Italy is home to several regions and endless destinations that boast the most incredible scenery and delicious culinary delights that are born in picturesque and fertile landscapes. In particular, one of the most beautiful areas to visit if you want to fill your eyes and stomach with lovely delights has to be Piedmont. Positioned in the north-western corner of Italy, near the border with both Switzerland and France, this is a region that is overlooked by majestic Alpine peaks and is composed of rolling green hills, dense forests, endless and carefully manicured vineyards, pretty medieval towns, elegant cities, and lots and lots of amazing local culinary specialities. Just find a vacation rental in Piedmont and spend a glorious holiday in Italy eating well in the most picturesque of settings. Head to Cuneo for their rum-flavoured chocolates, discover Asti and Alba and their famous truffles, visit the town of Bra in which the Slow Food movement was born and indulge in it yourself, and be sure to pencil in some time to visit the Langhe Hills...
Langhe is the hilly part of Piedmont, the almost too pretty to be real area that you see pictured in guides and articles and postcards from the region most often. It is also one of the most wonderful gastronomic destinations in all of Italy and is where Barolo, Barbaresco, Dolcetto, and Nebbiolo wines were all born, where delicious cheeses can be procured at every turn, and where yet more delicious truffles can be scavenged and devoured. Declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2014 due to its cultural landscapes and traditions in winemaking that date back centuries, this is one of the foodie destinations par excellence in Italy and, yet, for many international travellers considering their next vacation in Italy, it is a name that is not all that familiar. Despite this, we would argue that anyone serious about culinary travels in Italy should find a villa in Piedmont and plan a trip to the Langhe area to sample the cornucopia of wonders that await there.
As noted, Langhe is a major wine destination and the fertile hills and plains of the area are home to countless wineries. Mostly small, family-run enterprises, one could easily spend a whole holiday in Piedmont just going around and visiting the seemingly infinite list of wineries and sampling the region’s many different varieties of wines. As noted, Barbaresco, Dolcetto, and Nebbiolo wines are three of the most important but the most famous is the so-called King of Wines, Barolo. Incredibly rich, with complex and powerful aromas, this beloved wine is a DOCG that comes from two valleys spread across the comunes of Barolo, Castiglione Falletto, Serralunga d'Alba and parts of the comunes of Cherasco, Diano d'Alba, Grinzane Cavour, La Morra, Monforte d'Alba, Novello, Roddi, Verduno, all in the province of Cuneo, south-west of Alba.
The Barolo village is at the heart of this wine area and is home to some excellent vineyards, wine bars, and restaurants in which guided tastings can be held to introduce you to this noble wine. In addition to specifically going on wine-tasting expeditions to different bars and wineries, while you eat in basically any of the restaurants in this part of Italy, you will discover incredible wine lists that are as thick as tomes, making any meal a potential wine tasting and a rather special experience. The castle in Barolo is also home to a wine museum that is interactive and fun and has a tasting room at the end where you can try a range of wines from the area for a few euros a piece in an informal and unintimidating environment. If you’re a great wine-lover or you just want to learn more about wine in a place a little less thronged by tourists than many of the more famous wine regions of the country, then this is a perfect destination in which to do just that and to pick up some excellent wines to bring home for yourself and as gifts. Barolo, given its reputation, is often rather expensive abroad but this is your chance to pick up some bottles or have them sent home ahead of you at local prices.
In addition to the wineries and tastings themselves, the vineyards of Langhe boast another brilliant feature: there are marked trails running all throughout the area. This is brilliant as it allows you to hike and taste, without having to worry about getting behind the wheel, and allows you to take in those truly spectacular surroundings at your own pace. These trails connect different wine villages and wineries to each other and the idea of wandering through the Italian countryside and stopping to sample different wines from various producers and eateries sounds pretty darn idyllic to us. So, if you love to hike and you love wine, then a villa in Piedmont and time spent exploring Langhe is pretty perfect.
Eating on these journeys is necessary to refuel and, again, taking things slow and easy is the order of the day in Langhe. With the origins of the Slow Food movement having been born so close by, those in the area have taken a page from the book of restaurateurs in Bra and if you are eating out while in Langhe, you can expect meals to stretch out over delicious hours savouring incredible local produce and delicacies. Embrace it and really slow down to match the pace and you’ll learn to truly enjoy this sleepy and peaceful corner of the world. Some local must-try dishes include anything with truffles or hazelnuts (two key ingredients in the area), tajarin (which is a long and thin egg pasta), agnolotti (a sort of pasta dish filled with vegetables and/or meat), and all sorts of incredible chocolate creations that come from this region that gave us Nutella and Ferrero Rocher.
So, if you’re after a taste (quite literally) of the good life in Italy, then a villa in Piedmont and time spent exploring the beautiful Langhe area is an absolute must!
