36 participants from the USA, Switzerland, Austria, Japan and France took part in this 4th discovery tour sponsored by the FICB. Staying at the **** Calissano hotel, they went from one discovery to another, discovering wines, gastronomy, history and the incredible landscapes of the Alba region in Piedmont, where the hillsides are planted with vines and the valleys with hazelnut trees.
This wine-growing region, which also produces truffles and hazelnuts, is one of the most beautiful and famous in the world, and was listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2014 (1 year before Champagne and Burgundy, they say with a proud smile here; but 15 years after St-Emilion, for completeness).
See Vineyard Landscape of Piedmont: Langhe-Roero and Monferrato
Langhe (south of Alba), Roero to the west, Monferrato to the north towards Asti, are the three geographical areas of the region. The dominant grape varieties are arneis and moscato for whites, and barbera and nebbiolo for reds. The latter is the source of the prestigious Barbaresco and Barolo (‘il re dei vini, il vino dei re’), produced in just a handful of villages.
The excellence of the region’s wines was established in the mid-19th century, when the Marquise of Barolo called on the French oenologist Louis Oudart, who recognised the potential of nebbiolo and perfected its vinification.
Click here to see the programme
Visits to wine estates, museums, remarkable buildings, tastings, gastronomic meals in prestigious locations: from this litany of discoveries we will retain a few highlights, and to put it bluntly, unforgettable ones.
It all began with a Welcome Dinner at the panoramic Ristorante Antico Podere Tota Virginia in Serralunga d’Alba, a top-of-the-range restaurant run by an oenophile whose cellars contain thousands of bottles.
This 5-course meal, accompanied by 4 wines, was a good foretaste of what was to come.
The castle in the legendary village of Barolo is home to the WiMu Museo del Vino, a unique wine museum featuring the cultural world of wine: its history, and the paintings, sculptures, film extracts and opera arias it has inspired….
After lunch at the Ristorante Garden at the Albergo dell’Agenza in Pollenzo, accompanied by Langhe Arneis and Nebbiolo, we headed to the Banco del Vino for more tastings.
In the evening, we visited the famous Roero Tenuta Carretta cellar in Piobesi d’Alba,
followed by dinner at the estate’s gourmet restaurant,
an opportunity for the Japanese participants to present their upcoming wine discovery tour to Japan in May 2026.
Saturday was devoted to a visit to Alba, punctuated by lunch at the Enoclub where, after a Roero Arneis and a Barbera d’Alba, a Barbaresco 2021 ‘Castello di Verduno’ was served.
In the evening, the highlight of our stay was the Ordine 324th chapter of the tradition, held in the salla delle maschere of the Castello Grinzane Cavour.
This reception hall has a magnificent wooden coffered ceiling built in 1547, decorated with ‘no fewer than 156 masks, i.e. paintings of faces, heraldic coats of arms of the Belli and Donati families, and various allegories, such as representations of animals, a metaphor for human gifts and virtues, and children, a symbol of love, playing various musical instruments’.
The castle itself dates back to the 11th century.
Welcomed by Grand Master Tomaso Zanoletti, surrounded by Bianca Vetrino and the Order’s dignitaries,
the participants heard an actor introducing himself as Louis Oudart, tell the story of the ‘wine of kings’.
Grand Master Tomaso highlighted the progress made in terms of reputation by the vineyard over the last sixty years, which is also demonstrated by the existence of 20 Ordine delegations around the world; Luciano Bertello highlighted the recognized excellence of Piedmontese cuisine, a fusion of peasant and bourgeois cuisine; Ugo Venturini recalled the history and variety of the wines of the Langhe, Roero and Monferrato, which have made Barolo and Barbaresco famous in particular, but also produce sparkling wines (spumante) and aromatized wines (Barolo chinato, vermouth). Finally, he presented the selection process for the great Albese wines, carried out annually for 50 years by Ordine.
Alterati in chiave, a vocal group of eight singers, performed the Knight’s Hymn, composed by Ugo Venturino, based on Salieri’s Imperial Fanfare.
“Alba è qui che guarda la vite al calor del sol
che il vino dà al nostro Cavalier”
The performance, to the tune of “Parole,” was a resounding success.
Several participants were inducted in the Ordine : Sebastien Avanthay, Cheri Cooley-Hick, Kenneth Hick, et William Stefan.
FICB President Marc Lesk was named “Cavaliere Onorario.” He thanked our hosts for their hospitality and organization of the tour, and presented the FICB medal to the organizer, Daniela Ferrero, of the Langhe Experience agency.
He concluded his speech (in Italian) with these words:
“The mission of our International Federation of Bacchic Brotherhoods is to make such events possible, in order to raise international profile of our members’ terroirs and create bonds of friendship between them.
Long live wine, long live the Alba truffle, long live Piedmont, and long live Italy.”
Kenneth Hick of the Oregon Wine Brotherhood gave a speech thanking Alan Bryden, Honorary President of the FICB, for his work during his ten years as President and for his assistance in implementing his brotherhood’s programs; he awarded him the title of Wine Master.
Alan Bryden, in turn, thanked Grand Master Tomaso for his unwavering support, particularly during the difficult Covid period; Bianca Vetrino, for her action and participation in the FICB Bureau where she always made “the voice of reason, pragmatism and tradition” heard; and Giacomo Oddero, oenologist, great producer of Barolo and promoter of the white truffle of Alba, who recently passed away, to whom he had presented the FICB honorary diploma in 2020.
During the dinner, we had the pleasure of meeting Tedd Goldfinger, of the Renaud Society USA, a resident of the region and member of the Order, who, along with Teodora Todorova, presented the wines served that evening, such as this “Barolo DOCG del Comune di Diano D’Alba Contadin 2019 – Bricco Maiolica.”
For a report of this chapter on the ‘Ordine website, click here
For a report of this chapter in the local newspaper Corriere, cliquer ici
The last day of the discovery stay allowed to discover the historic Contratto cellars located in the “underground cathedrals“, where exceptional sparkling wines are produced.
After lunch at Ristorante Enoteca di Canelli Casa Crippa, we headed to Fontanafredda, a famous historic estate in Barolo, born from a morganatic marriage between King Victor Emmanuel II and Rosa Veracellana, known as “Bela Rosin”. Their son, Count Emmanuele di Mirafiore, founded the Fontanafredda wine estate around 1870.
And it was in the estate’s Michelin-starred restaurant, the Guido restaurant, that this wine discovery stay ended with the gala dinner, where many were keen to share the pleasure they had experienced during these 4 days.
Thank you to everyone—organizers, guides, restaurateurs, sommeliers, and participants—for this wonderful stay!
And thanks to the Cavalieri del Tartufo e dei vini de Alba !
For more photos and videos click here
