Day 12: Aqcui Terme to Alba

With my arrival to Aqcui Terme, I had entered the second wine region of my trip, Roero and Laghe, very exciting! To reach Alba, I followed the "Langhe and Roero" wine country route outlined Lonely Planet's Cycling Italy. This is a good one! The route began with 240 m (720 ft) climb to Castel Rocchero. I coined this area the "amphitheater of grapes" because it looked as if the terraced grape vines were seats in at semi-circle theatre. I had lunch in San Stefano Belbo, where I discovered a new cheese, Raschero.... mmmmm, it was great and went well with fresh foccacia.

In Neive, I stopped at the local Bottega dei Quattro Vini, which was a shop that specialized in the local wines. I mingled with the shop-owners and other tourists, and always had a glass of the complementary wine in hand. I bought a bottle of Barbera de Alba (2003), a wine from my Day 12 destination. Now I had two bottles of wine to lug around in my panniers. I still have them and can't wait to crack them open!

I had a slow (recall one hour of wine tasting) ride into Alba after passing through Barbaresco, a town famous for their red wine (difficult to find in the states). I didn't have any hotel reservations in Alba so I headed straight for the tourist office. I recommend always visiting the local tourist office. They typically have helpful staff and good information about the area. Anyway, they suggested I stay at Hotel Soleluna (34 euro/night; breakfast included). However, Alba is not cheap and this was the most expensive place I stayed, but very accommodating. The hotel was run by a very kind, warm women who was constantly busy attending to her grandchildren. The rooms were spacious and quiet. The hotel was about 1/2 km from the Ferrero plant where Nutella is made... the whole area smelled of chocolate. Wine country and chocolate, I thought I'd died and gone to heaven!

Summary: 70 km (43 miles); hilly "amphitheater of grape" riding followed by wine tasting and a cozy night in Alba