Wine
What would Piedmont be without wine ? The most famous wines come from the two most well known villages near Alba: Barolo and Barbaresco. Since 1980 those two regions have produced DOCG-wines. The following villages produce Barolo wines: Barolo, Novello, La Morra, Verduno, Monforte d’Alba, Castiglione Falletto, Serralunga, Cherasco, Diano d’Alba, Roddi e Crinzane Cavour. Barolo and Barbaresco are 100% produced from Nebbiolo grapes. However there are many other excellent wines made from the following grapes: Favorita, Chardonnay, Roero Arneis, Nascetta (a very old grape, which grows only in Novello and Monforte), Sauvignon, Dolcetto, Barbera, Freisa, Grignolino. In any event, you should visit some winemakers to taste the outstanding wines and buy some cases to take home. The price and value are still favourable!
Cooking
The universally known kitchen of Piedmont has a long tradition. Who hasn’t heard of the white truffles from Alba? In the Piemontese kitchen, however there are not only truffles. In numerous comfortable restaurants, you can convince yourself of this. Also in the traditional markets you can acquire excellent products, from fresh fruit and vegetables to Parmigiano and wild boar salami. The traditional Piemontese menu consists of a multiplicity of appetizers, called ‘Antipasti’. Then pasta is served (Agnelotti or Tajarin) and this course is called ‘il Primo’. ‘Il Secondo’, which follows, consists of meat and vegetables. One enjoys the regional cheeses and then a dolce, the dessert. To finish, a caffè and a Grappa di Dolcetto, di Nebbiolo, or di Barolo should not be missed. If you make a trip to the sea, you can enjoy freshly caught fish and seafood in the small restaurants along the sea shore. A cool Favorita, Chardonnay or an excellent Roero Arneis are recommended to drink with this food.
Our hotel and bed and breakfast „Il Grillo Parlante“ doesn’t have a restaurant open to the public, here the chef cooks exclusively and only by appointment for the house guests. In the appartment house you can cook yourself the fine food from a local market.
Playing golf in Piedmont means playing between Grapes.
More information about playing golf in Piemonte: http://www.federgolfpiemonte.it
For guests of our bed and breakfast or our appartment we are pleased to reserve a tee time on one of the many golf courses in the Langhe.
Bike
The hills of the Langhe, with their curved roads invite you to explore the area with its endless vineyards. The numerous restaurants, which can be found in any village, serve regional specialties and are perfect place to stop for a break. Cycling is a very nice way of enjoying the splendid panorama of this area. When two villages are two miles away, there can be easily 100 curves and some hundreds of metres difference in altitude in between. E-bikes can be rent nearby.
Starting from our bed and breakfast you will find quiet roads in this lovely landscape, far away from mass turism and nervous industrial traffic.
With a motorcicle, it is easy to join one of the many passes that cross into France or to the nearby ligurian coast.
On our link page you can download many maps and usefull information to organize your vacation in our appartment house or bed and breakfast.
Culture
Piedmont is rich in cultural goods, which were inherited from the Roman and Savoy periods. Testimony of these times can be found in numerous museums, libraries, palaces, archives and publications. Many churches and basilicas with their baroque style testify to the different epochs. Turin was capital of Italy from 1861 – 1865. It is a short drive to a cinema or for a visit to a theatre in Barolo, Dogliani, La Morra, Novello, Diano d’Alba, Bra, Cuneo, Alba, Asti or Turin. Walking along the paths under the arches you can stop to enjoy a coffee or other refreshment.
From our bed and breakfast it is a short way to visit the surrounding castles of the Langhe, the nicest area of the Piedmont. Also the magor citties can be reached easily from our hotel for a day tripp.
Turin with it’s rich history is one hour away from our appartments.
Hiking
The hilly landscape of the Langhe, particularly the „Colline del Barolo“, invites you to take extended walks through the scenery with the endless vineyards.
Marked footpaths, called “seven paths” bring you to Monforte d’Alba, to the neighbouring villages or directly to the wine-producers. Many small restaurants tempt you to take a break and enjoy regional products.
This certainly is one of the most relaxing ways to enjoy this area with his beautiful panorama. Starting from our bed and breakfast you can follow quiet paths far away from industrial traffic. In the Langhe, the nicest e area of the Piedmont is a particularly nice place for hiking as the many small villages you can join invite for a break with fine local specialities to discover with a fine glass of wine.
On our link pages you can download many information to organize your hiking in the Piemont. For the guests of our bed and breakfast or our appartment, we have maps at disposal for our guests to plan a pleasant vacation.
Summer
To spend a day at the sea, just take the highway Torino – Savona and in little more than an hour you will be on the beach. A visit to the aquarium at Genova, which is the biggest in Europe, is also an interesting excursion. The aquarium in Genova is the biggest in Europe. http://www.acquario.ge.it/
Pool:
In Monforte d’Alba, on the hill over the old township is a public pool called „le Ginestre“.