Tuesday 11 November 

We collected the hire car from Budget, half a mile from our hotel, not especially pleased to have been upgraded to a larger car; in our experience, smaller suits our needs better. In this case, the hybrid MG proved very reluctant to start, and we lost half an hour faffing. Eventually the petrol engine kicked in, and with hearts in our mouths, we set off, first to collect the luggage from the hotel (a detail I had forgotten in that moment) and then to drive south along the lake to Arona, before turning ‘inland’ for Borgomanero, then on to Romagnano to cross the Sesia, and thence to Gattinara. 

Already late, and pre-warned by Simona that parking would be problematic as the Fiera di San Martino would mean the whole of old Gattinara was closed to all traffic, we nearly found ourselves gridlocked on a very back street. Lucky to extricate ourselves from that, I offered to try to park the car so that David could make his 11.00 appointment at the Enoteca regionale in the Villa Paolotti; before we could stop to make the swap, David was flagged down by two guys in their Polizia car, and we spent another precious 15 minutes waiting for them to process our papers. 

David easily made it on foot to his meeting. I drove very gingerly for another kilometre on the main road which encircles Gattinara, then spotted a small car park behind a bus turnaround, to which I headed. It was full, but mercifully a car was leaving and five minutes later I was heading to La Pitta tugging one case over the rough pavements through the crowds. 

La Pitta is tucked off the main drag, formerly one of hundreds of yards with a fierce huge wooden door on the street, behind which the buildings go back at right angles to the road. A narrow footprint stretching back to what were farm out buildings no doubt with chickens, a pig, hay loft, grain stores and a cellar. Simona not only runs a hairdressers on the street side, but a ‘guest house’ with a fifth en suite room added since our last visit AND a restaurant. She is incredibly enterprising.  (Delsinore is just down the street where Stefano has turned his family’s space into a mini-winery) 

Having made contact with Simona, and left one case, I joined David in a separate room under the archway leading to the restaurant in the Villa Paolotti. Massimo, of the enoteca, had tasked a colleague to let David in, and he set out glasses and spittoons. An almost perfect arrangement – only the loo is key-bound, but the Caffe Firenze is on hand, with wifi, and as hospitable as ever. 

Simona had kept a table for our lunch, and like most of the town she had opened specially for the Fiera. There was an incredibly noisy table alongside us, but we had finished by 15.00 when David’s next producer was due. The town was still heaving when I walked once again to rescue David’s case from the car park on Piazza G Manzini, before having a short rest, until David returned from his afternoon appointment. So far, so good! 

 David was cold and keen to buy another layer. We found a classy shop nearby run by two mature women, who shared their ‘finger food’ with us, and the remains of a Delsinore sparkling Rosato, in place for the Fiera, while David selected a brown jumper made in Italy – from Shetland wool!

We returned to the car to move it to a more salubrious car park on the Via Piave nearer the town centre. The rubbish clearing was underway but the barriers remained. 

We ate at Soggiorno – alongside another noisy table with the women as vocal as their spouses. A 2016 Ghemme was delicious, and made up for last night’s disappointing Franz Haas’ Schiava. We slept comfortably in the newest very smart room in Simona’s collection, though the narrow balcony walk way two floors up is challenging. Last year we had witnessed (hearing the drilling through the walls of no. 3)  the creating of its bathroom and room space out of the hayloft.

Wednesday 12 November

David had two appointments this morning from 09.30 but first we had coffee and croissants in the Caffe Firenze. I settled down to write this while Andrea talked about Le Pianelle’s wines. (He had driven us around the vineyards last year) and when Giacomo from Le Piane (Cristoff is in Canada)  arrived at 10.30 I took cover in the café once more. The sun has shone everyday so far! 

At 11.45 we drove to Villa Guelpa, (see Piemonte 10 in May 2022) where Daniele’s wife greeted us and showed us to the dining room laid out for a tasting. We gathered their large family are thriving with older sons working in the business, another a sommelier and another reading history at University in Rome; their younger children are all now at the local school. 

Daniele took some time to return from the cantina where a number of disabled students were involved in aspects of the winery’s work, and their two mentors joined us all for a light lunch. He set the table and we all enjoyed a delicious simple spaghetti dish and while David tasted the wines presented by the son, the rest of us simply enjoying them with lunch. 

Daniele, keen to see changes in the denomination’s rules and attitudes, expressed much frustration with his conservative peers, but he is a kind man, which comes through despite his bombastic exterior. His eldest son, a slimmer, younger and more handsome version who works alongside him, tells me all goes well – which is not always the case where families are concerned. 

The young man is repairing an old tractor. I hoped he might help explain the car’s strange starting issues, but ‘electric’ is beyond him too – the second relatively young male forswearing new-fangled technology (yesterday Luca from Paitin said he was as confused as we are!) 

We left Lessona and drove back to Gattinara listing out-liers and loose ends. We surprised Alessia (above left) by dropping into Travaglini without warning, but she rose to the challenge graciously and served us with the two wines David had not tasted at Stresa, and we caught up with their business news. She travels to Korea next week, having only just returned from the US and Canada; a relentless ambassador for the family brand. 

From Travaglini we returned to the town enjoyed a cioccolata calda con panna before dropping in on Giancarlo Petterino in his extraordinary courtyard. He was waiting at the gate, and instead of handing over a bottle for us to taste at our leisure and as important, at the correct temperature, as he had suggested, we instead tasted the 2016 from the cask (fibre glass) which he plans to bottle tomorrow.  We saw his equally old but seriously stooping brother on the first floor balcony seeing to his dozen hens as the light failed and the cool air came down. We hope to see them again….

Back to base camp for a rest, more writing up for me, and a walk with podcasts for David, before supper at Caffe Firenze; the renovation of Il Vignetto’s place is not quite finished. We were served by an enthusiastic, fast-talking youth in the almost empty Magnolia; a shared sort of fish stew with a thin pizza like pie top, followed by some pork and a squash vellutata, washed down with a bottle of Timorasso. The large electronically controlled gas fire centre piece was very effective; we were very warm, very quickly. 

Thursday 13 November 

Another breakfast in the Caffe Firenze (which will put me off cold croissants for life) preceded a drive first to the supermarket for nuts and bananas before racing to Nervi for 10.00 to meet Elisa again, to taste the latest releases. She was interested in the Nebbia e Luce model though ‘Mr Conterno is not planning to work with them’ (and why would he? His wines are mostly allocated).  

She was even more interested to hear about our visit to Petterino yesterday and plans to ask Stefano of Delsinore to introduce her; our prospective visit to La Piemontina (Russian owned, and dodgy, according to Daniele) and the issues facing Cantelupo, about whose size (35 hectares) she had no idea. She was less formal than in the past. We were privileged to be present at a first: a corked Conterno bottle which she had never previously experienced! 

Titiana (who we think is Russian but speaks excellent if quiet English and Italian) was surprised to see us, there having been a muddle over days, but Stefano (hospitality) willingly took over the tour of La Piedmontina. From the terrace we viewed the sweep of vineyards all around, the botti-shaped hospitality pods, the site of the future restaurant, spa and suites, and the cantina itself.

I counted 25 new Stockinger botti and 3 fermenters for the reds, several other large botti and many inox tanks already in place, though several vineyards are not yet ready for production. This project must have sunk hundreds of millions of euros; questions of its provenance remain.

The (Russian) chef produced delicious funghi porcini risotto for us to eat as David tasted. We learned that he took a while to master risotto Italian style, despite other culinary triumphs. 

We left with a few minutes to spare before meeting Angela of Cantalupo in Ghemme at 14.00, which lies to the east, below La Piemontina’s plateau. Our car briefly blocked the movement of a massive lorry backing into the grounds to collect a pallet of their wines. It was huge! Alberto was ambling through the buildings during our visit, not looking especially frail but definitely vague. It is difficult to predict the future of the winery – the family situation is complex; Angela soldiers on. 

With time on our hands David suggested a stop at Ghemme’s castello, which turns out to be very unusual. Built in brick in the 1300s, its boundary surrounded medieval streets in which at least three wineries still operate. As luck would have it, Rachele, the daughter of Rovellotti, at work in their office, recognised David from Stresa, and excitedly showed us around the various cellars along the street, each with a different function and family association. 

The sorting table stands in the street, and the pipes carry the wines from cellar to cellar – along the street – as the grapes are processed at harvest. And it is still possible to see the line of the castle’s outer walls (now incorporated in buildings of every century) on all four sides, in the middle of which this medieval street sits. 

We stopped in the bar of the main square for a drink. It was filled with men finishing work, a group of retirees, and an old dotty man making a nuisance of himself, served by a silent Chinese patron. 

We drove back to Gattinara in the dusk, the roads busy with returning workers, stopping briefly at Antoniolo’s wine shop in pursuit of Patriarca’s wine. Unsuccessful. 

Supper was at Villa Paolotti, which never disappoints. We turned down the speciality dish – donkey – and ate excellent if more conventional fare with only our friendly hostess and her husband chef for company. November is a quiet month…

Friday 14 November 

We left Simona and La Pitta and after a quick breakfast (coffee and crisps!) set off for a morning at Proprietà Sperino in the new winery in Lessona.  Luca dei Marchi, as excitable, welcoming and energetic as ever, is anxious about the future of Lessona wines after four difficult (out of the five previous) harvests. He is always interesting; reflective, imaginative and enterprising. We have learned a lot from Luca, especially about the geology and distinctive soils of Lessona, in relation to the other denominations, and his investment of time and money in the building, and in the economy of the area is impressive.

David had contacted Ioppa whose wines he had tasted in Stresa, but whose very new and impressive winery just above the Romagnano Sesia/Ghemme road SP299, we had not seen. We arrived at 14.30 after a hasty lunch in Gattinara’s Firenze Caffe (again) and were greeted by Andrea, the very articulate comms person whose English was excellent, and who showed us around and provided other wines to taste.

The winery is well positioned on the brow of the hill, just out of town, with plenty of space and a new roundabout 100m away which leads directly to the motorway. Trees blocking sight of the winery from the roundabout were being felled even as we looked. Ioppa is going places and clearly wants to be seen!

We set off at 16.00 to drive to Malpensa; the alternative to the motorway was barely longer and took us east through a landscape of meadows and woodland eventually dropping down to the meandering Ticino river, on the other side of which lies Malpensa airport. We spotted a petrol station shortly before arriving which wasn’t self service, and after an extra circuit of the web of roads, we spotted the Avis car hire sign on the right, and arrived safely. Always a relief. 

The restaurants are on the top floor of the massive terminal one of Malpensa airport. We settled for a beer, a prawn salad and a parmigiana, before going in search of our fellow travellers, and the transfer driver at exit six of Arrivals at 19.30, as instructed by our next hosts, Elisabetta of the Colline del Monferrato Casalese consorzio, who were keen for David to attend.