And morning time means breakfast on the hazelnut farm. Today we have a local pot set yoghurt, vegan chocolate cake (Italians are increasingly going vegan and vegetarian, gluten free, etc), a croissant that tastes like panatone and a lovely little custard slice. Throw in a fried egg and enough coffee and we are ready to go exploring.
A fiat, followed by a fiat, then a fiat, another fiat and a fiat to finish..
First stop is a little church with 360 degree views of the area
Next stop a castle which is a center for truffles, wine (it has an enoteca) and research.
Lunch is a simple affair. Bread rolls with tomato and cheese or ham and cheese for 4 euro. The tomatoes are just so good. Theres a photo on the cafe wall of two goats in a car. They look like my goats Rupert and Winnie. Maybe its their great grand parents Ronaldo and Willma?
Random meercats in Barolo.
The Barolo Enoteca with wines being dispensed in tasting pours and Il Bacco winebar in Barolo.
Our hosts on the farm are Andrea and his mum Rosa. Andrea studied winemaking for 9 years and on the farm he grows Barbera and Nebbiolo. After going to various Enotecas, trying wines at 20, 30, 40, 50 euros the two best wines Ive had have been Andreas Barbera that him and his dad made for fun and whacked a jam jar label on for 8 euro.
And this bad boy from the famous town of Mango (I kid you not). Similarly, for about 8 euro.
Mango is about 15km from the hazel nut farm, so Im toying with the idea of getting some for Yellow Billy. The freight is tricky though..
August 15 is a bit of a party day in Italy, so Andreas friends came round for a bbq and a few wines. It was a nice group of winemakers and people who worked in local enotecas. We talked shop briefly. Screw cap is coming in, but only on early drinking wines. Diam corks are in use (a ground cork which is put back together after any off odours are removed). We bbqd sausages, veal, pork. The veal and the pork were thinly cut, on the bone and cooked to well done. The burning oak gave a lovely smokiness to the meats. There were sheep skewers., a local speciality. We drank sparkling whites from Burgundy, local nebbiolos, rose’s. Lovely people and a lovely evening.
