PIEDMONT – NORTH WEST ITALY
Piedmont (Piemonte
in Italian) literally means at the foot of the mountains.
Appropriately named as it is neatly tucked into the top left
hand corner of Italy, bordering the Maritime Alps and France
to the west and to the north Switzerland and the Alps. On
its southern boundary lies Liguria, separating Piedmont from
the Gulf of Genoa and the Mediterranean.
| One of the prime wine areas
of Piedmont consists mainly of the Monferrato and Langhe
hills and the well known towns of Asti and Alba within
Southern Piedmont. Asti being famous for its Palio and
of course the sparkling wine known simply as “Asti”
formerly Asti Spumanti. The town of Alba regarded by many
food and wine lovers as the capital of the truffle and
the wines of Barolo, Barbaresco,
Barbera d’Alba and Dolcetto d’Alba. |
Click on the image for a full sized
picture
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Within this wine area also lies the important
smaller wine towns of Nizza Monferrato,
Agliano Terme, Canelli and Santo Stefano Belbo. These
towns are at the very heart of this extremely important wine
area of Southern Piedmont.
The area is not only the base for such international
names as Gancia, Martini, Cinzano
and also Gaja but it is also
home to much smaller wine producers being family owned and
family run vineyards. It is here where the whole process of
making wine is the main focus of every-day life from the point
early in the year when the vines are carefully pruned and
then nurtured until the grapes are ready to be harvested in
the autumn.
In these smaller vineyards the harvesting of
the grapes becomes an even greater family affair with extended
family and friends being invited to take part in the annual
harvest. Only trusted and experienced hands are allowed to
carefully pick each bunch of grapes, this is how seriously
the whole process of making wine is taken. At the end of the
harvest everyone is rewarded with a huge supper and take the
opportunity to sit and talk after their efforts and of course
enjoy drinking the wine made in the previous years.
Well-tended vineyards are a feature of
the landscape whichever way you look and the whole area has
managed to retain a rural feel and sense of timelessness.
The Piedmontese take great pride in their customs and traditions
and in addition to the various Wine Festivals held throughout
the year, the excellent cuisine of the area is also high on
the agenda. The Truffle Fair held in Alba in October each
year, being just one of the many highlights and indeed delights
of this particular area.
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