The Langhe is not a city. It’s a bit like a county in the ‘state’ of Piedmont – but a very large county, made up of countryside: vineyards, hazelnut trees, and small family farms. We visited several villages here, over three days:

• Neive: Most locals asked us if we had come here, suggesting that it’s their most tourist-friendly village. It’s a picturesque little town, with a good view of vineyards and farmland. There is an old tower and a church, and the center of town has several cafes. The true tourist test is what said eating establishments have on their menus, and in this town, a ‘Typical Tourist Menu’ is available. Presumably, this is intended to appeal to people who want to try the ‘authentic cuisine,’ but it actually comprises foods eschewed by locals. I ordered a local honey cake and a very non-local tea.
• Alba: This is a big city for this region. It has the usual tower and church, but it also has a mostly-pedestrian shopping street and lots of little stores of every persuasion. After lunching on pastries (because we waited too long to eat, of course), we strolled around. Then, we spotted a place for the much-awaited haircut that B needed. It was a local salon that seemed like a well-run family business, and B’s ability to see past his long ‘bangs’ was bordering on non-existent. Sadly, they spoke neither English nor French, so this was a pantomime performance worthy of an Oscar. While this was happening, I was also having a grocery Oscar-worthy experience, detailed elsewhere.
• Barbaresco: This is, in my opinion, the coolest thing we have done in Italy. It’s not the particulars of the place: the village of Barbaresco is a small one of no particular repute. There are some winding streets, a few shops, and a tall tower, like the other villages in the area. It is also not the only town in the region to have hills upon hills of vineyards. However, it is the only place we stayed on a vineyard with amazing people. We got a chance to see what our lives might have been like if we had grown up here, and what an Italian family is really like. If you ever have a chance to visit Italy, you should – at a minimum, buy some Cascina Albano wine. The wine is great, inexpensive (at least directly; distributors do what they will), and is low on hangover symptoms, because the wine is very low in sulfites. However, even if you’re not a wine person, it’s worth it: these people exemplify hard work, integrity, and caring – and if we don’t reward that with our dollars, what should we?
• Monteu Roero: We went here to learn to hunt for truffles. Truffles are those expensive mushrooms collected with the help of a trained dog (or a pig, but not here). And we didn’t actually end up hunting for them – but we did enjoy our visit, and our linguistic exercise. More here.
• Roddino: We went here to tour a hazelnut farm, an activity I read about in a blog about the region. I arranged the tour through a third party, though I didn’t realize it was a completely independent entity – and one without truth in advertising rules. Don’t get me wrong: it was a nice family, and the work they do is difficult, so I do not begrudge them our $60 (assuming a reasonable cut for the agency). However, it was a bit of a comedy of errors.

What We Skipped:

• Barolo: This is the Napa to Barbaresco’s Sonoma. Sadly, there wasn’t the time to come here, though I’m confident that this town would resemble the others. The difference is primarily the wine, and we’ll try to taste that before we leave the region.