This important date in the gastronomic calendar takes place each year in October in the Piemontese town of Alba and it is a wonderful experience to see this expensive commodity being traded.
Alba is at the heart of the scenic Langhe wine producing region of Italy where some of the most famous ‘reds’ are produced such as Barolo, Barbera, Barbaresco and Dolcetto.
This is a wonderful opportunity to get to know a little known area of Italy which is rich in produce such as chestnuts and truffles. Here you will find fine cheeses and salami and the many varieties of cakes and chocolate products made from the local hazelnuts.
The best time to visit is the first Sunday in October when the town transforms itself. Colourful stalls, laden with local produce line the streets and there is a buzz of excitement waiting for the start of the ‘donkey race’ – the Palio.
In preparation, an area is cordoned off with wooden barriers, a copious amount of straw is laid down and a small stand is erected. The event is preceded by a procession of more than two hundred people in medieval costume and flag throwers representing their district of the town.
We can organise for you:
- Superb accommodation in Alba
- Seats in the stand for the Palio
- Entrance tickets to the Truffle Fair
- Simulated truffle hunt with dogs
- Lunches or dinners at some of the finest restaurants in Italy
- Wine tastings and tutorials at some of the most important vineyards in the area
TRUFFLE FAIR ALBA (Fiera del Tartufo)
&
PALIO DEGLI ASINI (Donkey Race)
5-9 October 2012
Visit to the Truffle Fair in Alba, lovely medieval town in Piemonte, renowned capital of much sought after and horrendously expensive ‘white truffle’ – tartufo – tuber magnatum pico .
To visit Alba at this time of year is magical since you drive through some of the most glorious countryside, sometimes shrouded in a mystical mist.
Endless vineyards interspersed with castles and the wonderful autumnal colours.
This region abounds with Barolo, Barbaresco, Nebbiolo, Barbera, Dolcetto and Arneis wines and produces the most glorious Moscato in Santo Stefano Belbo.
The hills are also bursting with apricots, peaches, pears, plums and apples with hazelnuts and chestnuts and the flora allows the bees to produce some very fine honey.
Add to this the wonderful cheeses and bread produced in this area, not to mention their salame cotto (cooked salame) and you have the quintessential eno-gastronomic destination.
Included:
- 3 nights accommodation in Alba in double rooms at a centrally located boutique hotel on bed and buffet breakfast basis
- Private deluxe bus for transfers and sightseeing as detailed in itinerary
- Entrance tickets to Truffle Fair
- Numbered seats in the central part of the stand for the Palio degli Asini
- Private truffle hunt with ‘trifolao’ and dog
- Wine tastings at Rabaja, Arneis, Canelli, Barolo, Santo Stefano Belbo
- 4 course lunch with appropriate wines at Enoclub in Alba, Antine’ in Barbaresco, Locanda nel Borgo Antico in Barolo and Del Cambio in Turin
- All wine tasting trips will be accompanied by a guide knowledgable in all matters to do with the territory and wines produced there
- Private English speaking guide for walking tour of Turin
- English speaking escort to greet you in Turin and be with you throughout
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