Paradise found in Piedmont

Finding ourselves with only a short 3-day window in our schedule while traveling by train from Lyon, France to Munich, Germany, we planned a quick trip to northern Italy. As Turin (Torino) was an intermediate stop on the scheduled train route, the city gave us a perfect starting point for a quick visit to the Piedmont area, which is rich in history, historical sites, and renowned wineries.

Wanting to avoid staying in the city and using it as a base hub everyday for our touring, in addition to our desire to experience the local flavor of the Piedmont area, we did a lot of research on the Internet looking for a bed-and-breakfast we could call home for a few days. We inquired at several different establishments in the Cheri, Asti, and Turin area and were delighted when we found a wonderful bed-and-breakfast less than an hour from Turin and located in the rolling hills of the Monferrato in the province of Asti. Cascina Le Roasine is a beautiful bed-and-breakfast run by Ute and Francesco. Located in the beautiful countryside near the village of Moncucco Torinese, this bed-and-breakfast was a dream come true for us.

The bed-and-breakfast is a recently modernized hay barn lying adjacent to the family’s beautiful 19th-century farmhouse. There were two very spacious private bedrooms, each with private bathrooms, and a very spacious suite available for rent. The bed-and-breakfast also contained a spacious kitchen; a very large common room, complete with a fireplace; and each room opened out onto a large second floor balcony that overlooked the beautiful property and surrounding rolling hills. While we were informed that the lodging included a free breakfast each morning, we were truly unprepared for the total personal care and in-depth planning that Ute and Francesco did for us to make our short stay memorable.

Equipped with a rental car we picked up in Turin near the Port Nuova train station, we arrived at Cascina Le Roasine at nearly 6pm to meet Ute, the charming hostess of the bed-and-breakfast. She and her husband Francesco had laid out a detailed 2-day itinerary for us, which she presented upon our arrival while offering us a very welcomed drink. Ute informed us that our dinner plans were already made and that while we waited for our time to dine, she would show us a little of the local area. After allowing us to settle into our rooms and get refreshed, she took us for a nice ride through the hills to the tiny village of Vezzolano, where we visited the grounds of the Abbazia Di S. Maria. The Monastery of Santa Maria di Vezzolano was founded in 1095. The monastery, with its important medieval works of art, witnessed a long period of splendor between the 12th and 13th centuries, followed by a slow decline that culminated in 1800, with the expropriation of its estates from the Napoleonic administration. The surrounding grounds are beautiful, and we enjoyed the privilege of a private tour and a walk through the surrounding vineyards with Ute. After our tour, our host led us to Trattoria del Friesa, where we had dinner reservations for the evening. While our host returned to her home, we were left in the very capable hands of the wonderfully attentive wait staff, who overwhelmed us with some of the finest cuisine of the area. The food and wine kept coming, and coming, and coming and at the end of the evening, fully satisfied and anxious for the following day’s plans, we returned to the bed-and-breakfast to retire for the evening.

See Part 2.

The following morning, while enjoying a fantastic breakfast of fresh breads, muffins, preserves, fruits, cheeses, yogurts, and local honey, we met with Ute and Francesco to go over the day’s touring plans. After breakfast, we departed for the town of Cocconato, where we had a private touring of the wine-bottling and production facility of the Bava winery, followed by a private tasting of the wineries wide array of wines. Ute and Francesco had arranged a private touring of the facility, so we had the entire place to ourselves! After the tour, and the fantastic tasting, we toured the local area, ate a light lunch, and headed to the small town of Cunico, where the Bosso distillery is located, which produces grappa.

Upon arrival at the Bosso distillery, we were introduced to Mr. Franco Bosso, the patriarch of the Bosso family who has been making grappa for several generations. For the next 2 hours, we were given a private tour of the property by Mr. Bosso and his son (the interpreter), which included the production facilities, the distillery, the bottling room, and finally, of course, the tasting room. Grappa is a distilled liqueur that is made from the by-product of wine production (ground grape pulp and small amounts of vine). Fully satisfied and slightly lightheaded from the tasting of the Bosso grappa, we continued on our predetermined itinerary to the town of Castell’ Alfero.

In the beautiful town of Castell’ Alfero, we went to the Gamba wine barrel factory. Here again our hosts had arraigned a private tour of the factory. Gamba is one of only two factories in Italy that make barrels. The tour was very informative, and we were amazed to actually be able to watch these handmade works of art being created, from start to finish, right before our eyes. After the tour, we were off to the small town of Castagnole Monterrato, where we were to have another private winery tour.

With a little help from the locals, we found the quaint small winery of Ferrarsi & Gatto. The winery is run by two young friends, and it produces many fantastic varieties of wine. It is their Ruche’ that they are best known for. This is truly a family-run business, from growing and tending to the grapes to harvesting and production. Family members of the two warm and cordial hosts even do the bottling and labeling on site. As the day was nearing its end, we had one more stop before our pre-planned dinner. While in route to our dinner in Barbaso, we stopped at the Bottega el Grinolino in the town of Portacomaro.

Bottega el Grinolino is a quaint bottega located in a nice restaurant. We toured their wonderful extensive wine cellar, tasted several varieties of wine, and were treated to a wonderfully warm respite from a busy day. Our hosts at this stop were both the owner of the restaurant and a local young woman who represented the local wine producer’s association.

The day ended for us at a wonderful Agriturismo called Cascinadimaggio, located in the village of Barbaso, just a few miles from our bed-and-breakfast in Moncucco. This Agriturismo is also a bed-and-breakfast as well as a working farm and winery. Our host for the evening, Mr. Mario Casalegno, prepared, cooked, as well as served our truly magnificent dinner. Our dinner was truly a memorable way to end our first full day in Piedmont.

The following morning we had, once again, a fantastic breakfast and discussed the day’s itinerary with our gracious hosts. As this was our last day, Francesco had a full day planned for us, with our final destination at the end of the day returning us to Turin to our hotel and then leaving the following morning for Munich.

Our day began with our driving to the village of Sommarica Perno to meet Piero, a friend of Francesco’s who was to personally guide us to Pocapaglia and the area of San Sebastiano, where we hiked a trail to see the beautiful rocche and geologic marvels of the countryside. After our hike, we drove to the town of Serralunga d’ Alba. This beautiful town is situated on a hilltop, with the surrounding hillsides completely covered by vineyards as far as the eye can see. Here we dined at a wonderful restaurant called Cascina Schiavenza. This trattoria had a wonderful wine cellar that was open to the public. Near the restaurant were the Grinzane Castle and an abundance of very old churches to tour. The area was astoundingly beautiful, with the spring flowers in full bloom.

We departed this area and toured the lush countryside, stopping at landmarks in the town of Barolo before arriving in the town of Monforte d’ Alba, where our hosts had arraigned a private tour of the Fantino family winery. This winery produces a fantastic Barolo wine. We toured their private cellars, as well as the bottling and labeling facilities. A spectacular tasting of many of the wines this family vineyard produces followed our tour. As the day was nearing its end, we reluctantly drove back to Turin to spend the night before departing on the train to Munich the following morning.

There are several suggestions I would like to make if you plan to explore the Piedmont Region. First, I recommend planning well in advance, beginning with some research on the Internet. We sent emails to many of the wine cooperatives and government agencies in the Piedmont area, asking for brochures. The information we received was invaluable and free! Second, spend the money on some good detailed road maps. We used several regional maps produced by Touring Club Italiano and found them at a specialty map supplier in the States. While the main highways are well marked, without the detailed regional maps we had, we would have had serious problems driving through the countryside. Third, we found it impossible to use a pay phone with cash. Purchase a local phone card, even if you think you will never use it. Fourth, most of the Agriturisimo’s people only deal in cash, so be prepared. Five, almost all businesses in the smaller villages are closed from noon to 2pm-plan accordingly. Last, rely on the experience of your bed-and-breakfast hosts for local dining and off-the-beaten-path touring. Our hosts, Ute and Francesco at Cascina Le Roasine, were attentive to every detail and made our trip to the Piedmont area a truly memorable experience.