A Nut in Wine Country

Carol and Roger left Incisa Scapaccino and headed over some big hills, deeper into Piemonte wine country.

They were looking forward to tasting the wines of this new location.

When they got to their destination...

Hey!  Wait a minute....

The sign says Cortemilia is the "Nocciola Capital of the world."

Had they come to the right place?

Right there, in front of the Municipio (city hall) stands a monument confirming...

Cortemilia is the nocciola capital of the world... and (sorry, Fremont!), the center of the universe. 

Nocciola...?

Google translate says that nocciola translates as hazelnut.

Indeed, atop the monument stands a huge jar of hazelnuts.

When they looked around, Carol and Roger saw hazel nut trees everywhere.

And new orchards.  Could some be planted...shudder!...where vineyards used to be?

In a small piazza behind the Municipio, there was the Nocciola Growers Association headquarters.

There are three processing plants in town.

What can one do with all those hazelnuts?

Well, here's a sampling....

Vacuum pack them for tourists to take home...

Make torrone, a kind of candy...

...or chocolate with hazel nuts...

...nut butter....

...nut butter with chocolate...

Nazurin, a hazel nut liqueur....

And Creme di Nocciola, a different liqueur.

There may actually be more shops selling nocciola products than Pienza has shops selling Pecorino (see December 2013 blog post entitled "Cheese").





But as far a Carol's concerned, the best use of nocciola is...


.....Gelato!











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Carol and Roger have often explained how easy it is for them to get lost while riding their bikes around the back roads of Italy.

Here's why.

The three sets of signs pictured below were all at the same intersection in the town of Vesime:

Is Acquit Terme 27 km or 28 km from here?










Is Asti 46 km or 52 km from here?




Is Alba 33 km or 34 km from here?








And is Cortemilia (the next town over) 8 km or 9 km from here?