The Wine Lover's Guide to a Perfect Day in Barolo & Barbaresco (feat. ‪@Oneonthehill‬)

Hi everybody, this is Agnes from No Sediment and today I am in Barolo and Barbaresco area. I was invited here from my friends Pierre and Chiara from One on the Hill Wine Club. Ciao! And today let's have a perfect day in Lange. Cheers! Lange area in Piemonte, Italy is one of my favorite winemaking regions to visit and I try to go there at least once a year. It is beautiful in every season with gently rolling hills, small picturesque Italian villages, amazing hearty food and what is also very important for me, wine. Although there is increasing interest in Nebbiolo grape outside of Italy, the most beautiful expression of this grape is found here, coming from Barolo and Barbaresco appellations. This time we were invited by Pierre and Chiara and they helped me to organize a perfect stay in Lange area. They already knew that whenever I travel I always visit a local market and after enjoying a great coffee we headed straight for market in the city of Alba. Our first stop was Mercato della Terra. This one is squeezed in a small square right in the very heart of Alba. Here you can find organic and sustainable foods from small local farms. Lange is famous for its hazelnuts. I will not lie, they are simply skinned and toasted and yet they taste like they have been dipped in chocolate. The cheese from this lady's farm looks modest but it melted on our palates and it was the first thing that disappeared from the table later today. Now let's head to the second market, Mercato Piazza Cagnasso, located in the historic center. It is much bigger and here you can buy almost everything, including rooms and carpets. This traditional meat dish is called mochetta. I was expecting it to be hard and dry but it was soft, succulent and full of flavor. Some bread of course. And here is why it is important to get some local advice. I have been to Alba so many times and I always visited these two markets but I did not know about the third one where mostly locals go. Mercato dei Contadini Piazza Pronotto. This is where you get the real farm goods which might not look as polished but they taste amazing. I really must have lived in Italy in my previous life. My favorite fruit is tomato and here it is a tomato paradise. Tomatoes everywhere. We planned to have a picnic and as always we got way too much. Before the picnic though we must visit a winery and taste some wines. After all we are in one of the most famous Italian winemaking regions. Piero and Chiara took us to winery Poderi Cola. I like to start my winery visits with a walk in the vineyards. It is nice to see more and more vineyards having permanent cover crop which is healthy for the soil and says so much about the philosophy of the winery. The day before we arrived a devastating hailstorm hit the area completely destroying many vineyards and crops. Unfortunately this area was also affected. Now the fun part. Tasting. So hi everybody we are currently in Appellation of Barbaresco, correct? Yes. And if you want to visit all the best places make sure to contact Piero and Chiara from One on the Hill. They have all the best contacts because even if the winery is closed as it is today we still get a chance to visit it. Come with us. We have the magic key. We tasted almost all the wines from Poderi Cola portfolio. They showed really impressive elegance on the palate and were beautifully perfumed on the nose. And as it often happens with wine enthusiasts, we challenged each other in the blind tasting. Chiara has a great nose by the way. Despite it being weekend and nobody from the winery being on the site, Piero organized a great tasting and demonstrated extensive knowledge about the wines, vintages and each label. If you want to have a great experience in Lange, I definitely recommend contacting Piero and Chiara who will organize you a custom tailored tour, wine tastings and so much more. They can even arrange a hot air balloon flight over the Lange if you feel particularly adventurous. For me coming from a northern part of the world, I felt like it was 100 degrees Celsius. So we chose our favorite wine and went outside looking for some shade to have a picnic. What a beautiful space to sit and enjoy ourselves. Cheers! We talked wine, life, philosophy and music. We laughed, drank wine and had the greatest time. And now we are off. During the hottest period of the day, we hid in the air-conditioned rooms and chilled. But when the evening came, we headed to an Italian food masterclass with chef Fabio Montanera. And may I be completely honest here, I loved his food. It was really great and authentic and melted on my tongue. Just look at this magic. But what I enjoyed even more was listening to him talk. Fabio knows food. He's passionate about it. He knows its history and he lights up when sharing his knowledge. We were tired but ended up staying way longer than expected because the conversations just flowed. The only downside to this was that we missed the Dolcetto festival. Our day was so busy that we didn't have time to squeeze in a restaurant visit. But I wanted to share that experience anyway. So on the next day, we headed to Sera Lunga di Alba to a restaurant, Vinoteca Centro Storico, also recommended to us by Pierre and Chiara. It is located in the very heart of the village and serves great local food. But what is even more important is their wine list. You will see that it has been made by someone who not only respects local wines but loves wine altogether. Great selection of wines from classic European winemaking regions, including impressive names from Loire, Champagne and Burgundy. However, I stayed true to my Nebbiolo. Delicious wine. Beautifully spent days, I fell in love with Lunga once again. Bye!