Daytripping in the Langhe: Diano d'Alba

They are ripening slowly....

Il Territorio delle Langhe

The Church of St. John the Baptist

The Altar

The Baptistry

The View Over the Village

A Selection of Tasting Wines at the Enoteca Regionale di Diano d'Alba

We were in the mood to do something to increase our wine knowledge yesterday, so we decided to mosey over to the Barolo Valley and visit a couple of the eleven famous villages which produce Nebbiolo of the highest quality -- so high that it can be labeled Barolo D.O.C.G.

One of those villages is Diano d'Alba -- a stone's throw away from Alba and Grinzane Cavour's castello, in the far eastern part of the valley. It is the Barolo-producing town best known for -- Dolcetto?

That's right, Dolcetto.

And I must agree, begrudgingly, the Dolcetto is out of this world. The mineral content of the soil here is especially kind to the high-tannin Dolcetto (which, by the way, has nothing sweet about it, despite how its name is spelled). We hit the regional enoteca and tried a wide variety of Dolcetto from the appellation and were thrilled.

I can only agree begrudgingly because I have been here for six years and was utterly and completely convinced of the superiority of Dolcetto di Dogliani. Now I am not so sure any more. The Superiore, which shortly passes through wood (very shortly - with all that tannin, Dolcetto needs very little warming up), is smooth -- smooth in a way which Dolcetto rarely is.

The town is especially beautiful, and the church of St. John the Baptist is perched at the highest point. It is a spectacular church, and the lookout from this point is literally 360 degrees - the perfect point for viewing all of Piemonte -- from the flatlands to the Alps to the Appenini.

Never without options, always spoiled for choice, Piemonte continues, after all of these years, to astound me in its endless richness and beauty.