Important Links

We will be cycling in the Monferrato and Langhe wine areas of Piedmont. It is a generous and friendly land in the north of Italy where you can cycle quiet roads that wind along the steep hills filled with the vines that produce the grapes that make up some of Italy’s best red wines. It’s filled with centuries old culture that offers great wines and a refined gastronomy. Each little town has its own trattoria where it is easy to get a meal that meets the standards set by the great local wines. This is a food lover's paradise.

The area is an intricate weave of hills, landscapes and vast, changing horizons marked by the profiles of towers and castles that can also be divided up by the features that yield up Barolo, Barbaresco, Moscato, and the hazelnut, while the Dolcettos are as varied as the changes in the inflections in the local dialect from hill to hill. The Monferrato is one of the best-known Italian regions due to its age-old history, and its important place in the history of Italy.  This is testified to by its artistic beauties, medieval castles, Romanesque, Gothic and Renaissance churches, baroque monuments, and the works left by artists and poets who were born in this land.

The hills of the upper Monferrato, which includes the Belbo, Bormida, Lerro and Orba valleys, are steeper, with a series of parallel ridges sloping down to the plains of Alessandria. This area's history goes back to feudal days, and to constant conflicts between two centers of power between the Emperor and the Pope. This troubled history has, however, left monuments and castles, which blend perfectly today into an attractive, inviting natural setting. The Monferrato is also an important D.O.C. wine-making region - in particular Grignolino, Freisa, Barberas, Moscatos, Malvasia and Brachetto - while the gastronomy, as in the Langhe, is packed with flavors and worthy of comparison with French cuisine. In fact, it was the Italians from this area of Italy that taught the French how to cook.  In the 15th century, the kings of France mounted several unsuccessful invasions of this part of Italy. Prior to the invasions, French cooking consisted of simple peasant food.

We will cycle from the upper Monferrato to the Le Langhe.  The area consist of an undulating countryside covered with rich expansive fertile vineyards and vast fields of hazelnuts...tiny hilltop villages topped with medieval castles where in the autum the locals hunt for the elusive, delicious and extremely expensive white truffle. For many gourmands around the world, each fall season means only one thing - truffles. This variety of underground fungus is only one of the highly prized foodstuffs to come out of the Langhe. Hazelnuts, wild mushrooms, fine chocolates and full-bodied red Barolo and Barbaresco wines are also staples of this region, which has a long culinary tradition.

But gourmet delights are not all, that the Langhe has to offer. Charming small towns dot the landscape and offer a wealth of architectural and artistic treasures waiting to be discovered by those daring enough to venture "off the beaten track". Unusual folkloric festivals, fabulous antique fairs, and a wide range of different types of accommodations make this the perfect place where you can begin to discover the OTHER Italy.