You might remember that my birthday last year consisted of a triple country tour with my girlfriends. One of our destinations was La Morra, Italy in the Piedmont region, where I knew I would have to return someday to show Jesse this unique area.
Well this year, an email from my cousin prompted us to make an impromptu trip to the same village I visited last year on my birthday. Dirk and Marla needed to make a trip to Florence for business and they decided to take a few extra days in the Piedmont region. So they invited us to meet them there. We are so glad that we went, because it turned out to be one of our best trips.
Our first meal in Peidmont was at a tiny restaurant in La Morra. The ravioli was simple; with a choice of tomato sauce or no tomato sauce. We got one of each, plus a glass of wine and were completely content.
After lunch we went up to the La Morra town square and took in the view. Although it was foggy, it was lovely to view the neatly organized vineyards and some of the leaves changing color.
I loved this bright orange building in the town square.
Jesse liked this church.
When we met up with my cousin, Marla was so surprised to see us! He had kept our plans to meet up a secret from her. We all had a good laugh and then headed out to taste some wine.
That evening we went out to dinner at a restaurant called Da Felicin. They treated us to an incredible feast with 5 courses, each more delicious than the last and topped it off with a vintage bottle of Barolo from 1980! OMG, it was drop dead delicious!
That's one celebratory birthday dinner that I will never forget!
The next day we started by touring the Truffle festival in Alba city center. You could smell the truffle from miles away :)
Truffle born in Alba are the most valuable... and the most exquisite in taste!
After the Truffle festival in Alba, we had to have white truffle on our pasta at Vinoteca Centro Storico in Serralunga.
Jesse ordered steak for his lunch. Needless to say, neither of us were disappointed!
After the best lunch EVER, we walked around the tiny town of Serralunga.
On a clear day, you can see the surrounding Alps from the tower in Serralunga.
We woke up to sunshine on our last day in Piedmont. When I opened the windows I yelled at Jesse in amazement, "VICTORY!! OH JESUS!!"
The view became clear as the clouds began to part, and that's when we understood why this region was called Piedmont, meaning "feet of the mountains".
We shared breakfast at our hotel; The Corte Gondina. The breaky spread was impressive, with tons of meats, cheeses, pastries and fruit. Nom nom nom!
After breakfast we toured the G. D. Vajra wine house in Barolo. The daughter of the wine maker gave us the scoop on the history and story of their families journey in the wine business. It was such a unique experience to hear how passionate this family was about their craft.
We also toured 2 wine houses in Serralunga. The first was Germano Ettore and the next was Massolino. Both of these houses were fabulous which I would recommend visiting.
It was such a privilege to have Dirk and Marla with us on these tastings, as they are experts in wine. They would call out things to look for in the wine, considering each sip from beginning to end and helping me to understand my own wine preferences. Jesse and I definitely discovered a true passion for wine on this trip.
After saying Ciao to the friendly wine makers and their families we drove through the country side amazed by the beauty of the rolling valley's, never ending rows of grapes and mountains in the distance.
We stopped for more than one photo shoot, then set up lunch at a picnic table over looking the valley. Not only did we have the stunning views, we also had the best varieties of meats, cheeses and wine.
We ate like KINGS! And the views at our picnic were spectacular!
It's trips like this one that really make me want to pinch myself. I'm such a profoundly lucky girl. The wine tasting appointments that Dirk set up were each unique and special in their own way. Picnicking at the feet of the mountains with vineyards surrounding us in every direction was phenomenal. Every meal we had seemed to top the last and set the bar for some of the best eating we've ever enjoyed.
I have learned that no other drink communicates like wine; place, environment, climate, geology and most importantly people - they're all there in a single glass. While we sipped and soaked in the surroundings of Piedmont I made a mental note to remember this feeling and take it with me. Needless to say, we bought several bottles to bring back to Amsterdam :)
Arrivederci Italy! Until next time!
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