Alba - Giorno 4

It's Saturday which means it's market day. Now, when Mario told us that the Saturday market was big and basically took over the town, he wasn't exaggerating. In fact, as soon as we walked out our door, there it was. I think you know I might just have squealed a little.

Slow Cheese 2011 - Day 2

Today it's all about the taste workshops and we will be attending three.

The notes of which can be found in their respective posts:

LCH07 - Roquefort - The King of Cheeses
LCH10 - On the Verge of Extinction: Alpine Beaufort
LCH12 - Giarolo's Bounty

Taste Workshop LCH10

On the Verge of Extinction: Alpine Beaufort
4pm Sala Liceo Scientificio

The pearl of the Savoy Alps, Beaufort is a large, hard, raw cow's milk cheese with a distinctive concave rind, now mostly produced in cooperative dairies in the lowlands. Hervé Mons, an affineur from Saint-Haon-le-Châtel and a Meilleur Ouvrier de France, will lead a tasting of cheeses from one of the last mountain producers of Beaufort, the Perret family of La Tueda. The cheeses are aged for months in caves in an old railway tunnel. You'll taste a winter Beaufort (aged for 16 months), a summer Beaufort (14 months) and an Alpine Beaufort (14 months), paired with red and white wines from Savoy, a region whose wines are undeservedly little-known.

Ready for the next class

Taste Workshop LCH07

LCH07 - Taste Workshop - Roquefort, The King of Cheeses
Held: 1pm Sala Liceo Scientifico

Perhaps the world's best-known blue cheese, Roquefort is named after the village of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon in Aveyron. Here, following ancient tradition and a strict production protocol, the cheese ages for months in the natural limestone caves of the Grands Causses. The tasting will be led by Xavier Thuret, a Meilleur Ouvrier de France (a prestigious recognition for French craftspeople) and technical consultant to the Société Roquefort, which unites the seven existing producers. You'll discover the nuances of the seven cheeses, pairing them with dry and sweet wines from different denominations: Bordeaux (Sauternes and Barsac), Loire (Coteaux du Layon), Alsace (Haut-Rhine), Roussillon (Rivesaltes) and Vallée du Rhône (Beaume de Venise).

Waiting for the workshop to start

Alba - Giorno 3

We're in need of a coffee or two to start the day so it's a good excuse to explore more of the city.

Slow Cheese 2011 - Day 1

Since we weren't able to get into any of the classes today, we've decided to spend our time at the Gran Sala dei Formaggi ed Enoteca (Great Hall of Cheese and Enoteca). We learnt from our previous visit to Slow Cheese that leaving this for the last day meant that most of the interesting wines and cheeses weren't available.

Entrance to the Great Hall costs €8 and you get a wine glass and glass holder as well as one cheese tasting voucher and one wine tasting voucher and if you are a Slow Food member it's €4.