The request
My name is A*** and I am from Iceland. We are about 6-8 couples that are interested in a gourmet wine – bike trip in Piedmont. We have drunk a lot of wine from Piedmont in the past and are interested in the region. We are thinking one week.
What do you offer?
The times
It was February 09, 2018, the Icelanders’ holiday took place from 1 to 8 October 2019 … a nice gestation time I would say!
Certainly in the meantime I have followed other customers, but from time to time the emails arrived with requests and suggestions and I answered with proposals and new itineraries to discover Piedmont.
Creating the program
From the outset, it was clear that SlowDays was willing to be used as a local expert. These are the situations I like the most: the client who allows me to propose and range even in lesser-known places and outside the traditional tourist routes.
They told me about wineries with big names like Gaja and Vietti, they told me about bike tours of many kilometers a day, about starred restaurants in short they really wanted to know the best!
I proposed them, since the days available were not very few, to spend a few days in Monferrato: they accepted willingly! They wanted to taste Barolo and Barbaresco at all costs, but I also managed to make them discover Barbera and the sparkling wines of the Langhe!
How did their programme come about?
2 nights in Monferrato in an estate surrounded by greenery with spa and wine cellar and 5 nights in a boutique hotel in the heart of the Langhe, at the foot of the Castle of Grinzane Cavour.
Every day a different experience to discover places and people.
Every day a few kilometers by bike with a local guide prepared and friendly who adapted to their rhythms that usually included uphill flights followed by long stops at the bar: always different routes to discover the Monferrato, the Langhe of Barolo, the High Langa and the Langa of Barbaresco.
The photos in the middle of the vineyards with tastings of the ripe grapes, the amazement in front of the landscapes of the Alta Langa, the gentle hills of Barbaresco to be covered under a blue sky and a beautiful sun to underline the autumn colours of the vineyards… Tasting in a very high level cellar with old vintages and reserves, but also experiences in small and family wineries that I insisted on inserting and that in the end are the ones that most excited them (as always happens anyway!).
For many of them, the first taste of white truffles: and then a search in a beautiful thick forest with truffle dogs and then stories about the truffle and a tasting peasant embellished by the mushroom Albese unique scent.
And then dinners in some of the most prestigious restaurants in the area, interspersed with convivial lunches in the tavern.
The discovery of the Roero together with the owner of a small winery; and a narrated tasting to learn about the wines of the area paired with great Piedmontese cheeses.
In conclusion
All this has been the completion of a long work that has slowly brought me to know better this nice Nordic group; their knowledge has allowed me to create a tailor-made program that has aroused a lot of enthusiasm, far beyond my expectations!
The recipe is only one: I know and love Piedmont, you know what you like and what you want from a holiday … there in the middle is the realization of our project to create unforgettable moments!
8 days flew by, we said goodbye with the promise to see each other again … and once again, customers have become friends!
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