Alberto Rocchi: The King of Risotto with Gavi wine

This post by Laura Gobbbi was firstly published on her blog in Ale, an online magazine about the Alessandria province, in Piedmont. When she's asked about her job, she replies that she makes dreams come true. A product manager with a passion for the promotion of her native locality, the Monferrato wine district in Piedmont, Laura is the organizer of Di Gavi in Gavi and AcCoolturiAMOci, a cultural event promoting emerging artists, part of the wider project In Donne Veritas (in the women's truth). Laura is also a journalist and a radio host, she loves her dog, soap bubbles and her red lipstick!

Wine lovers and foodies of the world mark down the last Sunday of August and come over to Di Gavi in Gavi the festival of the famous Cortese di Gavi wine, where you can savor it paired with the local specialties, in the magic of the local medieval atmosphere!

Michelangelo Mammoliti: the herbalist chef

Michelangelo Mammoliti picking his herbs, photo courtesy of Samantha Perrero

In the recent years, cooking and food have become two of the most popular topics everywhere in the world. After all, we all have to eat at some point of the day and we may want to do it right. It happens though, that sometimes we come across people with such a glowing passion for what they do, that we can't help taking notes and learn. This was the case during our recent visit to Guarene, in the Roero wine district, now part of the Unesco World Heritage sites. After sipping some of Mr Anfossi's amazing Arneis, we got introduced to Mr Ventura, owner of Osteria La Madernassa. As Mr Ventura was showing us around the property and explaining us about how the osteria kitchen gets most of its supplies from the property vineyard, orchards and organic garden, he pointed out to the different herbs springing out the grass. "These are three different kinds of sage... here we have thyme... that's rosemary..." and he proceeded to list all the herbs growing in what appears to be a natural oasis where the local fauna and flora coexist in balance. 

As in Italy many wild animals have disappeared from most populated areas, it was surprising to hear how badgers, squirrels, foxes, hawks, many birds and insects are common visitors here too.

a day in Guarene, Roero wine district

Guarene in the Roero wine district in the Cuneo province, in Piedmont

Roero on the Piedmont map

We took a day off and went to visit some friends over to Guarene, in the Roero wine district. This is a tiny town about 1h driving from Turin in the north-east corner of the Cuneo province in Piedmont. Roero is famous for its vineyards and orchards and as you can imaging a breathtaking landscape! 

Its name comes from the Roero family of bankers and traders who were very prominent in the Middle Ages in the Alba area, which is where Nutella is made.

Guarene is famous for its castle that got rebuilt in the 18th century and for its high quality wines and fruits: the Cuneo red apples, the Madernassa pears, Cuneo peaches and hazelnuts, of course. Tomatoes, peppers, garlic and cardoons are also grown in this area.

The Madernassa pear is a special kind of pear that originated right in Roero in 1784 and today it's even exported abroad.

a Piedmont menu

Piedmont, NW Italy

Piedmont is one of the twenty Italian regions; it is located in the northwest corner at the border with France and Switzerland and it offers a wide array of local products. Over the centuries, it rich culinary traditions and world renowned wines have made of Piedmont one of the culinary destinations of the world.

It is very interesting to notice how varied the landscape is in Piedmont and how the Alps, the hills, the country side, the lakes, the Po Valley, the cities and the rice fields produce distinct ingredients that have always been part of the local menus, shaping the taste and the identity of this unique region. The different social classes have also contributed to the contrast between the once poor cuisine of the peasants and the aristocratic more refined specialties enjoyed by the nobles. 

Today, Piedmont cuisine unites both sides and everybody here pays a lot of attention to the origin of the products, their making processes and certification because they guarantee the food high quality, its flavor and consequently the quality of the local daily life. 

Here, food and wine are as important as medications and in order to preserve both traditions and quality, special labels and certifications have been instituted by the Italian government and at the European Union level. This is why in all our posts we always signal if a product has the DOP, IGP (to guarantee the territories where products can be made and labeled with a specific name) and DOC/DOCG (to guarantee the highest quality wines) certification.

5 Summer Piedmont wines

Relaxing in the shade of a statue in Turin 

After a relatively cold and humid July, summer has finally arrived in Turin too. 

The Italian Burgundy, Piedmont is renowned for its full-bodied red wines and sparkling whites, but let’s see what’s more suitable on these summer Wine Wednesdays and ThrowbackThursdays.

Scent, aroma, texture and body play an important role even for regular drinkers; so, let’s open the Piedmont cellar and let’s see what the best 5 summer wines are like!

Crystal Cun's guest post

Crystal Cun is a writer, cook and oystermonger in New York who loves sharp cheeses, knives and ideas. She's the author of Adventures of An Omnonmivore in NYC where you can admire her pictures and read through her food adventures. Crystal took her Masters in Food Culture and Communications at the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo, near Turin. So, for one year, she got to see what we have here in Piedmont and enjoy our food culture! Currently, she's a student at the International Culinary Center and is living in Brooklyn. The post below first appeared on her blog on October 7, 2010, after she went to Palio degli Asini, yes, donkeys ;)

Cevrin of Coazze: a nobel prize goat cheese

This week cheese is Cevrin or also Cavrin di Coazze
Its names means caprino in Italian or goat cheese, Coazze is a tiny village up in the Alps near Turin.

Piedmontese cheeses, Cavrin is among them!