La casa in collina

This week saw us in the Langhe, the wine-growing area east of Cuneo and south of Turin. As if excellent (and often expensive) wine weren't enough, the region is also renowned for truffles, chocolate and hazel-nuts. We tried them all, except for the fresh truffles, which were beyond our means.

We were staying in an agriturismo, the Erbaluna, at La Morra, in the epicentre of the Barolo producing vineyards. The B&B was spotless, roomy, well-appointed, had a wonderful view from the terrace, but where it really excelled was in the breakfasts. Home-made jams, home-made cakes and tarts, home-made bread, local cheeses and hams, freshly picked pears and tomatoes. A feast. And in the appartment, they had thoughtfully provided examples of their wine-making expertise, ranging from a deliciously fresh and light dolcetto, through to its bigger brothers, the massive, tannic reds made with the Nebbiolo grape.

The wine producing villages are very sleepy places, despite the tangible wealth oozing from the various enoteche. The vineyards were a great place to wander, however, with marked paths snaking amongst the rows of vines, catching breathtaking views over the rolling, steep hillsides. With the vineleaves turning orange and red, and the second growth grapes just asking to be eaten, the wine trails, however long and frequently almost vertical, were definitely a high point of the trip. Further round the slopes, where the sun was in less plentiful supply, it was the turn of the hazel-nut plantations. Not an inch of land was wasted.

Turin, to which we repaired by train, was cold and foggy. Our dizzying ascent up the inside of the Mole Antonelliana was architecturally interesting, but the panorama was pretty limited. The cinema museum, housed in this massive folly, had some extremely interesting (and moving) exhibits of the attempts to create 'moving' images, but I found the later galleries, dealing with the star system, and with cult elements like SciFi, rather gimmicky. Still, the museum was heated, which had to be in its favour, considering the temperature outside.

Of the smaller towns, we liked Alba, the regional capital, and found Bra and Cherasco rather dead, despite the sophisticated chocolate vocation of the latter. Much more lively, and well worth returning to were Cuneo, whose chocolates (cuneesi) have to be the best we have ever eaten, and whose city centre combines elegant architecture with a genuine lived in feel, and then the small town of Saluzzo, which summed up for us all that Piemonte has going for it: a wonderful street architecture, big squares without traffic, lovely, ancient shops, a café culture. We bought fruit, vegetables, meat of extraordinary quality, for prices which were much lower than in Antibes. Definitely a place to go back to.

In terms of authors for landscapes, I feel the definite winner here has to be Beppe Fenoglio, rather than the once hallowed Cesare Pavese. So maybe the title of this particular blog ought to be I (venti)tre giorni della città d'Alba. Nice place... will definitely go back.