Food and wine tourism in Piedmont
Three local treasures for you: discover hazelnuts, Castelmagno and agnolotti with us!
Have you ever visited a place not only for its architecture and history? Have you discovered how much tradition and how many stories surround its food—and how the pleasures of the table and the richness of its cuisine can make you fall in love with a destination?
This kind of travel is known as food and wine tourism: exploring places you have never seen before not only in the traditional way, but through restaurants, wineries and food producers open to visitors, all offering dishes and products typical of the area.
It does not matter if you have never tried it before: you are in exactly the right place. Piedmont is the perfect starting point.
Our region is extraordinarily rich in outstanding food and wine across every category: wines, cheeses, fruit, vegetables, honey, preserves and much more.
Today we introduce three Piedmontese specialities, a perfect gateway into food and wine tourism. Begin tasting—even if only virtually—a few treasures from our beautiful region:
1. PGI Piedmont Hazelnut
This fruit helped make Piedmont famous. Its story begins in Turin, where an early nineteenth-century chocolatier used it to develop the recipe for gianduja. From then on, the hazelnut revealed its exceptional potential in pastry-making and later in the confectionery industry. It is the foundation of many Piedmontese desserts: hazelnut cake, Brût e Bon, baci di dama, biscuits and chocolate-hazelnut spreads—does one particular name spring to mind? The variety grown in Piedmont is the Tonda Gentile Trilobata, named after the nut’s three distinct lobes. It is produced mainly in the provinces of Cuneo, Asti and Alessandria. Here is the website of the Piedmont Hazelnut Consortium.
2. PDO Castelmagno
Castelmagno is a pressed, semi-hard cheese made from raw cow’s milk, sometimes with 5–20% sheep’s and/or goat’s milk. It can carry one of two additional designations: when made above 600 metres, it is labelled Mountain Product; when made above 1,000 metres, it may also be labelled Alpine Pasture Product. The latter is produced between May and October.
It belongs to the family of blue cheeses, whose paste contains special moulds of the Penicillium genus. Its name comes from the San Magno Sanctuary in the municipality of the same name in the province of Cuneo. PDO Castelmagno may be produced only in Castelmagno, Pradleves and Monterosso Grana.
This cheese appears in many Piedmontese recipes, including gnocchi with Castelmagno and Castelmagno risotto. It can also be served with lime or oak honey. In the mountains it is used to make delicious fondue, wonderful over a vegetable flan or simply with toasted bread. Hungry yet? We will save you a plate of gnocchi at the SlowDays table!
3. Piedmontese agnolotti and agnolotti del plin
This is the most sought-after stuffed pasta on a food tour of Piedmontese restaurants. Everyone will recommend it, and you simply cannot visit without trying it. Agnolotti are the one must-have among all the dishes you may be offered. Their traditional shape is square, with the filling enclosed between two sheets of egg pasta. What distinguishes them from other Italian stuffed pasta is the use of roast meat in the filling. Few people know that Piedmontese agnolotti appear on the official list of Traditional Italian Food Products and are protected by Piedmont regional specifications. There are four traditional ways to enjoy them:
- With roast-meat gravy—divine
- With butter, sage and Grana Padano or Parmigiano Reggiano—sublime
- With Piedmontese meat ragù—mouth-watering
- In meat broth—a comforting treat
And do not miss the del plin version. Plin literally means “pinch”: these tiny agnolotti are sealed with their characteristic hand-made pinch, concentrating all the flavour of tradition!
I hope I have not made you ravenously hungry, but if I have, there is a remedy. Come to Piedmont and join us for a tour of Piedmontese specialities, such as one of our Piedmont wine and food tours.
The Langhe are about much more than wine. This article is intended to spark your curiosity and invite you to our wonderful region. Piedmont is waiting for you at the table.
If you are interested in a food and wine tour, contact me.
I can create a tour for you and your friends focused on the local specialities that intrigue you most. You might even choose a wonderful Piedmontese cookery class followed by a tasting. Everything is possible when your guide knows these places well. I look forward to welcoming you!
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