This is one of our personal favourite events on the summer calendar in the Barolo zone and one that attracts visitors from all around the world. What is the Mangia Longa? It is a 4.5 km Eno-gastronomic hike in and around the famous Barolo village of La Morra. The walk is based around an Italian Long Lunch and you walk 1 km or so between each ‘course’ and then stop at a farmhouse or winery where you receive the next course of food and get to taste a bunch of the wines from local producers. You will sample many of the typical foods from this area as well as get a chance to taste a bunch of wines from Dolcetto and Barbera and right up to the Langhe Nebbiolo style and of course plenty of the famed Barolo. This is all done with the stunning backdrop of the vineyard laden landscape of the Barolo zone and framed by the surrounding Alps in the distance.

We also include some time in the incredible city of Turin as well as a couple of days in the Alps to both relax and take in a different gastronomic experience to the wine zone. This tour has it all and is limited to 8 guests so you are assured of a personalized small group tour and the flexibility and attention to detail that this provides for.

Arrival and check-in to our accommodation in Turin.  We will rendezvous together at our luxurious hotel in the early evening before heading out on foot into the centro storico of Turin for apperitivo and the first of our all inclusive meals together at an amazing traditional Torinese restaurant.

We will begin the morning with a visit to one of Turin’s most famous artisan chocolatiers so don’t overdo breakfast. You will both hear the story of Turin’s unique involvement in the development of chocolate as we know it today, as well as taste a selection of both the traditional and famed chocolate of Piemonte and some of the truly unique creations which this producer alone makes.

From the chocolate tasting we will make our way on to the Porto Palazzo markets – Europe’s largest open air market. We will focus on the fresh produce area of the market. Walk the stores of amazing fruit and vegetables, see the amazing array of seafood on offer delivered fresh daily from the coast only an hour away and the incredible meats, cheeses, salumi, prosciutto and the list goes on.

Following a relaxed lunch in the city, during the afternoon we will make the short drive through the farm lands  south of Turin and into the rolling Langhe hills – the home of the famed Barolo and Barbaresco wine zones and the birthplace of the Slow Food movement. We will be based in one of the historic hilltop Barolo villages for the length of our stay in the area. This is a UNESCO listed village and has been named as one of the most beautiful towns in Italy.

This is Mangia Longa day. We will leave for La Morra and the start of the Mangia Longa around 11:00. Dress according to the weather – it can be quite hot and sunny at this time of year so a hat, sunscreen and sunglasses can be a necessity. It is also good to bring a water bottle along for extra hydration. We will work this out better on the day.

I plan to stay together as a group through the course (I hope you are all happy with that). We will casually work our way through the Mangia Longa and depart back to Monforte together when we are ready.

This evening I had not planned or charged for dinner, as in my experience you never feel like much at all after the Mangia Longa. There are plenty of easily accessible and high quality options in our village if you do feel like something.

This morning we plan to do our truffle hunt for Piemontese black truffles. It is too early for the famous white truffles of the region, but I am very confident we will be able to find the black version. These are genuine truffle hunts with a real life triffolau (truffle hunter). We do not run simulated hunts as pretty much all other tourist truffle operations are, and as such I cannot guarantee we will find any. But I have complete confidence in our very experienced triffolau to get us onto some truffles. We will try and maintain a bit of flexibility with the hunt and do it when the conditions are most favourable to find truffles. As truffle hunting occurs in the forest, often in and over quite muddy ground, it is a good idea to wear sturdy shoes which you don’t mind getting dirty.

Lunch today will be at one of our favourite long lunch restaurants where we can slowly graze our way through several small courses experiencing the amazing fresh local produce and typical cuisine of the area.

After lunch we have scheduled in some down time/ free time with no planned activities until dinner around 19:30 in the evening. Dinner this evening will be held at one of the most eclectic and interesting wine bar/restaurants I have ever seen – it also happens to be my favourite one in the local area.

Today is all about wine, as we will be going to two private wine tastings with some of the best producers of the region. We will have a tasting in both the morning and afternoon interspersed with some sightseeing and a great lunch at one of the many amazing local restaurants dotted through the vineyards.

We aim to highlight the differences between the famed Barolo and Barbaresco regions by visiting a producer in each of these neighbouring zones. The same grape varieties as well as  vineyard and cellar techniques in both areas yet the wines produced are distinctly different.

In the morning we can head into the main regional town of Alba and have a stroll through the large open-air fresh food market as well as check out a bit of the historic city of Alba itself. Or we can choose to do another wine tasting, perhaps in another of the interesting wine areas of the region eg Roero or Asti.

We will have a final lunch down in the Langhe hills before we make our way across and into the French-Italian Alps  on an amazingly scenic drive through farmlands , towns and forest where will end up in the famed cheese making area of Castelmagno. We will base for a couple of nights in a tiny mountainside hamlet at 1200m in some stunningly renovated apartments.

During our time up in the Alps we will have the opportunity to experience the outdoors, on-mountain milking of the special alpine breed of cows they rear here, see the making of the famed and rare Castelmagno d’Alpeggio Cheese (known as ‘The King of Cheeses), do some alpine hikes if you wish (short and longer options available depending on fitness and desire) and of course enjoy some amazing food and fine wines. These couple of days in the Alps are a great opportunity to relax in the peace and quiet of the mountains, but we will organise plenty to do if you want to.

If you do not feel up to the hikes, feel free to relax back at the apartments, take a coffee or a drink down at the bar in the Rifugio, have a look around the village, or just relax in the mountain air and do nothing.

During our time up in the Alps we will have the opportunity to experience the outdoors, on-mountain milking of the special alpine breed of cows they rear here, see the making of the famed and rare Castelmagno d’Alpeggio Cheese (known as ‘The King of Cheeses), do some alpine hikes if you wish (short and longer options available depending on fitness and desire) and of course enjoy some amazing food and fine wines. These couple of days in the Alps are a great opportunity to relax in the peace and quiet of the mountains, but we will organise plenty to do if you want to.

If you do not feel up to the hikes, feel free to relax back at the apartments, take a coffee or a drink down at the bar in the Rifugio, have a look around the village, or just relax in the mountain air and do nothing.