The Italian Adventure - Four Days in Heaven

After the six days of biking, we were looking forward to a little relaxing in the hills of Piedmont. We picked up a rental car in Alessandria and headed out for the Langhe region.

It was a Saturday and our first stop was the village of La Morra as Christos discovered that the Cantina Comunale of La Morra hosts a wine tasting day every Saturday in October! We arrived in La Morra at 12:15pm, too late for the first session of wine tasting, but with more than enough time for lunch before the second session began at 2:30pm. Lunch was at a nearby Osteria that served excellent soups but only decent Lasagna.

Lunch doesn't take us two hours so we were early at the Cantina Comunale and among those first through the doors. For 10 euros each we tasted more than a dozen Barolo as well as some Nebbiolo wines. The differences between the various Barolo wines was quite noticeable even though some were from grapes that grew within a few kilometres of each other!  Poor Lisa had to spit out most of the vino as she is the perpetual driver.

We stayed at the tasting until about 3:45pm, bought seven Barolo wines and then headed out to find the B&B we would be staying at, Tenuta Bricchi. Tenuta Bricchi is a new B&B (opened in March 2016) built in a huge renovated farmhouse looking out over the sublime hills of the Langhe on the outskirts of the village of Sinio.

The owners, Sara and Danilo, have devoted themselves to creating a wonderful place to relax and unwind with magnificent attention to detail. Breakfasts were prepared freshly every morning by both Sara and Danilo and were the best we had all trip. Good, strong coffee to start, pastries with homemade jams, cheeses and meats, fresh fruit, soft-boiled eggs and frittatas and organic juices to wash it down. After breakfast they would leave out a covered dish with homemade focaccia and homemade cake of some sort for guests to nibble on during the day.

Our room had the largest bed we have ever seen. It literally was the size of some hotel rooms. The room also had a double shower, a tub and a private deck overlooking the valley and town of Sinio! It was a small piece of Heaven.

As we arrived somewhat late (4:30pm) and didn't want to go far, the first night we ate at the Agriturismo Arcate  just up the street from Tenuta Bricchi. The Agriturismo concept is a new one to us; basically a bed and breakfast type place but some provide full and/or half board. No menus or choices mind you, they just bring food around and fill your plate! The first night we had excellent carpaccio, a spinach flan, plin pasta, a beef main dish and tiramisu dessert! We also had two bottles of wine over the plus two hour dinner ... all told the bill was 65 euros.

The next day was a Sunday and Christos had discovered that many places had their museums or sites open only on weekends. So after an amazing breakfast, we headed out late (noon) for the drive to the next village over, Serralunga D'Alba with its medieval Castle. Once more our timing was poor as the Castle was closed from 12:30pm to 2:30pm (lunch) and the local restaurant was filled up. Having just ate breakfast, we settled for a walk through the town, a glass of Barolo at an Enoteca and a little shopping for Produtti Tipici to pass the time.

The Castle provided a guided tour as well as an info sheet in English. The visit lasted about half an hour and was worth the 4 euros each just for the stunning views it provided of the Langhe. After the tour, we opted to take the fifteen minute drive back to Tenuta Bricchi as the primary agenda was relaxation with a little sight seeing.

We once more opted for dinner at the Agriturismo just a short walk away and this time enjoyed a different menu which included pasta with white truffle (extra 10 euros each). To be honest, we both felt that the white truffle had more olfactory powers than gustatory ones. This may have been due to the cold remnants impacting our sense of taste though. We took it easier on this night with only one bottle of wine. On the way out, Christos bought some Hazelnut Spread (produtti tipici) as the region is famous for its Hazelnuts. We strolled back to the B&B, stopping to look up at the stars every once and a while, and then relaxed in our room until the wee hours.

Monday was spent relaxing at the B&B. We spent the day relaxing on lounge chairs, looking out over the valley at Serralung D'Alba, reading and chatting. There was also some soaking in the tub!

We made a lunch of focaccia and mini cakes! We did not leave until the sun had set on Serralunga D'Alba and it was time for dinner at Ca' Del Lupo a short drive away.

Dinner was good (pasta good but veal stew a bit of a let down) with an excellent Barolo wine. They gave us a bottle of olive oil from Sicily on the way out after we had a discussion regarding our trip to Sicily in 2014 with our waiter.

Four our final full day (Tuesday), we opted to start late and then drive to the village of Castiglione Falletto, where another Cantina Comunale was located (these offered better prices than the Enotecas). Unfortunately when we got there, the guy running the place seemed disinterested and the prices were quite above what we were expecting (minimum 40 euros) so we decided to leave.

We headed back to Tenuta Bricchi but Christos suggested we stop at one of the local wineries; he choose one at random and we pulled into the yard, much to the surprise of the proprietor! He spoke no English and we spoke no Italian but an hour later we knew all sorts of things about each other (such as they only bottle 5000 bottles per year; very small run)!

We tasted his Nebbiolo (8 euros a bottle) and Barolo (27 euros a bottle) along with some excellent salami, and bought one bottle of each on the way out. It had been a lovely experience so we tried for another, visiting a larger winery and instead being told that we could wait and then pay 15 euros for a tasting in half an hour. After our informal (and free) experience just a short distance away we decided why bother and went back to our first winery, buying another two bottles! The proprietor showed us his tiny bottling facility, gave us a box for six bottles of wine (for transport) and presented us with a bag of hazelnuts (produtti tipici!) on the way out!

For our final night in Sinio, we visited another restaurant recommended by Sara and Danilo and dinner was amazing. Christos had the degustation menu (five course with four different glasses of wine) while Lisa had a yummy pasta and a beef main. We got back to Tenuta Bricchi late and enjoyed a glass of grappa each before hitting the sack.

The next morning was glorious but it was also time for us to go.