Slow Cooking Piedmont™

Tie on your aprons and step into the enchanting Langhe region, nestled in the heart of Piedmont. This UNESCO World Heritage site is a dream destination for every food and wine lover. Discover this rich land and culture where rolling vineyards produce the world-famous Barolo and Barbaresco wines, the fertile farms grow prized white truffles and an abundance of hazelnuts. Join us in Langhe where you will learn to make handmade pasta with farm-fresh eggs while sipping and swirling world Barolo, Gabiano, and Barbera d’Asti wine – the perfect experience for food and wine lovers. Indulge in piemonte cooking class experiences and authentic barolo wine area vacation packages, designed for true culinary travelers.

Discover local cuisine starting with antipasto, vitello tonnato, veal served in a white wine sauce with capers and small white fish. Pasta and risottos follow and are always delicious – risotto con nociolle, roasted rice slow stirred with broth, served in a light cream sauce and garnished with toasted hazelnuts. You’ll prepare handmade agnolotti, small pillows of pasta stuffed with veal and herbs served in a cream sauce. Main courses are impressive like brasato al Barolo, a tender cut of prime meat slow cooked in a Barolo wine. Desserts span from Savoirdi, delicate sweet biscotti named after the Royal family to baci di dame, translating to kisses from the women, which are cookies filled with Piedmont chocolate cream. Moscato wine is always served with traditional delicious desserts from Piedmont.

Piedmont’s cuisine preserves Old-World traditions emphasizing farm-to-table products referred to zero-kilometer, zero miles distance from the producer to the table. This region is also the birthplace of the Slow Food Movement and home to the first Università del Gusto piemonte, or University of Taste, where food heritage and innovation blend seamlessly. Today, the università del gusto continues to attract culinary travelers and food enthusiasts from around the world.

Slow Food is an organization founded in Italy by Carlo Petrini, Italian activist and author in 1986.  Its mission is to preserve traditional and regional cuisine and support farmers, farming, artisans and livestock of the local ecosystem, and traditional cooking methods.  Slow Food supports small artisans and sustainable food and wine focusing on food quality, not quantity. The Slow Food movement protects the farmers and artisans from globalization.

Piedmont

Beyond the majestic snow-capped Alps lies Piedmont, a culinary paradise where rolling green hills draped with gentle vineyard produce Italy’s most famous Barolo wine. This enchanting region offers breathtaking views and delicious food far from Italy’s tourist crowds. Torino, Piedmont’s capital, is a charming city that delights visitors with its renowned chocolate tradition, historic Fiat, the famous car bank, and the magnificent Royal Palace. Stroll through the stunning Baroque palazzos including Piazza Castello and Piazza San Carlo.

Piedmont Cooking Classes

Tie on your apron with our Chef Tonino for a traditional Piemonte cooking class, and learn how to prepare recipes using farm-to-table ingredients. You will prepare antipasto, pasta with seasonal sauces, a main course, and dessert. Under the guidance of the chef, learn new techniques while discovering local cuisine. Following each cooking class, everyone enjoys the food they prepared in the class together at the table with a toast of local wine. Guests may also enjoy exclusive tastings like barbera unplugged paired with local delicacies.

Piedmont Accommodations

The Villa is tucked in the rolling hills of Piedmont’s wine country surrounded by rustic charm with refined elegance. The architecture reflects the region’s heritage, featuring exposed brick walls, vaulted ceilings, and hand-hewn wooden beams that speak to its farmhouse roots. Interiors are thoughtfully restored preserving original details while introducing subtle modern touches. Each room offers modern comfort beds dressed in soft Italian linens inviting guests to unwind in comfort after a day of cooking or touring. The overall ambiance is luxurious and elegant while nature awes with blue skies and rolling green hills and gardens blending history and hospitality.  An ancient wine cellar offers a glimpse into the past of Piedmont’s wine history while home to a collection of the region’s Barolo, Gabiano, and Barbera d’Asti wine.  Breakfast is served daily and includes local artisan breads, cakes and biscotti along with fresh seasonal fruit, yogurts, granola, jam, cappuccino, tea and juice.

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Barolo Wine

Barolo, called “the king of wine and the wine of Kings.”is the driving force in the Langhe wine-growing area and the excellences of the Piedmont Region. This wine which can only be produced with only 100% Nebbiolo grape is a symbol of pride for the 800 producers in the region. As tradition and production regulations dictate, the municipalities where Nebbiolo grapes become Barolo are only 11, spread over an area of approximately 1,700 hectares: Cherasco, Verduno, Roddi, La Morra, Grinzane Cavour, Castiglione Falletto, Diano d’Alba, Barolo, Novello, Serralunga d’Alba and Monforte d’Alba, the 11 essences, the faces, that have made up the DOCG Barolo since 1980. Each municipality, area, sub-area, vineyard and parcel are magical and heterogeneous expressions, which are hidden within each single vintage and bottle. In 1600, the Nebbiolo grape was already being used to make wine consumed by the nobles and Royals of the House of Savoy. Then, Count Camillo Benso di Cavour called French oenologist Alexandre-Pierre Odart, requesting that the wine be refined. In 1873, Barolo won its first award.

Barolo wine must age for at least 38 months, starting from November 1st of the year the grapes are produced, of which 18 in wooden barrels, while the term “Riserva” appears on the label after 5 years of aging. The color is a fresh and lively ruby red, which tends to orange over time. On the nose, the unmistakable aromas of Nebbiolo grapes of rose and red fruit jam are accompanied by the woody and vanilla notes. Barolo pairs best with roasts, braised meats, venison, rabbit, goat and lamb. It goes well with aged cheeses, such as Bra duro and Castelmagno. It’s often served for dessert with dark chocolate, bugie, thin ribbons of flash-fried sweet dough dusted with Confectioners’ sugar, paste di meliga, crumbly polenta biscotti, and marrons glacés, sugared chestnuts. A wine once savored by nobles and royalty, Barolo remains today a treasure of the Langhe and a centerpiece of our Barolo wine Cooking Vacations experience.

Itinerary ~ 6 Days, 5 Nights

Day 1: Arrival and Check In

• Round trip transfers from  the Asti train station to the property.
• Check in and relax. Enjoy your Cooking Vacations Welcome Bag with a Prosecco toast.
• Later, enjoy a wine tasting and discover Barbera Riserva, Nebbiolo, and Moscato.
• In the evening, enjoy your Welcome Dinner including a Chef’s Tasting Menu featuring a full course menu with local fare – antipasto, fresh pasta and sauce, a main course and dessert.

Day 2: Cooking Class, Wine Tour and Spa Treatment

• Breakfast is served.
• Following breakfast, tie on your apron for Cooking Class 1. Learn to prepare a full course menu with fresh seasonal products. Following the cooking class, everyone enjoys the foods prepared in the class with a toast of local wine.
• Continuing in the afternoon, meet your driver for a wine tour. The excursion includes a visit to a winery, vineyard and cantina with wine tour and tasting with driver and English-speaking host.
• Following the wine tour, check in for a relaxing massage at the spa with a professional masseuse.
• After your spa treatment, enjoy a poolside

Day 3: Discover Alba and Asti with Artisan Wheat Producing Tour and Cooking Class

• Breakfast is served.
• Following breakfast, meet your driver and for your excursion to Alba, the cultural capital of Langhe. Known for its hazelnut chocolate – the headquarter of Ferrero – white truffles and great food. Alba boasts an air of elegance dating back to Roman, Medieval and the Renaissance periods. Enjoy the gourmet and artisan food shops, wine stores, and colorful squares.
• Visit the main cathedral and city hall square. Walk the corso, the main street that is the center of Alba.
• Take time out and enjoy lunch in any one of the local trattorias.
• Following lunch, visit a famous artisan wheat producer and learn about Old World and modern grinding techniques, the wheat grains and growing, and panification, artisan bread making. Discover the ancient flour and where you can also shop and take home a bag or two of freshly grounded flour.
• Return to the property and prepare pizza dough with the Marino flour and let is set for 24 hours which will later be used in the cooking class.
• Dinner is on your own with suggestions provided or add on dinner at the property, not included.

Day 4: Trip to Canelli and Truffle Hunt

• Breakfast is served
• Head for Canelli, Italy’s capital of Moscato. Visit an award-winning winery, and one of the world-famous underground wine Cathedrale. Explore the historical wineries built to produce Asti Spumante. Learn the history and process of how this wine became sparkling with the Champenois and Charmat methods.  Enjoy a tasting of five different sparkling wines together with Prosciutto di Cuneo.
• Meander through the center of Canelli. Climb up to the sternia route, an enchanting Medieval cobblestone street that charms with its beautiful views.
• Take time out and enjoy lunch in any one of the local trattorias.
• Return to the property, change into comfortable clothes and shoes for your truffle hunt! Everyone will visit Costigliole, a short walk from the property, for an authentic truffle hunt with experts, Giorgio and Natale, and their two truffle hunting dogs, Brio and Lizzy.  Follow them through a wooded area and learn about truffles while enjoying the hunt.  We hope everyone finds a truffle.  Following the hunt, enjoy a truffle snack on Giorgio’s patio.
• Return to the property for a pizza making night. You will prepare the pizzas and garnish with delicious tomatoes, artisan cheese, Prosciutto, vegetables, and mushrooms to name a few. Following the chef, everyone bakes their own pizza in the outdoor oven.

Day 5:Excursion to La Morra and Barolo and Chef’s Farewell Tasting Dinner

• Breakfast is served.
• Following breakfast, depart from the property for La Morra. Along the way, we stop at the panoramic Belvedere and Baroque Cathedral.  La Morra is a small Medieval town known as the pinnacle of Langhe. Enjoy the breath-taking view of Nebbiolo vineyards.  Visit the famous Cappella del Barolo and giant red chair which have become symbols of La Morra.
• Take time out and enjoy lunch in any one of the local trattorias.Following your visit to La Morra, meet your driver and discover world-famous Barolo, known for Barolo wine made with Nebbiolo grapes. Walk the narrow streets of this wine town and enjoy the many wine shops where you can sample and purchase Barolo wines, with a visit to the famous Wine and Cork Museum.  Following, meet your driver and discover world-famous Barolo, known for Barolo wine made with Nebbiolo grapes. Walk the narrow streets of this wine town and enjoy the many wine shops where you can sample and purchase Barolo wines, with a visit to the famous Wine and Cork Museum.  Visit the impressive Falletti Castle, The Falletti family acquired by the Falletti family in the 13th century.  In the 19th century, the Falletti family moved to Turin, and the castle became their country residence.  In 2010, the Falletti Castle was transformed into the Wine Museum of Barolo.
• After your visit, return to the property. Later in the evening enjoy a Chef’s Tasting Dinner including a full course menu – antipasto, fresh pasta and sauce, a main course and dessert.

Day 6: Check Out and Departure

• Breakfast is served
• Transfer to Milan Airport or Asti Train Station
• Arrivederci!