From a short break in Piemonte, but later today comes an even shorter break, in Beaune.
We arrive in heavy thunder, lightning, rain and hail – but then it was over – seemingly the hail not hitting any of the vines. We made no Piedmontese domaine visits, just a tour of some better-known locations – and of course, there was the eating! In a very short summary; I loved Novello and La Morra. Barolo was nice but almost a disappointment after La Morra. Of course, Turin was more than interesting. Alba gets many compliments though perhaps we didn’t find the best parts – it certainly has a nice shopping street in the centre, but Asti, once you get through the suburbs and into the centre, is on a grander scale which I found much more impressive.
Interesting that in Asti, it seems hardly possible to find ‘Spumante’ in good wine-shops. They sell Moscato-Asti though – only about 5-6% alcohol and sweet – but no bubbles!
Finally, it was absolutely the best decision to take the ‘St.Bernard Pass’ instead of the tunnel for our return – simply spectacular – there was too much cloud for this ‘detour’on our way to Italy.
