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ITALIA |
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Exploring Piemonte Piedmont’s capital, Torino, is better-known as an “industry” town than as a place to visit for great food, wine, art, and architecture. Torino-along with neaby Milan-was the epicenter of Italy’s industrial revolution in the 1950s, home in particular to the country’s largest auto-maker, Fiat. But thanks in large part to the prosperity created by its industry, Torino is an elegant, clean city that may be one of the more underrated food towns in northern Italy. Pastry and coffee are particular specialties, and the city is known for its grand, often very ornate coffee bars. Torino is also home to the annual Salone del Gusto, a specialty-foods smorgasbord organized by Italy’s Slow Food Organization. 
But for the hard-core wine-and-food fanatic, Torino is simply a place to get started before heading to the vine-draped hills of Alba. Famous for being the home of Piedmont’s most famous wines-Barolo and Barbaresco-the tidy little market town of Alba is the ultimate place for foodies to lay their heads for a few days (or more) of hearty eating and drinking. Wine towns such as Barolo, Barbaresco, Neive, Dogliani, and Monforte d’Alba are not only minutres away but loaded with stylish enoteche (wine bars) in which to sample the local wines. Probably the best-known are the Enoteca Regionale del Vino Barolo in the medieval village of Barolo itself (Piazza Falletti; 0173-56277), and its counterpart in Barbaresco, the Enoteca Regionale del Barbaresco (Via Torino 8A; 0173-635-251). But it is no exaggeration to say that there is an enoteca around every corner in the Alba hills-so don’t worrry about being thirsty for long.
As for food, the Alba hills are the place to be for earthy, foresty food, highlighted by the area’s famous white truffles in autumn but characterized by richness and complexity all year-round. Alba’s Mercato del Tartufo on the Via Cavour is the place to be on Saturdays during truffle season, and there are more great restaurants than are possible to list here. A few favorites include the Osteria dell’Arco in Alba (Piazza Savona, 5; 0173-363-974) the Locanda nel Borgo Antico in Barolo (Piazza Municipio, 2; 0173-56355), winemaker Gianfranco Bovio’s Belvedere in La Morra (Piazza Castello, 5; 0173-50190) and the legendary La Contea in Neive (Piazza Cocito; 0173-67126). 
FOR MORE ON ITALIAN WINE, FOOD, AND TRAVEL, CHECK OUT “VINO ITALIANO,” CO-WRITTEN BY BABBO OWNER JOE BASTIANICH AND BABBO BEVERAGE DIRECTOR DAVID LYNCH, RELEASED IN APRIL FROM CLARKSON POTTER. FOR EVEN MORE, CHECK OUT FAITH WILLINGER'S GREAT WEB SITE. |
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