We have had fabulous weather all tour and our final day was no exception.
Our destination was one of my favourite locations and families in all of Italy.
I first met Michela Marenco back in 2006 on our first tour to Piedmont. The Marenco winery is run by three sisters in the village of Strevi near Acqui Terme. They specialise in Moscato d’Asti, Brachetto d’Acqui and Moscato Passito plus some unusual grapes that we were to discover over lunch.
Having arrived in Strevi, Michela’s husband Gian took us round the winery and gave a great insight into the intricacies and difficulties associated with Asti production. This well known fizz has a somewhat frivolous reputation and everyone came away with a completely different regard. Gian revealed the expertise in keeping the fermentation and bottling under pressure to retain the sparkle and the ned to eliminate all yeast to prevent a potentially dangerous second fermentation.
Gian then took us for a walk in the hilltop vineyards before arriving at the beautiful Marenco farmhouse situated right in the middle of their vineyards.
Michela greeted us all like long lost friends and immediately started handing out glasses of Moscato d’Asti and freshly baked focaccia straight from the oven.
Into lunch and a glorious afternoon was spent sampling, fresh pasta, bagna caude (roasted vegetables with anchovies), various flans and delicious salamis. We tasted two totally unknown grapes – Carialoso which they think is a White Barbera and Albarossa, a crossing of Barbera and Nebbiolo which was amazing. We drank their sublime Moscato Passito with some superb local cheeses before rounding off with a glass of the sparkling Bracchetto d’Acqui and some strawberries and the obligatory shot of grappa.
The hospitality of the Marenco family is legendary and I feel truly privileged to know them and their wines. It was a fitting end to the tastings section of the tour so all that was left was dinner….
I realised that we would be fed well at Marenco so I chose a lighter type of dinner for our final night at Il Ventuno restaurant in Alba. Very modern and fish orientated, we started with delicate pea and mozzarella mousse, main course was stuffed squid and the most divine panna cotta rounded us off. For once we didn’t feel over full. We drank some delicious Gavi and a wonderful Barbera d‘Asti from the Braida estate.
Piedmont is a constant revelation and our tour discovered both the classic and lesser known areas and grapes and we met so many wonderful people who are incredibly proud of what they do.