2013 tour dates

In 2013 The Gables will be in Piedmont for the weeks – 6 - 13 July (fully booked) – 13 - 20 July (fully booked)

Tariff: NZ $3,680.00 / person for 7 nights

Tariff includes: accommodation in double bedrooms, each with bathroom, in a private country house (maximum 7 guests) all dinners with wine, pre dinner drinks and nibbles, all breakfasts and 3 lunches. Menus will be designed around the local cuisine and produce organisation of the itinerary and transport in our comfortable, new Renault 9-seater van entrance fees and payments for tastings on the itinerary Pick up: 3pm Asti train station on day of arrival Drop off: 11am Asti train station on day of departure

Alba market

For an itinerary and more information Email LYN AND CHRIS or phone (03) 304 8980

Additional Tours with the Gables

2013 Tuscan Tours please see the TUSCAN TOUR PAGE 2013 Puglia Tours please see the PUGLIA TOUR PAGE Tours are possible for complete groups of 6 people to Emilia-Romagna, the Amalfi Coast or Sardinia. Email Lyn and Chris for more information For information about Lyn, Chris and The Gables B&B see THE GABLES COUNTRY HOUSE PAGE

Poppies & villa

Nieve courtyard

Piedmont Tours 2013

The country house we call home for our tours is in the rolling hillsides covered in vineyards, hazel nut groves, palaces, castles and ancient villages where the Langhe and Monferrato regions of Piedmont meet. Overlooking the charming hilltown of Castiglione Tinella we will enjoy many delicious meals on our terrace by the pool.

Piedmont produces some of the worlds most celebrated wines, cheeses and gourmet delicacies such as the famous white truffle of Alba. The Roman town of Alba became powerful in the Middle Ages but today is a quiet but very elegant country town with wonderful architecture and food shops.

Nearby the equally beautiful town of Bra is the birth-place of the Slow Food Movement started by Carlo Petrini in 1986 in opposition to the opening of McDonalds near the Spanish Steps in Rome. Their motto is for food to be 'good, clean and fair' and it's goal of sustainable foods and promotion of small, local businesses preserving traditional and regional cuisine.

Turin

Turin

In between Alba and Bra is the tiny village of Pollenzo where a restored royal estate is now the University of Gastronomic Sciences, the first to treat food and drink as an academic discipline with 3 year degrees in educating the palate followed by 2 year specialization courses. The Italian Wine Bank is also in this palace.

Turin was Italy's first capital and is certainly a city fit for a king with statues, squares, baroque palaces and castles. With the glorious backdrop of the Alps Turin is more than just the home of Fiat. It is the birth place of Italian cinema and is considered to be the capital of Italian contemporary art and design.

Turin Bar

Wine at Contratto Cantina

With a Cultural Pass it is possible to enter any number of sumptuous Royal Palaces, outstanding museums such as the cinema, the Egyptian (best outside of Cairo) and the automobile museums, wonderful galleries or visit the Shroud of Turin. Stroll the arcaded avenues with stops at the exceptionally elegant cafes for coffee or the famous chocolate and torrone (nougat).

Driving the small roads around the Langhe hills we enjoy the geometry of the vineyards and hazel nut groves draping the hills with panoramic views in every direction. We stop to stroll through many medieval villages dominated by magnificent churches and ancient look-out towers erected to forewarn of saracen invasions. The castles dotted on so many hilltops tell the story of noble families and violent conflict of the past.

Barolo

Canelli Wine Cathedral

Both the beautiful medieval castle of Grinzane Cavour and Barolo are now museums and wine enotecas. With it's raspberry and violet scents the famous Barolo wine is made from the prized Nebbiolo grape. The Barbaresco wine is dry, harmonious and velvety. After an enjoyable wander around the town of Barbaresco we will visit a small cantina to taste the wines with the winemaker.

Another surprise is a visit to the historical underground cellars (or Cathedrals) of the Contratto Winery in Canelli where their exceptional Methode Champenoise is aged.

Join us for a week of much beauty for all of the senses.

Lyn Baynes & Chris Broome

Group at Barolo	View from the pool at the villa
Lunch at villa	Lunch at villa

Guest Comments

I can only say thankyou for a wonderful week here in Castiglione Tinella. Your complete professionalism is faultless - and the fun, friendly atmosphere just made my stay this week as enjoyable as my stay in Tuscany in 2006.

Thankyou so much for another wonderful week satiating the senses in Italy with your delicious cooking, your great driving Chris, the concert and museums, especially the wine and automobile museums. Thankyou most of all for being you.

We have had a great time this week. We enjoyed everything - the location, the villa, the company, the pool and the view! We especially love touring around the area and wandering around the picturesque streets of the old towns. The highlight for us was enjoying your delicious Italian meals. This was all we hoped for. Thankyou for your hospitality. It was wonderful. When we cook Italian at home I am sure we will remember and talk about our great experiences on our 'Italian Food Sabbatical'!

First there was Tuscany, then there was Sardinia and now the wonder and magic of Piedmont. The wine, the sun, the food (oh the food) - we loved every minute, every morsel, every calorie. Our hosts were kind, patient, attentive and anticipated our every need. We love them dearly and feel so lucky to have had the time with them. Bring on Puglia.