International White Truffle Festival Alba 2010- Part II
(Visit the 2011 Alba White Truffle festival - click here)
The Alba International White Truffle Festival (Fiera Internazionale del Tartufo Bianco d’Alba 2010) is now over for another year. Everyone seemed in good spirits despite having spent 5 weekends in a row selling their goods, dealing with thousands of people from all over the world. Figures are up on last year, which is good news. This area of Piemonte, including the Langhe, Roero and Monferrato has so much to pull in an international audience.
It was a good year for the truffle too. The largest we saw was just over 1kg (2.2 pounds), valued at €2,500! It must have been a happy dog that found that! You can see it (maybe!) in the photo above.
So what were the highlights of the show for us?
It may seem corny, but it really is the people that make the show. The Langhe people are very special. Then there are their creations! The things that topped our list were hazelnut cakes with no flour, hazelnut liquors, truffle sweets, the wines of course - particularly those of Mossio, Curto and the Scuola Enologica, Alba - the wine school. The cheeses were also amazing. The pyramid shaped Quersonh was fantastic, and very expensive..
But then of course it was mostly about the white truffle. The overwhelming aroma and taste. It's a marvelous creation that's wrapped in prestige all the way from the ground to the dinner plate. We discovered that one of the truffle hunters we met lives in the next village of San Rocco so we've made an appointment to follow along next month and see what's involved in finding this gem. We'll be sure to report on it.
If you missed it be sure to put it in your diary for next year. It always runs through October. It's a great experience we never tire of. Hope to see you in 2011 for the next Alba Truffle Festival.
Here's a video we made of the event..!
