Then comes the tasting.

Sensory analysis: an education for the nose. Here, you learn to recognise an exceptional truffle: by its firmness, its maturity, the layers of its aroma unfolding one after another.

Cooking shows: renowned chefs at the stove, the truffle always raw, shaved paper-thin over something simple and warm. Butter, egg, pasta. It rarely needs anything more.

The grand AIS Piemonte enoteca: wines from the Langhe, Roero and Monferrato, poured by sommeliers. Nebbiolo, Barbaresco, Barolo, alongside the fine bubbles of Alta Langa.

Into the woods with the trifulau

The finest story is written by the forest. A trifulau and his dog, a path through the Langhe, knowledge passed down here for generations, from father to daughter, grandfather to grandson. The best spots remain family secrets. You walk slowly, look, wait, follow a nose a thousand times keener than your own. And when the dog suddenly stops, the whole forest holds its breath.

And afterwards: Barolo.

La Morra, Barolo, Monforte d’Alba, Serralunga. The great names lie just a short drive from Alba, hill upon hill, the rows of vines golden yellow and rust red in October. A private tasting at a carefully chosen winery, the cellar cool, the wine garnet in the glass, rose, tar and dried cherry on the nose. For lunch, tajarin al burro, Piedmont’s fine, yolk-yellow ribbons of pasta, topped with freshly shaved white truffle, its aroma blossoming in the warmth of the butter. One plate, one glass, a long, lingering lunch.

Giornale di Viaggio

When the earth begins to release its scent

Eighty Summers on Two Wheels

In Palladio’s footsteps