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Italy Gourmet food and wine information - Index | Aosta Valley | Piedmont | Lombardy | Trentino-Alto Adige / Südtirol | Friuli-Venezia Giulia | Venetia (Veneto) | Liguria | Emilia Romagna | Tuscany | Umbria | Marche | Abruzzo | Lazio | Campania | Molise | Basilicata | Apulia | Calabria | Sicily | Sardinia

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Lowland Piedmont is a fertile agricultural region, and Piedmont is one of the great winegrowing regions in Italy. Major industrial heritage centres, notably Turin, home to the FIAT factories are here (various tours possible on that theme). The outstanding quality of Piedmontese local produce and the region's sumptuous culinary traditions are the living embodiment of the culture of living well. Over the last twenty years agriculture in Piedmont has cut back on quantity and opted for specialising in traditional select produce: from the great Piedmontese red wines (Barolo and Barbaresco, but also the Barbera boom or the reds from Northern Piedmont, to name but a few) to the whites and spumante of the Asti area; from Razza piemontese beef to the protection of particular varieties of Vercelli rice; from the asparagus of Santena to the small productions of traditional Alpine cheeses; from the Tonda Gentile hazelnuts grown in the Langhe area, to the medicinal herbs. All this work has enriched an already exceptional panorama of products, which goes far beyond the usual pairing of Barolo and the White Truffle of Alba. On your gourmet tour to Piedmont, your tour guide will introduce you to the following culinary specialties and recipes, and to the following wines and liqueurs:

White truffles from Alba

Rice from Vercelli for risotto; made with beef stock, veal bone marrow and saffron

Castelmagno cheese is a cylindrical pressed, semi-fat semi-hard cheese tinged with blue mold

Robiola from Murazzano is a creamy fresh cheese great with olive oil and fresh herbs

Chocolate and bicerin is the signature blend of coffee, milk and chocolate

Barolo - (DOCG) red

Barbaresco - (DOCG) red

Barbera - (DOC) red

Nebbiolo - (DOC) redDolcetto - (DOC) red

Asti Spumante - (DOCG) a sweet white sparkling wine

Piedmont's development has been accompanied by a radical evolution in the approach of agriculture, the catering industry and also the public, a genuine 'cultural revolution', which the Slow Food movement has definitely had a hand in. As you will learn on your tour, Slow Food is an international association dedicated to promoting local food and wine cultures, which is based in Bra (Cuneo) and has 70,000 members in over 50 countries. Slow Food organises training courses and tasting sessions, has promoted a more mature model for the food and wine sector, and has set about protecting traditional products, even those which are lesser known, by means of a system of dedicated organisations. And with the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo, conceived and set up by Slow Food with the backing of the Piedmont Region, the world of good food will also have a centre for training and culture, the only one of its kind globally. As a whole, this process has turned Piedmontese food and wine into a great export: the food industry exports goods to the value of 2397 million Euros, against imports of 2227 million Euros, and this positive balance is constantly growing, at a rate of nearly 7%. But the food and wine industry is also of vital importance for tourism. Those who favour the culture of living well have a number of very good reasons to visit Piedmont. If you wish a private Italy tour customised to include Piedmont gourmet foods and wines, please enquire; at A La Carte Italy Tours we will be delighted to design a special itinerary for your privately guided tour.