Allison's Wonderland

There are so many good reasons to live in Italy for awhile, but number one being, it gives me the opportunity to see the Italy that most tourists don’t get to see. And that’s exactly what I did this past weekend. I probably would’ve never gone to Italian Wine Country if I had not taken this Au Pair job.

I love St. Patty’s Day. I don’t know why, but I just do. This past weekend, Mattia’s Nonne came into town and so lucky for me, I had the weekend off. The luck of the Irish I guess!  Jess and I decided to spend our St. Patrick’s Day in Alba. If you’re not familiar with Italian wine, Alba and its surrounding areas are pretty much the wine capital of Italy. We had a beautiful day and set off in the Zom mobile around 11:00. Our first stop was the Ferrero Rochere factory. The guy who owns Ferrero is the richest man in Italy at the moment. I guess you can make quite a bit of money off of chocolate. Ferrero also makes Nutella and Kinder Bars. Like I said we had to stop because I am OBSESSED with Nutella. I walked into the factory and asked the lady at the desk if we could see around. I read earlier on the internet that it was pretty much impossible to get into the place, but I had to try. She looked at me like I was the biggest idiot in the world and said, “NO VISITORS”. Whatevs! At least I got to sniff the lobby and that in itself was a treat.

After the disappointing news we headed to the center of Alba where we found the information booth. I wanted to see Fontana Fredda so bad which is known as “The King’s Winery”. Ever since Simona went to this particular vineyard in November, I’ve had a hankering to go. Our nice little reservation helper was on the phone for about 5 minutes before she told us that they open at 3:30. It was only 1 so we had some serious time to kill. She circled several other wineries in the surrounding areas that allow drop in visitors without an appointment. I discovered on our little day trip, Italians take their wine super seriously. Jess and I walked around Alba, grabbed a coffee and stuck our head in some churches. The one I wanted to go into really bad was closed. It boasted of having a tower with 360 degree views of Alba. Let down! Alba is based at the bottom of the Lunghe Hills and the views are simply spectacular. We saw about a million cyclists when we were driving and I envied them so bad. Cycling through vineyards would be a pretty awesome way to spend the day.

The lady told us about this little place in Barberesco that spoke English and did tastings, so we drove. I didn't know Barberesco would be so picturesque but it was stunning. It's a little tiny town on the top of a hill with this beautiful clock tower. There was an elevator to take up to the top but when we got to it, it was locked. Ugh! I just wanted to go to the top of a tower! Jess tried picking it with a bobby pin from my hair but it just didn't work. We walked around and saw several Michelin rated restaurants. I want to go back and have a proper dinner there so bad! The area is not only known for wine but is known for truffles, hazelnuts, and the Slow Food Movement.

It was so funny because Jess and I were surrounded by wineries and vineyards but we couldn't seem to actually find a winery to go too. That's when we stumbled upon Cascina dell Rose which was one of the ones we wanted to see from the beginning. We met Ricardo who was around Jess & I's age and was SOO nice! He worked and lived at the winery along with his parents and his brother who were actually in NYC on a wine conference. He was so knowledgeable and showed us all around the place. The winery was pretty small and only produced about 16,000 to 18,000 bottles of wine per year. The wine was housed in these huge wooden vats. He told us that their barrels are toasted for a little bit because they believe in tasting wine not wood. It all has to do with how the barrel is made. No oaky flavor for them! He let us try about 5 different wines and told us how you have to hold the glass so that your perfume on your hands does not mix with the smell of the wine. He also told us that if you hold the wine up to a white napkin, you should see a clear ring around the wine. That determines which type of grape they are using in the wine. Like I said...very knowledgeable! He was so nice and didn't charge us for the tasting. Such a nice little fellow!


We hopped back in the car and drove through some amazing countryside to find the winery I had been seeking since November. Serralunga d'Alba was the supposed place of Fontana Fredda and I was desperate to get there. Lucky for Jess and I (St. Patty's day and all) we found it pretty easily without even getting lost. The signage in Italy is really excellent, so it's pretty difficult to get lost, but it does happen occasionally.


This place was absolutely divine even in the winter time. Jess parked the car and we didn't know where to start. So we found a sign that said, "Cantina: Wine Tour Begins Here." This place was like a ghost town and it looked like Jess and I were the only ones there. We opened the door to this huge cellar with barrels the size of about 15 people. They were huge!! I felt like Alice just going through these secret passageways and opening doors we didn't know where they led to. It was so fun and so cool at the same time. We walked down this drippy, dark, hallway that led out to a place that looked like the distillery. I'm not even sure because we kind of just made up our own tour. Of course we had to get pictures with the big barrels. We finally found an exit after wandering for about 20 minutes and it led to the outside where the vineyards were. We found the ice house which was freezing and was built underground in a circle. It was really cool. Literally.


We then put on our walking pants and trudged up the vineyard hill. It was seriously steep. Probably steeper than a lot of the walking I do in Prato. The view though was perfect once we reached the top. The sun was setting and it reminded me of Italy...Haha...Jess and I kept saying on our little day trip, "THIS IS SO ITALIAN!". I wonder why? Maybe because we are in Italy. :)
So beautiful. It was getting late and we had to get back to Prato because we were making a Mexican dinner for all the girls in my little flat and also going to a Pirate Party. Too bad our perfect day had to end. I want to go back so bad but I don't know when I'll get the chance. We'll just have to see! Onto the Pirate Party!