Starting from Asti or Turin, you can reach them in half an hour “Lands of the saints”. The itinerary is through the woods and you can see villages that mark the sky with soaring bell towers. Walking through the countryside that surrounds the villages, one perceives an extreme tranquility that somehow calms the journey and introduces a spiritual dimension. In 1815 a Castelnuovo Don BoscoDon Bosco was born in the hamlet of Becchi, where today there is the imposing sanctuary, a destination for pilgrims from all over the world. Colle Don Bosco includes the birthplace of the saint, the Missionary Ethnographic Museum, the Museum of Peasant Life, the small sanctuary of Mary Help of Christians, the meadow and the Pylon of the dream. Cardinal Giovanni Cagliero, San Giuseppe Cafasso and Blessed Giuseppe Allamano were also born in Castelnuovo. In fraction Mondonio lived San Domenico Savio e It’s raining gave birth to Cardinal Guglielmo Massaia. A Capriglio, also known for the pepper of the same name, is home to the museum dedicated to Don Bosco’s mother, Margherita Occhiena.
In this context, viticulture represents a significant economy and several grape varieties characterize the local production, such as freisa, malvasia, nebbiolo, cari and the rarer malvasia di Schierano. The “Terre dei Santi” social cellar brings together most of the winegrowers of the area and at its sales point it is possible to taste and buy well-kept and genuine wines. Not far away is Albugnano, a production area of the homonymous wine which is obtained from Nebbiolo vineyards grown near the rectory of Santa Maria di Vezzolano, a complex considered to be one of the most important religious monuments in Piedmont, an unmissable stop on the Via Francigena and along the European Cultural Route of the Transromanica.
In Pino d’Asti, you can make an interesting stop at the restaurant “The Shepherds of Muscandia”. It is an expression of the Bergè social cooperative, one of the most interesting contemporary experiences of integration and repopulation of small villages. The idea was born a couple of years ago by Elisabetta Serra for years engaged with the BMA cooperative in the coordination of immigrants and asylum seekers, and by Giorgio Ferrero, former mayor of Pino and former regional councilor for agriculture. There are about a hundred people who live in the small towns and who engage in various work activities in the area. The i Bergè cooperative of Muscandia has gathered a dozen farms of various kinds: wineries, dairy, livestock, horticultural and fruit farms that have engaged in hiring young immigrants mainly from India, Burkina Faso, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Gambia. This is how you will be able to meet Amadou the baker or Kaour assistant cook of the young and talented chef Romeo Morelli, who cooks with grace and a pinch of imagination the dishes obtained from the raw materials provided by the cooperative.
Excellent cured meats obtained from black pigs raised free in the 8 fenced-in hectares of the Muscandia valley, tasty the first such as tajarin with white rabbit ragout, veal with tuna sauce, rice with caper powder, vegetable ratatuie and excellent desserts. I Bergè is an experience to live and try, Giorgio Ferrero will wisely guide you through an interesting educational visit among companies and people who animate these hills.
The Shepherds of Muscandia
Via Maestra 55, Pino d’Asti. Open Thursday to Sunday for lunch and dinner, 349 / 82.46.489.
The label
Freisa d’Asti is an extraordinary wine: with at least 500 years of history it has always been considered one of the most characteristic grape varieties of Piedmont. First cousin of Nebbiolo, Freisa, belongs to the ranks of Piedmontese so-called “fine” wines. The cultivation of freisa finds various suitable areas and among the main ones the one that refers to the hills around Castelnuovo Don Bosco.
Luca Ferrero he is a very young winemaker who has inherited this reality from his family which is based in the municipality of Pino d’Asti. Ca ‘del Prete, as the name itself suggests, it was the farmhouse of the town’s parish priest, consisting of a part dedicated to housing and the rest to use as a cellar and stable. Ca ‘del Prete was one of the first Asti realities to produce organically since 1986 and even today the protection of the environment remains the obsession of Luca who even raises hens in the vineyard to fight some insects and manage the grassing. The vineyards are around the farmhouse on gentle and sinuous hills that follow one another forming suggestive amphitheaters, where the rows are distributed in small plots that enjoy excellent exposure and make use of soils of calcareous-marly composition, ideal for obtaining elegant and structure. In addition to Barbera and Malvasia di Schierano, Luca produces two selections of Freisa: a Superiore still and the «Blend», Lively Freisa d’Asti produced with spontaneous fermentation and natural second fermentation. It is the traditional version of Freisa which recalls the famous “buta stupa” of Asti. Delicate and tasty, the scent of wild flowers in spring stands out on the nose, a notable flavor of wild strawberries and raspberries emerges on the palate, the finish is dry and vibrant that recalls joy and the desire to toast.
Freisa d’Asti Doc «Blenda»
Ca ‘del Prete by Luca Ferrero
average price in the Enoteca 14 euros