On Sunday evening we walked to Osteria Boccondivino, which shares premises with the International Slow Food Association. Our main was rabbit cooked in white wine. The entrée was accompanied by a white grape variety new to us: Favorita.
Tuesday morning there was a heavy shower of rain at 800am, and we were scheduled for a truffle hunt in a secret place at Piozzo. Marc Millon, our food and wine guide philosopher and friend, was talking down expectations because the hunt was taking place in daylight (distracts the dog) and it would be wet (deadens the scent). We met Alberto, our licensed trifolao ( truffle hunter) and his working dog Stricha. We set off downhill into the oak forest on off the trail through mud and rain and immediately the dog found a black truffle.
We continued downhill in increasing rain slipperiness and mud, but we were assisted by selecting fallen branches as walking sticks.
Soon more truffles were found - two white and another black - with Alberto simultaneously digging and restraining Stricha from eating the prize. Stricha was, however, rewarded in a manner she thought satisfactory.
We pronounced a successful hunt and Alberto invited us back to his home for an aperitivo including peanuts, corn chips and some walnuts. We were impressed by the ornamental gourds decorating his house.
Our next stop was Monforte d'Alba where we met Mario, the winemaker at a family run winery Cascina Fontana. There had been a power cut just before we arrived so Mario conducted a wine tasting by candle light. He first gave an extended introduction to the winery and his methods which are wholly organic including the composition of the bottle closures. The whole wine making process here is dictated by the elements which means there are subtle or significant differences from year to year in the wines produced. This was clearly demonstrated in the vertical tasting of his Barolo from 2009 to 2005. T's favourite was the 2005 which seemed ideal in every way. W's favourite was the more complex 2006 with chocolate aromas and a tannin structure which is still developing.
Just as we thought the tasting was concluding a new wine maker was introduced, Gianluca Viberti who is producing a sparkling brut rosé from Nebbiolo, for export which he labels "pret-à-porter". We thought it would be welcome at any party. This was accompanied by the Salumi which marked the beginning of lunch at about 2.30pm.
At about 3pm we retired to the dining area to make a serious start to lunch with a plate of raw vegetables with bagna cauda which contained a warm anchovy and garlic dip. This was accompanied by Dolcetto nuovo just three weeks old.
Next came a course of two types of pasta both made with ancient grains. At this point the pasta maker was introduced and explained his commitment to old varieties which included buckwheat and farro (spelt). Because there was no power the pasta and sauces were cooked on a camp stove outside. The accompanying sauces were cheese for the first pasta and a meat ragout for the second. We drank Barbera, which is a Piemontes variety unlike Barolo which is a narrowly defined region and the grape is always Nebbiolo with minimum alcohol of 13%. The main course was Bollito misto which is mixed stewed meat served with three home made sauces - tomato, tonnato and salsa verde. To accompany this Mario poured us a 1998 Barolo from a jeroboam. The meal finished with a dessert of Bunet which is amaretti and chocolate and a hazelnut and ricotta slice and was accompanied by a moscato d'Asti.
It was now around 6pm and time to make our way home.
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Glad to hear that dogs are used to hunt truffles. Weren't pigs sometimes used in the past?
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