My friend who's originally from Verona said she's never heard the word appetiti. So you may be right in that it's a local thing. I'll ask Roberta.

Looking forward to more!

Ahh Serravle Outlet Mall off the A6 Milano-Genova autostrada. Its also close to Gavi and the drive through Gavi to Ovada is very scenic with some of our favourites swiming holes for summer.

Tim:

I think the outlet mall is just off the A7, not the A6-

Those swimming holes sound very tempting right now! That would be a fun day-do some shopping, have a good Ligurian meal and then do some swimming!

After a brief stop back at La Favorita, we decided to take advantage of the clear, sunny day and continued on to Neive. A plaque announcing Neive’s place among the Borghi Piu Belli d’Italia (Italy’s version of the French “most beautiful villages” ranking:

http://www.borghitalia.it/)

marks the entrance to this hilltop village founded in the 12th Century.

http://www.langhe.net/neive/



Along with Barbaresco and Verduno, Neive was the prettiest of the
villages we visited on this trip. (I would call Cherasco a town rather than a village, and the word “handsome” comes to mind). I think it would make an excellent base, as there are at least two very well-reviewed hotels, a couple of food shops, and at least two equally respected restaurants in the historic center. More shops are restaurants cluster in the modern town at the base of the hill.
The view from the hill crest sweeps over the Barbaresco hillsides and beyond; here is a typical scene:

http://tinyurl.com/qnjknh




Unlike the well-trod hill towns of Tuscany, Neive, and all of the towns we visited, were not crawling with tourists, in fact these were few and far between. There are no obvious postcard or ceramic shops as in the Tuscan towns.

After a stroll through tiny Neive, we drove on to Barbaresco, a picture-postcard village and a magic name to wine lovers. The importance of wine is evident: the legendary Gaja occupies pride of place in the center of town (No public tours) and the offices and tasting rooms of many other producers are here as well, along with several top-rated restaurants including the Michelin-starred Antine.

http://www.produttoridelbarbaresco.com/default_en.htm



After a bit of wine tasting in a shop on the main square,
we climbed the 12th-Century brick tower that looms over the village and the Tannaro river below, and offers a wonderful view of the nearby landscape all the way to Alba. I only wish we had had more time to have a meal here! Stunningly beautiful! (There is a substantial amount of brick used in Piemontese building in this area; can anyone offer the reason for this?)

After driving back to La Favorita, we followed the directions given by Roberta and had a small walk from the villa into the residential area of Altavilla, past vineyards and handsome villas, including the
home of the Ferrero family who are beloved in Alba for bringing prosperity in the form of Nutella. (The main production facility lies just outside the town on the plain).

Nutella, of course, originated as a means to make use of the high-quality Langhe hazelnuts during the 1940s when wartime rationing limited the supply of chocolate. Roberta tells a story of how the founder of the company, Pastry Maker Pietro Ferrero, would carry samples around in a truck in the 1940s, handing out tastes of the strange new product that can now be found around the world.


For dinner that evening our last at Villa Favorita, I chose the agriturismo of the Castello di Verduno winery: Ca del Re, in the tiny village of Verduno.

A majestic 16th century castle dominates the tiny (population: about 500) village of Verduno, about a 30-minute drive from La Favorita.

http://www.comune.verduno.cn.it/eng/photo_gallery1.html



The castle is home to the Castello di Verduno winery as well as the Castello di Verduno hotel; guests are housed in the 18th-Century addition designed by famed Baroque architect Filippo Juvarra, the designer of most of the palaces commissioned by the House of Savoy.


http://www.castellodiverduno.com/eng/realcastello.asp


In 2000, the former home of the estate manager, just outside the castle walls, was converted to an agriturismo that has hosted, among others, Prince Charles. The women of the Burlotto family are renowned for their cooking, as well as for their wines, and the agriturismo’s restaurant, Ca de Re, is a member of SlowFood.
Here is a photo of the dining room, where we had booked a table:

http://www.castellodiverduno.com/eng/ristorazione.asp

There is no written menu; prices for the various courses (primi, etc) are posted at the entrance and are very reasonable. The restaurant is closed on Tuesdays.

We were met and shown to a table next to the massive hearth in the dining room, decorated with whimsical figurative paintings. Very little English is spoken and the menu was recited orally by a young woman who I presume to be the daughter of Gabriella Burlotto, who presides in the kitchen. We were given a small choice of items for each course; if you are a squeamish eater, it would be a good idea to phone ahead to inquire about the day’s dishes.

We began our dinner with one of each of the two antipasti:

Frittatta of fiore di zucca (zucchini flower frittata)—very good, if not my favorite way to begin dinner

Polenta—I hesitated when I heard this recited among the antipasti but my fears of being served something boring were quickly abandoned with my first taste. Mounds of soft polenta rested under an extraordinary sauce, the components of which are a guarded secret, according to our hostess. Among the ingredients that she divulged are red peppers, anchovies, passata di pomodoro, and garlic. The local red peppers, which had been put away at last harvest, imparted a sweetness to the sauce that transformed this into a miracle of simple Piemontese home cooking. Worth the trip!

For primi, we were offered Gnocchi,, ravioli, or tagliatelle with a choice of sauce: Burro; sugo; or pomodoro e basilico. (Butter, meat sauce, or tomato and basil). I chose the ravioli with butter sauce—excellent. My partner selectd tagliatelle with meat sauce. Equally good.

For secondi, we shared one of the two offerings: Roast rabbit.
Very tasty. We also shared a vegetable, the details of which I cannot remember.

With two glasses of one of wines produced on the estate, and water, the total amounted to a most reasonable 38 Euro.

An ideal spot to sample local Piemontese home cooking. There are tables both iin the dining room, and outside.

The next morning, after our last sumptuous breakfast at La Favorita, which included a frittata dense with herbs, we set off to explore Alba. After a visit to the imposing 14th-Century cathedral, we wandered through the streets to the market which fills a large lot at the edge of the historic district.

Although it was too early for much more than asparagus to be in season locally, I thoroughly enjoyed wandering past the outdoor stalls, piled high with foods from southern Italy and beyond. Among at least 3 kinds of artichokes, was a variety new to me: The spiny artichoke, or carciofo spinoso sardo:


http://www.provinciadelsole.it/eng/i...amannasx06.jpg


Several cheese and salumi vendors offered a mouthwatering array of the celebrated Piemontese cheeses, and a vendor from Calabria offered various pecorinos, dried sausages, and those famous Calabrian dried peppers (discussed in the current, May, 2009 issue of Saveur, which I unfortunately did not read until I returned home).

After about an hour or so, we moved on to the center of town where I meandered through a couple of elegant food shops, happily sampling the proferred cheeses and meats offerd by the friendly proprietors who were all too willing to discuss their products. In one shop, Elio Ratti, on the main artery, Via Vittorio Emanuele No. 18, I purchased a couple of boxes of dried Albesi tagliatelle, the celebrated egg pasta of the region. ( 3.30 euro for 500gr.).

With the patience of my partner running thin, I reluctantly agreed to curtail the food shopping, and we headed back to La Favorita to pack and to say a fond goodbye to our canine buddy, Sally, and to Roberta , who presented us with a parting gift of her own lovely Gattinara, a nebbiolo blend.


Our next stop was just a 15-minute or so drive from Alba near the village of Nevigle: The agriturismo of the Marcarini family, among the most respected of the Langhe wine producers.

http://www.marcarini.it/agriturismo/ita/camere.html

Great report! Hanging on every word.

Good to know that Barbaresco offers many sights as well as wines. I didn't know that you could climb the tower so I've added that to my list of things to do. I've heard a lot about Antine and have that on my list of restaurants. Also we'll have a lunch in Neive at la Contea.

Did Gaja have a tasting room?

What a coincidence that you selected the Marcarini agriturismo as your next stop! That was my second choice of where to stay after La Favorita. It sounds like we have similar tastes in accomodations. The website pictures of their rooms looked very nice, so I'll be anxious to hear more.

I just read in Wine Enthusiast that terrible rain last week devastated many of the vineyards in the Piemonte. How horrible!

"A violent rainstorm swept over northern Italy last week causing massive damage to the region's steep Barolo and Barbaresco vineyards. Mud slides and erosion created untold havoc to agriculture across Lombardy, Piemonte and parts of the Veneto.

The areas of Barolo and Barbaresco were especially hard hit because of the intensity of the storm on Monday, April 27th and the fact the earth was already saturated with water from previous storms. A hectare of cru vineyard in these parts can cost up to $600,000 to $800,000.

Traveling through the area in the days following the storm, roads were washed out near la Morra and Barolo and vineyard terracing was completely pulled out by mudslides. Vineyards owned by the Rizzi family in Barbaresco spanning to Elio Grasso in Barolo showed signs of tragic damage.

“I have never seen anything like it,” said Cesare Benvenuto of Pio Cesare. “These are precious cru vineyards and it will be at least four years until newly planted vines are in production.”

Italy’s farmers’ lobby, Coldiretti, announced that 2009 ranks among “the top ten most rainy years in two centuries.” Heavy rain this winter caused flooding in Rome (including at the offices of Wine Enthusiast Magazine) and across the entire peninsula. Coldiretti estimates that rain damage to Italian agriculture this year is estimated at 100 million euros ($130 million). "

Drbb: That is devastating news! We had rain but nothing like those accounts describe. We left on the 26th, so we just missed the Monday storm.

I will write more when I get a chance, but I will tell you that the Marcarini agriturismo is gorgeous! We were the only ones there for the one night we stayed and it felt as if we were the doyennes of a glorious estate. The rooms do not have the character of Roberta's rooms, though; they are more like 4-star hotel rooms.

Immense gates guard the entrance to Gaja; there is no tasting room and there is a prominent sign saying something to the effect that there are no public visits. We did not try for an appointment so I have no idea how easy it would be to obtain one.

I was unaware of the severe damage caused by recent flooding in Piemonte and elsewhere in Italy. This really is terrible news, and I wish the best for a full recovery. Unfortunately, it sounds like this will take a long time to happen.

As I am planning a trip to Piemonte in October, I wonder if these recent events would make that a suboptimal time to visit. I know there is plenty more to see and do, but touring the enotecas and wineries, etc., is a big part of our plans. That will be harvest season, so in a perverse way it may actually make it easier for the wineries to accommodate visitors. On the other hand, I wouldn't want to impose during a stressful situation/time. Any thoughts from those living in the area (Tim and others) would be greatly appreciated.

Eks:Thanks for taking the time to write such a detail report. i am actually in the middle of planning a big s. e. asia trip but i think i have to go to italy to get my wine and food fix first. If the rain is destroying the vineyard i better go soon. Hopefully in Sept i get my act together.

As far as bringing wine home, I do know of someone who shipped back several cases of Amarone back to NYC He worked for a restaurant/club so maybe he used a commercial address or he knew how to do that. I do want to find out more about safely shipping wine home. I wished i had done the same because I love that wine and they are rare here and very marked up and getting more so every time i looked. We were on route to Switzerland after a week+ of wine and food tasting in Tuscany. i had eight bottles of good Chianti in my bag. i was very pleased with my finds until i had a great bottle of Amarone in Cingue terre accidentally(wasn't planning on going there, we just wanted to take a look at the place and had a bite and ended up staying there for one day then become two and eventually 3 days). I wanted to dump all the Chianti to make room for my new love. Not knowing if we could successfully pass the custom with our Chianti(we did at the end), we bought several bottles with us and finished the last drop in the airport before we board the flight back home.

What guidebooks would you recommend? I probably do 2 weeks spread out in 2-3 bases if necessary.

Thanks again for sharing.

Yes, the news is really bad, particularly in light of all that I have read about the multi-generational traditions, pride in the land, the small margin that can mean the difference between a great year and a poor one, etc. Although I suppose that in one respect, weather is a factor that always is front and center, whether it be the scorching heat of 2003 or torrential rain. Part of what every vintner learns to deal with I suspect.

mohan -- There is a good recent exchange on this forum - look for a topic on shipping wines from Barcelona -- that deals with shipping. In my state, one has to have an importer's license to carry back that much wine.

For personal consumption, you are limited to one bottle duty-free into the US. Duty must be paid on other bottles, so you can bring in more. But how much more before your motives are suspect is a good question.

Mohan: The only comprehensive guidebook in English that I have seen is the excellent Cadogan ITALIAN RIVIERA AND PIEDMONT. The SlowFood book is good, but I did not bring mine with me; (Roberta has a copy of this in the house, Drbb). Where are you going in SE Asia?

ekscrunchy - Emailed Roberta and she replied within minutes. Unfortunately she lost her small Grignolino vineyard to a landslide in the rains, but the larger Nebbiolo vineyard is fine. She has a positive spirit as she indicated the lost vineuard needed to be replanted in a few years anyway. I'm sure it must be heartbreaking though.

mohan - Also look for the Touring Club of Italy guide book to Piedmont and Aosta. There is also a National Geographic Traveler book. But none of then including the Cadogan has a great deal of detailed info. I used the Internet to plan my trip to Alba more than ever before!

Drbb: Roberta gave us a bottle of the Grignolino, not Gattinara as I wrote above. I am so sad that she lost that land. She is quite an amazing person, as you will learn, and really manages so much between the lands and her family and the B&B..

I should mention here that Roberta also rents an apartment on the Gargano peninsula in Puglia; she will give details on request.

EKS, this is the most detailed trip report on Piedmont wine country I have read for ages! Great stuff, you should contribute to E-Gullet too. Some comments from a local:

Guide Books, Cadogans is by far and away the most detailed, as well as covering Liguria and Val D'Aosta. National Geo is good, although I think some of their Langhe itineraries are a bit impractical. TCI is also very good. Also excellent is "Touring in Wine Country, NW Italy" pub Mitchell Beazly, out of print but Amazon has it, if I had to choose 2 I would take Cadogan and Wine Touring. Cadogan also has guides for other parts of Italy and there is a Wine Touring Guide for Tuscany

Yes the heavy snow this winter plus unseasonal heavy rain did create many landslides all over the wine country, not just vineyards, but you have to be flexible in route planning as many roads are closed. Its tragic about the many vineyards, hiwever one must realize that the central Piedmont wine hills are chalk, sandstone and clay deposits laid down 3 million years ago by the retreating Adriatic, and there is some instability as witessed by some of the spectacular cliffs and escarpements in the area. It doesn't help that in recent years there has been a lot of de-forestation to plant vines everywhere in the more famous districts.

Gaja is not user friendly, open by appointment to trade only, although sometimes if you e-mail them they will accept you as a favour. If you know a distributor in the US, ask them to e-mail Gaja. Mnay other excellent producers in Barbaresco who welcome visitors and don't miss the enoteca in the church!

La Contea in Neive, we tried this restaurant after reading rave reviews and were sorely disapointed, over the top. So many great trattorie in the area, besides the ones EKS mentioned, such as Osterie Del Unione, Ciao del Tornavento in Treiso, Rabaja, Vechio Tre Stelle and Antiche Torre in Barbaresco,but the list of great places in Piedmont can go on and on!

Oh and there is actually a lot of clay in Piedmont too, hence the bricks. The Roero on the other side of the Tanaro to Asti and Alba is so called because of the red soil. We had some landslides on the back of our property too this year (not close to the vines, I climbed down one escarpment to the river below and found veins of blue clay as well as red amongst the sandstone.

Tim: Many thanks for the explanation of the ubiquitous brick! The architecture in this region is very handsome! Interesting about La Contea. I thought of this for our last night, but when I read the menu, the dishes did seem to be overly elaborate and the prices quite high in comparison with some of the others we had visited.

Anyway, here is a bit more:



The Marcarini agriturismo is, in a word, elegant. We were the only guests that night and it felt as if we were the doyennes of a stately
country house, surrounded by vineyards. The sun peeked through the clouds for a few moments, giving us time to relax in handsome lounge chairs next to a pond populated by very noisy, but very adorable, tiny frogs.

Our large, cream-hued room, up a flight of stone-topped stairs, featured a mini-bar, small television (the storms had knocked out power for the evening, though) a king sized bed and an electric fireplace. The large marble-sheathed bathroom overlooked rows of vines marching up the hillside. Just outside the room, a sweeping terrace with comfy chairs, faced the front courtyard.

Our reason for spending the night at Marcarini was, obviously, to taste the celebrated wines of this esteemed Piedmont producer.
We did not, however, taste those wines. I will not go into the reasons for this, other than to say that this represented one of the most embarrassing and humiliating oversights of many years of travel. We missed our appointment at the winery in La Morra due to my poor handling of the daily agenda, and left the good people at Marcarini waiting in vain.

Because I had messed up so badly, instead of driving to La Morra as was intended, we ambled around the immediate area, paying another visit to charming Neive, taking a small hike up to the above-ground cemetery near Nevigle (fabulous views from here), and pursued a round of menu reading in preparation for the night’s dinner.

There are so many tempting choices within a couple of miles drive! Antine in Barbaresco; Vecchio Tre Stelle, in Tre Stelle, outside Barbaresco (lloked excellent); La Contea in Neive (menu featured dishes that seemed a bit fussy for our tastes) ; La Ciau
Del Tornavento (looked beautiful; views of the hillsides) are just a few of the options we considered for our last dinner in .

In the end, the happy memories of our first Piemontese dinner tilted my partner’s thoughts in the direction of Profumo di Vino and I quickly acquiesced.

Here is the website for both the Marcarini wines and their agriturismo:



http://www.marcarini.it/

eks, can't wait to hear more about your continuing adventures. Especially the eating parts!

Thanks Tim, for the comments on La Contea. I have read many good things, but of course restaurant quality can come and go easily. Will look at alternatives for sure.

drbb: re:shipping wines from Barcelona, do you remember the name of the poster?

Esk, where is a good question. Another question is how. Do I do the usual suspects or go off the beaten path which requires more research.

Nothing is set in stone yet. Probably Jakarta(to see friends and family), Mount Bromo, Bali, LP, Vientiane, the Angkor temples and BKK. I am flirting w the idea of getting a short term apt either in BKK or KL( a great friend is there) to stay put and rest a bit and do some Vietnam. My travel companion is less flexible than me and has problems committing to plans. You see what problem i am up against.

I have your S. E. Asia trip report bookmarked. You are such an asset to this forum that Fodors should put you on their payroll. If I were the head of the Italian tourist dept , I would hire you as a restaurant writer(isn't that the best job there is?) or at least send you a case of fine wine and truffle oil as courtesy for all the recommendations you made. Feel free to quote me on that.

How does the face come about? it should be an :s.