{"id":8361,"date":"2025-06-10T17:55:57","date_gmt":"2025-06-10T15:55:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/winebrotherhoods.org\/?p=8361"},"modified":"2025-06-11T10:12:54","modified_gmt":"2025-06-11T08:12:54","slug":"a-look-back-at-the-wine-discovery-tour-patronned-by-the-ficb-to-alba-piedmont-italy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/winebrotherhoods.org\/en\/2025\/06\/10\/a-look-back-at-the-wine-discovery-tour-patronned-by-the-ficb-to-alba-piedmont-italy\/","title":{"rendered":"A look back at the wine discovery tour patronned by the FICB to Alba (Piedmont, Italy)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

See Vineyard Landscape of Piedmont: Langhe-Roero and Monferrato<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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 (\u2018il re dei vini, il vino dei re\u2019), produced in just a handful of villages. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Click here to see the programme<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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view of the vineyards at sunset<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It all began with a Welcome Dinner<\/strong> at the panoramic Ristorante Antico Podere Tota Virginia<\/strong> <\/a>in Serralunga d’Alba, a top-of-the-range restaurant run by an oenophile whose cellars contain thousands of bottles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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https:\/\/totavirginia.com\/cantina\/<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This 5-course meal, accompanied by 4 wines, was a good foretaste of what was to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The castle in the legendary village of Barolo is home to the WiMu Museo del Vino<\/a>, a unique wine museum featuring the cultural world of wine: its history, and the paintings, sculptures, film extracts and opera arias it has inspired….<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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the WiMu divine bar<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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a view from the castle<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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bacchanale, by Sophie Dickens<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

After lunch at the Ristorante Garden at the Albergo dell’Agenza in Pollenzo<\/a>, accompanied by Langhe Arneis and Nebbiolo, we headed to the Banco del Vino<\/a> for more tastings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In the evening, we visited the famous Roero Tenuta Carretta cellar in Piobesi d’Alba,<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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followed by dinner at the estate’s gourmet restaurant, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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an opportunity for the Japanese participants to present their upcoming wine discovery tour to Japan in May 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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from left to right : Akihiko, Takeshi, Keiko<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Saturday was devoted to a visit to Alba, punctuated by lunch at the Enoclub<\/a> where, after a Roero Arneis and a Barbera d’Alba, a Barbaresco 2021 \u2018Castello di Verduno\u2019 was served.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In the evening, the highlight of our stay was the Ordine 324th chapter of the tradition, held in the salla delle maschere<\/em> of the Castello Grinzane Cavour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This reception hall has a magnificent wooden coffered ceiling built in 1547, decorated with \u2018no 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\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The castle itself dates back to the 11th century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Welcomed by Grand Master Tomaso Zanoletti, surrounded by Bianca Vetrino and the Order’s dignitaries, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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the participants heard an actor introducing himself as Louis Oudart, tell the story of the \u2018wine of kings\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ugo Venturino<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Alterati in chiave, a vocal group of eight singers, performed the Knight’s Hymn, composed by Ugo Venturino, based on Salieri’s Imperial Fanfare<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The performance, to the tune of “Parole,” was a resounding success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n