When it comes to thinking about the art, culture, and tradition of food and wine you can’t think of any other place more appropriate than Italy. Food and wine is considered the quintessential element of the Italian culture.
It is no wonder why with the sheer variety of wines produced in the country, around 350, and the number of Italian plates that are household names all around the world.
The economic impact of food and wine in Italy
The tourism sector in Italy has seen their products bring more tourists to their country year after year and it seems this will always be one of the driving forces in the industry. It was estimated that over 2.5 Billion euros were spent by wine tourists in 2015 and that 14 million more of these tourists visited Italy the following year.
More recently it had been estimated that the number of tourists related to food and wine tourism in 2017 was more than 110 million with an economic impact of 12 billion euros.
Without Italy’s world renowned food and wine, would the country see such growing numbers in tourism?
Which region in the North has a lot to offer?
It could be debated what Italian tourism would look without their assets of food and wine, but we can be certain that it would be a very different experience for tourists.
One region that would be very different without these assets would be Piedmont. With wines such as Barolo and Barbaresco and unique ingredients like truffles, the North-West region has its own world of food and wine to offer.
We at FindYourItaly know very well the importance that food and wine have on tourism in Italy. We provide a variety of tours based around food and wine experiences but here we want to focus on some of the best ones that we offer in the Piedmont region.
A peaceful piece of Piedmont
In the heart of this northern region lies the Province of Cuneo where there is the hilly region of Langhe, an outstanding landscape that was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2014. Here you can find some of the most beautiful sceneries in all of North Italy, filled with a plethora vineyards.
The Langhe bike, wine and relax tour takes our clients through the heart of the countryside, passing by ancient villages, churches and castles. This is one of our most relaxing tours as its follows the philosophy of slow tourism and allows our travellers to enjoy the experience at their own pace so they can take in everything that the tour offers.
Some of highlights of this tour are, aside from making your own beautiful journey from village to village through the countryside, visiting the small town of Barolo home to the famous wine. Here our tourists can visit a castle that houses a wine museum where they’ll have the chance for some tastings.
Along with other wine-tastings on the journey, our clients will have the chance to visit the town of Bra and enjoy a gourmet dinner in the birthplace of The Slow Food movement. Discover more about The Movement from our previous article: slow food to slow travel – the new Italian frontieres
A privileged piemontese experience
Staying in the rich food and wine region of Piedmont, we at FindYourItaly offer another great experience for our customers that love the culture of Northern Italian food. The Gourmet holiday on Piedmont hills is a complete tour that includes all the tastes and flavours of the region.
This self-driven tour lasts 6 days and includes unforgettable experiences such as going truffle hunting with an “trifulau” (truffle searcher) in the hills around Alba and tasting specialities based around this local ingredient. And starting from October until the end of November the International Alba Truffle Show is on, which is a must for all food lovers!
Throughout the tour our travellers will visit many wine producers in the region including the “Underground Cathedral” of Wine in Canelli. Other highlights on the Gourmet holiday include hazelnut and cheese tasting, a Piedmontese gourmet dinner and a guided tour around the city of Turin.
Find out more about this tour from our Live. Eat. Drink. Like a true Piemontese blog and feel privileged while experiencing some of Piedmont’s more exclusive offerings.
Come and fall in love with Piedmont
Visiting Italy is a great experience in many different ways, but we suggest that you must explore and understand the food and wine culture first and there’s no better place than Piedmont.
From eating truffles to drinking a glass of Barolo, we think you’ll fall in love with Piedmont.
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