A visit to Alba in November? Get ready for wine and truffles

Fresh Truffles, used in exquisite meals… Wine that is produced with love and passion… If you are a food lover, this must sound like a dream, right? If you decide upon a visit to Alba in November, this is what you can expect. Even though it is not your average trip (truffles don’t come cheap). Sometimes you need to allow yourself some of the luxuries in life and for me, great food is one of them.

I usually don’t write a lot about food, other then some great restaurants that I enjoyed on my trips. But this time, I make an exception, as my latest trip was all about marvelous food and wines. One of the luxuries of living in Switzerland, is that Italy is right around the corner. Therefore we have been fortunate to pay some great visits to this country. There is yet much more to discover.

Here are some reasons why Alba in the versatile region of Piedmont is worth a stopover on a road trip through Europe. Or if you live close by like me, a reason to stop by for a weekend trip.

Truffle fair of Alba in November and December

We begin our visit in Alba, the biggest town in the center of the d’Asti region. On a cloudy Saturday morning in November, the market fills up the streets with little stands that offer clothes, home products and local specialties. But in this particular weekend, this is not the only reason why the streets are filled with people. Hidden on one of the many squares, there is the annual white truffle fair. Here you can see the fresh findings that are also offered for sale. When entering the fair the smell of truffle immediately overtakes all your senses. In the cozy hall the proud owners show you the truffles, along the little glass displays many of them like to display photos of themselves with the dogs that found them.

If you want to buy a truffle, the price of course depends on the size of the truffle. This year the price was about 80€ for 30 grams, which is about the size of a Ping-Pong ball, which will serve two to three people for one meal. In the buying process you want to rely on your senses. In general the truffle is at its best as soon as it comes out of the earth, the smell is still strong as will the flavor be. So trust on your smell, try different stands and see which one overwhelms you the most.  After purchase you want to eat it as fast as possible, with a max of 4 days after.

But wait, there is more than just truffles…

As you will not just eat a truffle all by itself, the fair has a lot of stands with local specialties that you can eat with truffle ór products with truffle in them. So even if you don’t want to buy a truffle, you might go home with some fresh pasta, local ‘agnolotti’ (a type of ravioli), wines, olive oils or much more.

Taste and enjoy some of Italy’s finest wines

Besides the fact that the region is beautiful throughout the year, it is also famous for some well known wines. Barolo, Roero or Barbaresco, made from the Nebbiolo grape, might sound familiar? The majority of the regions winemaking takes place around the towns of Alba, Asti and Alessandria.

When going on a trip to this region, I would recommend a wine tasting. There are some great wineries that will take you on a tour in the winery and talk you through their wine making process. And best of all, they let you taste their wines together with some local cheese and sausages. We had our tour at Demarie  in Vezza d’Alba, where the owner took us to his wine cellar and told us all about his philosophy on wine making. This was without a doubt one of the nicest visits to a winery I ever had. As a bonus, I got some great insights on the flavoring process.

The region knows a lot of wineries and if you wish to visit a couple of them, I would recommend to make a reservation as with most of them, you cannot just walk in without an appointment. Some of the best wineries are; Braida, Demarie,  Paolo Manzone, Cantina del Glicine, Cantina Marsaglia and Guido Porro

Discover the Italian way (or the sporty way…)

The beautiful region connects some nice towns with each other through stunning roads with spectacular views over the vineyards. As it is currently fall, the endless stretched vineyards no longer look green, yet changed their colors to the autumn palette. Beautiful sun kissed hillsides decorated with yellow, orange and red leaves from the wine branches, is what you can expect when you come to Alba in November.

When we drove on one of the roads, we experienced a group of locals that had cought a wild boar. The guys looked proud and excited at the same time, as many of the local specialties of the season are made with wild boar.

The hotel where I stayed, rented out some vintage red Vespa scooters,  to explore the region on a slower pace. If the weather conditions are good, I would  have taken on this adventure for sure. But for now this has to go on my bucket list for a future visit. A second more sporty option is to take a bike. Since the landscape exists of an endless stretch of hills, which means a lot of climbing on a bike, a lot of places offer E-bikes for rental. This semi-sporty endeavor is still kind of an active workout but doesn’t require all your energy. Especially after a night of wining and dining this works out perfect.

The road between Alba and Barolo is one of the best options, the road has some amazing views over the hills of Piedmont and has some nice towns in between for a stop over. For more information about the best cycling routes, I can recommend the Piemonte Bike website.

There are many Piedmont specialties that you can eat while you are there and all of them are delicious. In fall you cannot avoid the white truffle, that most restaurants will serve upon request. Furthermore there is the local agnolotti, tajarin pasta, brassato, ragù, wild boar and much more.

The region around Alba might have the highest concentration of Michelin restaurants in Italy, but often you can get a fantastic meal at one of the cantina’s as well.  Make sure to plan ahead if you want to go for a fine dining experience. Many of the best places require a booking at least a week in advance.

We had diner at Ristorante Il Cascinalenuovo from Michelin Chef Walter Ferretto, where we had a fantastic dining experience with the more traditional kitchen of Piedmont.