[2005-11-15]

Biking between vineyards in Piemonte, the heart of the "Slow Food" movement in Italy. What means of transport could be better than biking, through Barololand during the truffle season in October?

If you want to survive daily five course dinners with fantastic wines, and grappa to finish them off, during a ten day visit to Piemonte, you need to get some exercise in between. The villages and wine producers are not too long distances apart and you can get a few daily hours of biking in the hilly landscape with fantastic views of the vineyards in autumn colours.

The truffle market in Alba is world famous and people visit from all over the world to inhale the penetrating perfumes of the white truffle. We started out in the town of Bra, having dinner at Osteria Boccondivino, where the Slow Food movement started in 1986 by Carlo Petrini. Then we slowly worked our way around the Barolo district, including an early morning truffle hunt with signore Costa and his truffle dog in Monchiero Alto.