Friday 14th November 

Having already tracked down exit 6 of Malpensa airport’s terminal 1, we left the restaurant at 19.20 to position ourselves there and soon found Doris Lau Parry, who describes herself as a global nomad, lives in Chiswick and writes a weekly column for the Hong Kong Times.   

Melania Battiston arrived soon after, a young Italian Sommelier, based in a Chelsea restaurant, grumpy that she hadn’t been collected from Terminal 2; and to our relief, the plane from Warsaw arrived only six minutes late and at 19.30 journalists Katarzyna Maciejews (Polish with Italian mother tongue), and Mona Haugen Kind (from Trondheim, owner of a Wine, Spirits and Travel magazine) joined us. 

Meanwhile Kristofor, our driver, was circling, waiting for us to appear.  It eventually dawned on me that he couldn’t possibly park, so the group reluctantly braved the rain – outside. It was a straight-forward if long drive, interrupted by a stop to enable those who hadn’t read their emails to buy food.

Kristofor drove us to Vignale Monferrato, and we arrived in the dark at 21.30 to stay for two nights in Ca’ dell’Ebbro, the accommodation alongside the Hic et Nunc winery, who were to host the final masterclass on Sunday.  

It is always interesting to see how groups ‘form’ – or don’t! One of the group made for the front seat and didn’t relinquish it for the whole weekend. The fear of car sickness clearly blocks out any thought that others might also suffer. Another obstacle to bonding was the marked difference between those who keep to time, and those who are always late. Some listen carefully; some like to hear themselves and be heard. Some ignore the contribution of the host despite understanding the language, others didn’t, so made their own noisy entertainment.  Classic if trying behaviours! 

Saturday 15 November

Breakfast was at 08.00, followed by departure at 08.45, driven by Maurizio, the owner not only of the minibus but also a thriving wine experience business at Cantine Vellano in Camino (complete with a very popular spa and Le Botti Bistrot) which we visited first. He was a natural communicator and spoke good English, and a former rally driver. Despite being 64, he was irrepressible. Our guide was Juri, an employee of one of the wineries, whose English was excellent, who tried hard to keep everyone both happy and on task. It was like herding cats!

The weather had changed from bright and sunny, and we drove through atmospheric low cloud which obscured everything. It was disappointing for the organisers, and the landscape was completely blanketed for the whole weekend… It’s autumn… 

A younger employee showed us around the family’s historic cantina and home, preserved like a museum, before heading to Crea and the Tenuta La Tenaglia

The masterclass on Grignolino was conducted by a sommelier whose English was not expansive, so we had alot of ‘spice, fru-it and berries’. We learned later that it had been agreed that no single winery would offer a tasting, but only show alongside all the other producers at the masterclass. This caused some annoyance to those used to tasting at the cantinas as they visit.

The Sacro Monte di Crea, a UNESCO heritage site is topped by a sanctuary of some significance, and a special Mass was ending as we went in the rain to peer into the famous church. Alongside the crowds of pilgrims, we bumped into the bewildered Bishop as he strode out of the church into the square after presiding at Mass.  It is a Jubilee Year of Hope, and many ordinary people were there to take part in today’s celebration, despite the rain and the mist. 

The sanctuary venerates the Virgin of Crea:  a wooden sculpture of the Madonna with Child, which is traditionally attributed to 4th century Eusebius of Vercelli but technique and materials suggest 14th century. It is remarkably similar to those we saw in the Abadia Sant’Antimo, and in Montalcino museum (see my blog of  Radda and Montalcino 1 – 5 September 2025). 

David managed to taka a photo of it (centre), I snapped a reproduction complete with electric candles, (left) and wikipaedia has a version in her Sunday best (right).

It is remarkably similar to those we saw in the Abadia Sant’Antimo (above right) and in Montalcino museum (see my blog of  Radda and Montalcino 1 – 5 September 2025). The survival of these wooden sculptures is in itself well nigh miraculous! 

We had a delightful if noisy lunch, in the fine ristorante Crea in the piazza Santuario, sitting with Francesca and Julia ( shown below holding her 2023 Grignolino – the only un-oaked example who had been the first to contribute to the tasting). They were keen to demonstrate the collaboration for which they aim. The younger generation intend to work together, not against each other. 

As the afternoon grew darker, and the rain returned, we drove to Castello di Gabiano to be greeted by Elisabetta, and to be shown the cellars with their very old bottles by the Marchese himself. He was warm to us, remembering our earlier visit when in contrast, the weather was spectacularly good and the views from the castle’s turret stretched for 40 Km over the river Po (see the blog Piemonte 13 – September 2022). He was intrigued by my memory of his driving to Milan for the Opera immediately after our meeting. Which one? he  asked….

It was dark by the time we walked to their restaurant and so-called agriturismo for another masterclass this time on Barbera di Monferrato DOCG, at which the marchese spoke. This was followed by the Truffle Sensory Seminar given by one of the judges of the truffles’ quality who will be busy tomorrow at the Murisengo truffle fair. 

The apericena which followed was a feast of myriad antipasti to be enjoyed with the producers. We had the company of the Marchese, and Mona.  We made the mistake – again – of imagining this was the whole meal. Of course, a risotto followed decorated with aromatic if tasteless truffles, and the panna cotta was indescribably gorgeous. We left around 21.00 to drive back to Ca’ dell’Ebbro. 

Sunday 16 November

Luggage was left in the rooms, as we boarded Maurizio’s bus once more to drive from Vignale to Castello d’Uviglie for a visit to its winery and extraordinary underground quarry of the soft local limestone. It stretches for several kilometres underground and despite being closed in 1937 remains the only one accessible out of 157 in Piemonte alone. It makes a very startling art gallery! There are more photos of it in the blog Piemonte 13 – September 2022.

Francesco, uncle of Francesca who led the visit, is an artist and architect, who oversaw the renovation of the large, stylish working cellar. It is his art which graces the tunnels, and he curates the small exhibitions which are held within the winery. 

It is a family concern, which has lately rationalised its two lines into one, leaving behind the Gonzago brand in favour of the newer Castello d’Uviglie. Francesco’s brother is now the wine-maker; their parents are taking a back seat! Francesca is on the right, below.

We drove on to Murisengo Monferrato for the truffle fair. We were dropped at the bottom of the old town with instructions to reassemble there at 13.00, after some serious argy-bargy with the local police marshalling traffic. We continued on foot through the fair, to Piazza della Vittoria (truffle area), continued to the artisan section, climbed to the very top of town to see the church and castle, and returned to a cafe for David’s morning coffee. 

Needless to say, half the group were late for the rendezvous, putting serious pressure on the afternoon’s activities, which involved a delicious if rushed light lunch in Vignale, at Hic et Nunc, followed by a final Masterclass. 

We were fortunate in that Elisabtta had offered to drive us to Caluso. As the tasting wound down, and farewells and thanks completed, private deals for lifts were struck by one or two attendees; Mona was bound for Milan to watch Norway beat Italy 4 – 1; Melania coaxed a friend into driving to Malpensa later, and Doris hitched a lift to Gabbiano with Elisabetta, not realising she would have to travel via Caluso first. Thank you, kind Elisabetta!