May, 2024
The destination of our 2nd Bologna road trip was Braida Wines, but of course this wasn't the final destination because there are always treasures to be found on the way there, on the way back and in between.
Asti-ish
Our home for a couple of days was the wonderful Braida Wines! It was an absolute pleasure to be back here and to see Giuliana again. Giuliana is the ultimate host and wine tasting guide. She is full of stories about this amazing, world-class winery and all the wines they produce. Up here, it’s all about Barbera and Giuseppe “Beppe” Bologna believed, deep down, that Barbera could be much more than a rustic table wine. He took over his father’s vineyard in the 1960s and set about shaking up the Barbera world. He was successful and their signature Bricco dell’Uccellone launched Barbera and Braida onto the world wine stage.
In case you didn’t notice the bottle in Giuliana’s hands, here it is. Go look for it…you won’t be disappointed.
Thankfully it was not a glass of Bricco that I spilled onto my and Gilly’s white jeans but sadly it was a glass of red. In my defence, among our new Italian friends at the winery, I was defending women and making use of my newfound Italian hand gestures.
So, the red wine on Gilly's favourite white pants did not ruin our friendship. Marco, between us, made sure to make light of it all.
The view from our room at Braida.
Until next time Giuliana…
Next on our foodie journey was lunch at Ca’ Vittoria in the one-horse town of Tigliole d’Asti, population 1,728. Only in Europe do you find a Michelin-starred restaurant in such a small place!
Our meal. Spectacular!
Of course there's a post-dessert coffee course out on the deck!
Our view. Spectacular!
We were invited to a Scottish party the next day at Marco’s country home near Asti! Marco is a show producer and has had a fascination with Scotland since he was a little boy. He (second from left) and a couple of his friends (the other two kilts in the photo) were at our Braida wine tasting and insisted we come to his 28th annual Scottish party the next day. We thought we had hit party pay dirt! As you’ll see, not quite the sophisticated, Euro-chic gathering we expected but still tons of fun.
Men wearing kilts abound but someone should really teach them how to sit in a skirt. Clearly, the woman beside him has it mastered. Europe has very strict privacy laws, hence the redo of this kilt-fail’s face.
Marco usually has a bagpiper but this year he brought in a harpist…
And then the Scottish games began! No Scottish party would be complete without the famous caber toss. In case you’ve never witnessed this, the goal is to carry a very heavy 20 foot pole, run with it, and give it a good toss so that it flips end over end and lands at 12 o’clock. This attempt was a bit shy on height and didn’t manage to flip…
Next up, the ever-classic potato sack race. I did my best but one of the 20-somethings beat me to the finish line.
Monforte d'Alba
On our way back to Braida after our full Scottish experience, we stopped in the beautiful Monforte d’Alba. Who knew we’d land in the middle of the 15th Raduno Alpini in Langa celebrating the heritage and values of the Alpini, Italy’s elite mountain infantry corps. The hats and the music and the dancing, oh my!
We started our return trip to Bologna with a tasting at Michele Chiarlo, known for high quality Piemonte wines. This was our lineup. Excellent wines! And the cheese was so amazing that we drove half an hour out of our way to buy some. Formaggio Montebore from Borgo Affinatori.
Mighty big barrels at Michele Chiarlo…over 5,000 litres of wine in these. They are so big that they actually build them in the room!