Originally Posted by
Siriuscom
Thanks for all the feedback so far and the clarification of what a true Agriturismo means. Its interesting especially since I am in the hotel business. So to re-frase/clarify we were looking for nice country hotels/BB's.
To give everyone an update on where we are, and what we booked:
Rome: We are staying at my favorite little place called Hotel San Anselmo in Aventino. 2 nights 3 days in Rome and we are heading to Tuscany
Tuscany: I followed Margot DeCruif's myitalyselction.com advice and booked with them at Poggio Al Vento
Poggio Al Vento Toscana - Vacation home Foiano della Chiana
The only negative is that myitalyselection.com doesn't give you the name until booking so you basically have to do some digging with pictures and map location to find any reviews or listings, since I wanted to read up on the place where we are staying. But I guess that is also the point that you put some trust in Margot and her team as Tripadvisor reviews can be misleading sometimes.
After 1 week in Tuscany we will have 1 week where we will drive trough Lucca, Forte Dei Marmi, CT and then Parma/Reggio-Emilia/Modena in which I will not book a hotel but rather stop along the way where we feel we want to stay/use as a base.
Piedmonte: The last 4 nights/5days we will stay at Tenuta Bricchi
https://www.tenutabricchi.it/en/ ,drive around, drink good wine, eat good food, go to Alba and then fly back from Milano.
If you have any more recommendations for the ares where we are going, as far as vineyards, restaurants, cooking classes, things to see etc. I would love to hear it. Other than that we are following closely the list of the 100 best gelato places
Thanks, Chris
Naturally, in Piemonte at the time of year you will be there, the main thing is truffles. It's a good idea to seek out gelato. But in Piemonte don't forget about the chocolate. The region is famous for that too. Chocolate is about as hard to find in the USA as gelato is in Italy. But in Piemonte, you can find it.
The Piemonte region is known for it. Chocolate came from mid-American jungles, in Mexico and similar places. It consists of only cacao beans that are fermented, then liquified by heating. It is usually taken as a drink. It can be allowed to dry out and become hard, and cut into bars. Nothing is added; just fermentation of cacao bean, and spice, usually vanilla bean (not extract).
It's sort of like gelato, vs. ice cream. I only mention this because you are going to Piemonte, where you can find real chocolate.
Chocolate in the USA is what ice cream is to gelato - not the same thing, and once you taste it, you'll know the reason why. Chocolate usually contains only a little amount of chocolate, and mainly consists of a blend of powdered milk, sugar, and various chemical emulsifiers.
I think in the USA they only require that 20% of chocolate be made out of chocolate. The rest are fats, sugars, and powders. Even high-end chocolates don't exceed the required amount by much. I think in the UE, known as the EU in the USA, they only require chocolate to be made out of 35% chocolate. The other 65% is sugar, milk fat, emulsifiers, and a long list of chemicals.
In Piemonte you can get actual chocolate, both as a beverage (as it was originally intended to be served), and as a bar. A chocolate bar, meaning 90-95% chocolate, and not 25% chocolate, is how to describe it, a little gritty, or granular, because it's not emulsified. It tastes like there are fine particles within it. I wouldn't say it's a melt in your mouth feeling. But it is chocolate, something that is hard to find.
Chocolate melts at room temperature, just like gelato melts as soon as you pick up the cup or cone, whereas ice cream can sit out in the "gelato" shop under the sun for months without melting because of the emulsifiers and preservatives. That's why chocolate is stored in cool, dehumidified cabinets. Chocolate in the USA has usually only about 20% chocolate, even the high-end brands, and is over 50% sugar. The rest is mostly saturated fat.
Similar to in the USA when they say, "from farm to table" to describe a good restaurant, in Italy there is a saying where they sell real chocolate, "from bean to bar."
Sicily, particularly Modica, is better for chocolate, but then comes Piemonte, where you are going. Unlike Sicily, in Piemonte chocolate will usually be combined with nocciole or gianduja (hazelnut). It will be worth seeking out while you are there.
If a Mars bar or a Hershey bar is good enough, then you don't need to find artigianale chocolate, but as with gelato, it's worth seeking out the real thing.