Nancy's Travels

We are in Borolo wine country!!! The drive from Orta was approximately 2 hours, and the sky threatened to rain. Sinio turns out to be smaller than half of Cotati, and our hotel is the center of attention. At the top of the hill in Sinio, surrounded by vines, is the beautifully renovated 900-year old castle run by James and Denise from San Francisco. We plop our bags down after check-in and head out to taste some wines.

To our surprise, the Barolo wine region can be covered in one afternoon. We set out for the La Morra cantina communale (tasting room featuring local wines), and meet Nicola (pronounced ni-COLA), the local Barolo know-it-all. He instantly garners our respect and friendship, pouring us tastings and recommending which bottles to get that can only be purchased here due to small productions. He also set up reservations at local trattorias for the two nights we'll be here. "Trust me!" he says. The view from La Morra is a panoramic topography of nebbiolo vines as far as the eye can see, a sea of various shades of green rising and falling along the skyline. It is a beautiful sight, even with the haze from the weather. Chris and I realize now why California wine production is an afterthought compared to the sheer magnitude produced from Italy and France. We continue driving through the other "villages" - Barolo (not much here, surprisingly, and the castle was closed.), Monteforte, and Serralunga. My joke with Serralunga, which the locals find quite amusing and true can be summed up in the following - Serralunga: Tre canne, Due gatto, Una Persona! The place litterally has 3 dogs, 2 cats, and 1 person (running the local Enoteca). Oh, and they have a beautiful castle as well. The drive between villages is just breath-taking, with hill after hill covered by rows and rows of 7-feet tall nebbiolo, barbera, and dolcetta vines.

Dinner was truly memorable at Ristorante Bovino, La Morra. Mainly because I got the local taglietelle w/ tartufo bianco - thin egg pasta w/ shaved white truffles. (We are bordering the white truffle capital, Alba, you know.) I couldn't help but order it when I saw the table across the room being served - the fragrance filled the room! Chris took a video of the waiter shaving white truffle over my dish... the cash register going off in his head with every pass of the truffle over the blade - *ca-ching, ca-ching, ca-ching, ca-ching, ca-ching.... and it goes on until the whole truffle is gone. Ai-yaaaaa! Needless to say, it was amazing. Scarpetta! Chris had a veal steak topped with a huge, grilled porchini mushroom, wrapped like a christmas present, complete with ribbon. We split a dessert plate featuring semi-freddo chocolate, and panna cotta with fresh fruit. Yummy!

Absolutely overtaken by the meal - and the bottle of 2006 Ravello borolo recommended by Nicola, we navigate our way back to Castello di Sinio and enjoy our first chance to check email and post our blog. The castle is quiet in the night, with only the gattos roaming about. We retire to our room, and peer out the window into the courtyard below, a splash of green bordered by pink and white flowers, lit by the night lights. Indeed, it was time to rest.