Isabella, a friend from St Mark's is from Turin and her parents still live here. Isabella put me in touch with Kate and Angelo who have kindly shown me around for the past two days. On Wednesday they had arranged to play golf and being a non-golfer I was asked whether I would like to come along and when they were out on the course, I might like to swim at the pool. I gratefully accepted this offer as Turin has been very hot over the past couple of days. We went out to Cherasco and after a bowl of white spaghetti (plain spaghetti with olive oil and pepper) they set off to hit a white ball around. I followed for the first 6 holes but once my shirt was soaked in sweat I retired to the pool while they carried on. Incidentally, a family friend of theirs Federico was with them. I sat by the pool reading my book and cooling off every now and again with a swim. Five hours later they returned after their 18 holes and Fedo having won the 10Euro bet on who would win playing stableford. The temperature had hit 40degrees so by the time we headed home all four of us we finished. I came home and cooked up a calzone filled with sliced Italian sausage before drinking litres of water!
Kate and Angelo offered on Thursday (today) to show me around the Langhe region. It is a wine and agriculture region south east of Turin. It was of interest to them because they had just bought a house in Calooso and are in the process of moving from Turin to the country. Heading out on the motor way there was no sign we were close to a wine region. Obviously as the city ended there was more industry and as the industry ended there was more agriculture. However it wasn't until we went through a tunnel that suddenly we were in the vineyards of the Lunghe.
It's a tightly knit area with some family enterprise vineyards only a hectare in size. The soil looks very limey and is the terrain is very undulating and in some cases very steep indeed. The vines were all pruned to form a canopy that was green and tall but very narrow on each trellis. The grapes all hung reasonably low on the vine. There were many old (roman) farm houses scattered around and on nearly every high point was an old church tower or castle. We searched Barbaresco for a coffee and the well known wine bar but like the rest of Italy the town was pretty much closed. Touring through one certainly got a sense that things happened pretty slowly and that not a lot had changed in a long time. The houses were all in good condition and so too the land. It must be close to harvest as it has been a hot winter. Harvesting on such steep land must surely mean hand picking. That is the way of life here. I had in my mind that I might be able to get to some cellar doors but not here. Most growers and makers sell to cooperatives who then distribute on. This is because most places are so small. I don't know they survive economically at all making 10 barrels a year. Some less I’m told.
We arrived in Calosso and after having said hello to the restaurant manager a discussion erupted between Angelo and the restaurateur. Angelo has a question about the tunnels that were set into the back of many of the buildings that served as cool places to cure meat and cheese. Before we knew we were sitting face to face with the mayor of Calosso! The restaurateur went upstairs briefly and arranged that we meet the mayor. For Kate and Angelo this was their first meeting and for me...well I had no idea what was going on. The office was very unassuming. The desk was small and on an angle to the room. An old computer sat on a small desk in the corner while an Italian flat and a European flag hung side by side behind the Mayor. As new house owners in the area they discussed many things with this somewhat dry typical politician. Apparently the town wanted to use their new house for a function later in the year because it had more space due to these tunnels than their venue last year. A lot of hand waving and animated Italian went on before matters were presumably settled and we wandered downstairs to lunch.
Lunch was delicious antipasti of cold roast beef with creamy sauce, roast / dried capsicum with anchovy paste, lardo, finely cut beef fillet tartar with parmesan shavings. For a main Angelo and I each had a plate of veal and sage ravioli. To try some wines and considering the heat we had a go at a local Arneis and local light red. The local reds (Barbaresco and Barolo can be very brutal apparently...in line with a Barossa baseball-bat red). Kate and Angelo ordered dessert out of politeness and while I declined, Kate handed me hers anyway. It was a cold formed cream with berries and lots of icing sugar. Totally delicious. The restaurateur happened to used to own the wine library on the street when I am, Via Monferrato, one of Travis's favourite places.
I have a terrible memory of all the villages we drove through but we headed toward Asti and saw more of the country side. The landscape changed to more open less steep land with more cropping. In fact it was very similar to Piccadilly Valley in the Adelaide Hills. All very beautiful with scattered Italian / Tuscan / Roman farm houses with their terracotta roofs breaking up the green fields. We stopped for a revitalising coke and gelato high on a hill in a village with a big square (I forget the name). It must have been around 40 degrees again as the bitumen and all the stone walls were radiating significant heat around us.
It was home then for a two hour break before dinner. Fedo's mother owns a restaurant called Ponte Vecchio (the bridge in Firenze). It's a classical Italian restaurant favoured by locals with a strong loyalty base. Because of Kate and Angelo's friendship we were seated on the family table. That is, the table where friends and family dine on a nightly basis. The atmosphere was very family based with everyone knowing everyone. All the staff knew those at the table. Another family was seated at the end nonetheless everyone knew everyone. Subsequently the service was exceptional and the food was as authentic as I could hope to imagine. I had a minestrone type relatively (purposely) luke warm soup to start (pasta, beans and a thick creamy tomato sauce. Fredo allowed me to taste his octopus dish. It was so simple with only tomato and chopped red onions with some seasoning and oil. Very light appropriating the heat of the day. For mains Angelo and I shared some fish with sides of potato. All dishes were lathered in olive oil to ensure our bodies were well lubricated. Italian words were flying around the table while Kate did an amazing job of translating between everyone. Fedo loved practicing his English along the way.
We retired to the back table so that everyone could smoke. The back table is the normal family table but because of the low trade during August the family table was moved to the front to make the place look fuller. Mirror neuron marketing for you. The chef was playing cards with a regular. We enjoyed a coffee and a very good vodka. While Kate and I rabbitted on for hours, the others got suitable animated in Italian hand waving and card playing. Soon all the staff and owners were involved; playing cards, smoking and drinking. Kate and I covered numerous topics but one of note was the idea of how much better Italians are at communicating. It's a way of life and creates the stereotype images of the hand waving and what look like constant arguments. Part of that is the family meals consolidated in this case by the 'family table' at Ponte Vecchio.
It was a most enjoyable day and I thank Isabella for arranging that I meet Kate and Angelo. Their hospitality and generosity has been huge and very kind. I am sadly starting to feel at home in Torino. Sad because I leave in under a week and a half.
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