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As we continue to savor the memories of our lovely trip to Piedmont, we realized we had not shared a few final days of our trip, so we must continue. Even though we were traveling in the winter, our next to last day started with a beautiful sunrise that was spectacular from every angle.
Sunrise in Piedmont
Sunrise in Piedmont
After breakfast in Barolo, The Keeper Team was excited to learn that they would go to the village of Monchiero to visit the winery and cellars of Giuseppe Mascarello.
Mauro Mascarello follows a long line of Mascarello winemakers. He took the helm of this estate in 1967, both running the cellar and making his first vintage.
Mauro gave us a tour of his winery, noting that the building was formerly an icehouse before being converted to the Mascarello winery. The icehouse construction provided the perfect conditions with great insulation for the wine cellars. This was one of many unique items we saw at the winery. There were old large bottles,
Large Bottles at Mascarello Winery
Tags: Italy, Mascarello, Travel, Vitello Tonato, Wine
Starting the morning off with a caffeine fix is typical for the Keeper Team. While in Piedmont it was special to begin the day with a morning drive to the next village in Piedmont for espresso of choice, while being surrounded by the Alps along the way. Enjoying this panoramic view and knowing that there would be wine tastings and food pairings with Barolo Wine Masters was almost more than we could stand. So, Keeper took a deep breath, because we knew the adventure was just beginning.
After espresso in the village of Barolo, we went to visit Giuseppe Rinaldi (known to his friends as “Beppe”). Our friend Russell Hone of Le Serbet has known Beppe for years, and we were treated to a personal tour of the winery and a special tasting. Beppe was quite entertaining, and his wines were lovely. We tasted his 2006 Barolos out of cask,
Cask Tasting with Beppe Rinaldi
Tags: Italy, Paulo Scavino, Restaurants, Rinaldi, Ristorante Le Torri, White Alba Truffles, Wine
Thanks to Russell Hone, we found ourselves staying at Villa Carita in La Morra, a small property owned and operated by a husband and wife, with majestic, breathtaking views of the Barolo valley. The spacious suites were a pleasant surprise. The unexpected “amenities” in the suite for the Keeper Team were no Wi-Fi, no phone, and no TV, but we did have heat for the December winter cold! This created a peace for the team that allowed us to get out of the typical American mode and truly appreciate the beauty of Piedmont that surrounded us.
We met up with the rest of our group as it was time for our first dinner in La Morra. Russell selected a locally, well-regarded restaurant, Osteria Veglio. We were pleased and surprised to learn that one of Russell’s long-time close friends, Elio Altare, would be joining us for dinner.
Russell Hone and Elio Altare
Tags: Elio Altare, Italy, Restaurant, Wine
While driving from Geneva to Barolo, the Keeper Collection Team had no idea how magical the area of Piedmont would be. The drive through the Alps was the beginning of memories that would last forever. Of course, a 5 hour drive works up an appetite, so the first thing we did was find a local place to eat that would serve as the beginning of our quest for knowledge about the cuisine of the area. Thanks to our friend, Peter Wasserman, we found ourselves in the quaint village of Cherasco. As we walked toward our chosen eatery, we were able to admire the amazing ancient masonry work of arches overhead. We ate lunch at Caffe’ Osteria Umberto Ferrero Teresio Bar.
Was this Osteria the real thing? Oh yes, the menu was announced in Italian by our server – no written menus in this local gem! Peter was excited to hear that they had the Piemontese staple Vitello Tonnato (thinly sliced cooked veal with a tuna/mayo sauce), as his goal was to find the best in the area. No better time to start us on tasting this dish than at our first dining adventure. We chose two other starters to share, Carne Crudo, which in this case was finely chopped (by hand) raw beef patty with Parmesan shavings, and another dish of sausage with dark sauce on fried polenta cake. The Keeper Team was off to a great start, as all three were very tasty. Of course, we had to select a local Piemontese wine to pair with the food. We started with a great producer in the area, Elio Altare. Caffe’ Osteria Umberto had the 2008 Elio Altare Langhe Nebbiolo, a very nice wine for under $25 US dollars! Suddenly, we realized that, in the excitement of seeing the amazing architecture, the welcome by the servers at the Osteria Umberto, and the initial food presentation, the Keeper Camera Crew had fallen down on the job and missed the pictures to share. You will have to trust us that the food both looked and tasted good. The “clean plate club” showed up again.
As the portions were large, we decided to order smaller portions and eat family style. The next dish was Fresh Tagliatelle with Ragu. Notice the very light, almost scant amount of sauce – this was perfect, as it did not overpower the fresh, very thin homemade pasta.
Tagliatelle with Ragu
Tags: Italy, Restaurant, Wine
To go along with a stellar meal at Uchi, (see previous post Austin City Limits Festival and Uchi-Both World Class Acts) pairing the most exquisite wine selections is a MUST. During our most recent experience at Uchi, we did just that! Our friend Ian McCaffery visited the Keeper Team in Austin and treated us to a meal at Uchi. Ian is not only a great guy, but an especially good friend to have if you’re into wine – he is a Martin Wine Cellar retailer. His wealth of knowledge about wine and his enthusiasm and love of good food (and fun) was the perfect resource for this pairing exercise. Ian suggested that we start off with a 3 year vertical of Comtes Lafon Meursault – 2003, 2004, and 2005. At first, we saw this as an interesting choice because the 2003 vintage in Meursault didn’t receive the best press from some wine writers. A glorious surprise, the Comtes Lafon 2003 was fabulous and drinking beautifully!
3 Year Vertical of Comtes Lafon Meursault-2003, 2004, 2005
Tags: Restaurant, Uchi, Wine
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