Its All About the Wine…
Vinum
‘The formula of Vinum is based on a city that embraces its excellence and reveals it through its streets and along its squares’.
We didn’t get to Vinum last year but with a friend visiting from Down Under, we made sure we went this year. Vinum is a big wine expo which fills several big piazze with wine tents, local food and some handcrafts. Alba is full of wine experts and those, like us, who just enjoy a day out with a wine glass around our necks and the opportunity to taste something new or even just the latest vintage. We are having a quiet season his year so it wasn’t as busy as previous years but we still got to taste a few wines we had never tried. And this year there was a bigger Grappa presence too. Always an adventure! We introduced our friend to one of our favourite spots for aperitivo. Di Gustibus never disappoints. On warmer days, it is our ‘people watching’ perch outside in the sun. This year, we were comfortably cosy inside with lovely apertivo and a few wines to finish off the day.
Cantina Angelo Negro
We are always up for a wine tasting. Angelo Negro is one of the big cantinas with a great reputation. It is in Roero, so not The Langhe, it is on the other side of the autostrada and about a 30 minute drive from our home. In comparison to The Langhe, Roero wines have very different flavours. The soil of Roero is a huge contrast to what you find on ‘our side’. Roero soil is very sandy and full of limestone, shells and little fossils from millions of years ago so the wine tends to be lighter. The cellars of Angelo Negro are constructed with basalt tiled floors to keep temperatures steady and high coved red brick ceilings which make the tour a must for visitors. The owners are very proud of their wines, as they should be, and are so very welcoming. Tastings are generous, very informative and inclusive of everyone without too much information to scare off the novices. It is always a pleasure to visit Angelo Negro to taste their latest vintages and to get another chance to see their wonderful property.
Barbaresco at the table
This year’s Barbaresco Blind Tasting at Taste (Tuss-teh) was completely different to last year’s. Our usual gang got together for the event but this time, as the weather was quite cool, we were seated in the cellar. The food was excellent (no surprise) and we all enjoyed tasting 20 new Barbarescos from this beautiful part of the world. There are always a few surprises with wine tasting and its great fun when we find out at the end of the evening whose wines we have either enjoyed or not. Its good being a novice at this as, while we are all gaining experience and knowledge on the intricacies of wine, we are also learning so much from listening to the views of experts around us. A great night was had by all. Now we look forward to seeing the 2021 Barbaresco on the shelves.
Vinum – usually held over the last two weekends of April, encompassing several of the largest piazze of Alba and showcasing local and regional wines and grappas.
Cantina Angelo Negro - Frazione Sant’Anna 1, CN 12040, Monteu, Roero
Barbaresco Blind Tasting at Taste – usually held on the 3 last Fridays of May