitality we were shown was off the charts.

This was my first time back in the Langhe in over two decades. During those years, my passion for these wines steadily increased, and the Fine Wine Geek website is the result of that steadily growing but constrained passion. So this quote from Joseph Campbell in The Power of Myth captures what I felt during my trip:

People say that what we're all seeking is a meaning for life. I don't think that's what we're really seeking. I think what we're seeking is an experience of being alive, so that our life experiences on the purely physical plane will have resonances within our own innermost being and reality, so that we actually feel the rapture of being alive.

"TN" at the beginning of an entry indicates that there is at least one wine Tasting Note in that link. I will slowly fill in the links here as I complete each write up.

Saturday, July 2, 2016

Arrival at Milan's Malpensa airport and bus from Malpensa to Turin.
Food Shopping at the Original Eataly in Turin with Ezio.
TN: Dinner at Ezio & Raffaella’s in Turin.

Sunday, July 3, 2016

Breakfast
Ezio and I watched “Barolo Boys” in Italian with Ezio translating for me.
Drive to the Langhe.
La Morra and views of the Barolo Zone.
The Hotel Barolo (Brezza), where I stayed, including views of the town of Barolo.
Visit to G.D. Vajra Winery.
TN: Dinner with Giuseppe, Francesca, and Isi Vaira @ Locanda dell’Arco in Cissone.

Monday, July 4, 2016

TN: Cantina Bartolo Mascarello in Barolo, with Alan Manley and Maria-Teresa Mascarello.
TN: Lunch at La Cantinetta in Barolo.
Walk from Lunch to G. Rinaldi.
TN: Visit to the G. Rinaldi Winery in Barolo, with Carlotta, Marta, and Beppe Rinaldi.
Dinner at La Cantinetta in Barolo.

Tuesday, July 5, 2016

Great breakfast at my hotel, esp. the coffee.
TN: Cappellano Winery in Serralunga d'Alba.
Getting Lost in Perno, with Great Views of Castiglione Falletto & Serralunga d'Alba.
TN: Vietti in Castiglione Falletto with Luca and Elena Currado.
TN: Dinner at Vinoteca Centro Storico in Serralunga d'Alba with Bill Klapp.

Wednesday, July 6, 2016

Drive to Barbaresco with views of the town of Barbaresco.
TN: Gaja Winery with Gaia Gaja.
Lunch: Antica Torre in Barbaresco with Ezio.
TN: Giacosa Winery with Bruna and Bruno.
Quick visit to Produttori del Barbaresco.
The Tower of Barbaresco.
Brief Tour of Old Neive.
TN: Dinner at Vinoteca Centro Storico in Serralunga d'Alba.

Thursday, July 7, 2016

Views of the Barolo Zone from Bussia.
Back through Barolo heading to Torino.
TN: Dinner at Kido-ism.

In this same summer of 2016, three other Nebbiolo lovers traveled to the Langhe and reported on their trips on Wine Berserkers. Here are their reports: