CONNECTED WITH NATURE - THE 91ST EDITION OF THE INTERNATIONAL ALBA WHITE TRUFFLE FAIR

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CONNECTED WITH NATURE

The International Alba White Truffle Fair is preparing for its 91st edition and announces the turning point in a "sustainable" key, looking at environmental protection and socio-economic aspects

“His majesty,” Tuber magnatum Pico, is back in the spotlight and shows off in grand style, through the presentation of the 91st edition of the International Alba White Truffle Fair in the garden of the Voce restaurant, next to the Teatro alla Scala in Milan.

The curtain rises on the most awaited appointment of the Alba autumn, which announces a new course, which will be presented in detail in the Langhe, Roero and Monferrato territories on September 14th. "Connected with nature" - this is the theme for 2021 - will see alongside the centrality of food and wine the actuality of a very contemporary challenge: sustainability. Intended not only in its environmental meaning, but also based on social and economic guidelines.

In recent years, the media exposure of wine & food worldwide has embarked on a virtuous path that focuses on ethics and sustainability as fundamental concepts of a truly humanistic revolution, in a "green" key, driven by the fame of great chefs and the spotlights that the sector enjoys. This new course is characterized by a decisive turning point that will take into account the most contemporary issues, such as environmental protection, climate change and sustainability, also from a socio-economic point of view. The opening will be the annual letter to the CEOs written by Larry Fink, chairman and CEO of BlackRock, a letter focused on the opportunities of the energy transition towards a zero-carbon economy.

Moderated by the journalist Fernanda Roggero, the interventions will alternate between the president of the International Alba White Truffle Fair, Liliana Allena, the director Stefano Mosca, the gastronomic curator Paolo Vizzari and chef Davide Palluda, patron of the “All'Enoteca” restaurant in Canale.

"The last few years have seen an increase in the quality of the tourist profile and media attention thanks to a strategic choice: the shift of focus from the product, the Alba White Truffle, to its use in haute cuisine, with the involvement of numerous national and international starred chefs of the territory, alongside those of trattorias and taverns of Langhe, Roero and Monferrato, guardians of the local gastronomic tradition” - says the president of the International Alba White Truffle Fair, Liliana Allena -. “We believe the time has come to give the event a new course, characterized by a cultural turning point that takes into account the challenges that our society can no longer avoid: a new paradigm in environmental protection, measuring itself against climate change and focusing more and more on team play".

"The notoriety acquired by the event and its international scope stimulate us to give support to the debate on sustainability, supporting concrete practices that can offer a contribution to the cause - adds the mayor of the City of Alba, Carlo Bo -. Nature gives us the prized truffle, great wines and extraordinary agricultural products that contribute to an exceptional welcome in accommodation facilities and at our restaurants for thousands of visitors from all over the world. We owe the beauty of our hills to nature and the extraordinary modification carried out by people. All that we have to do is preserve this wonder, enhancing it without ruining this heritage, (protected by UNESCO, incidentally), which does not belong to us: we have received it as an inheritance from our fathers and we are simply its custodians, waiting to hand it over to future generations".

"Compared to other regions of Europe we are fortunate to produce the most important gastronomic product in the world, which grows only in our lands, a product considered by scholars and agronomists to be the best ever for its properties: a prodigy of rare nature and capable as few of having a value similar to that of precious metals, to which we owe even a ‘borsino’*– declare Alberto Cirio, president of the Piedmont region, and Vittoria Poggio, the regional councilor for Culture, Tourism and Commerce -. Our truffle will be among the protagonists of the Dubai Expo, where Piedmont will showcase its treasures. Therefore we need to focus as much as possible on international showcases to reaffirm the supremacy of our region when we talk about excellent food and wine, especially when relaunching the economies of the territories, from culture to tourism and trade, enhancing their identity and creating shared actions. and networks".

DATES

The Fair has always valued and promoted the Tuber magnatum Pico, fruit of the earth: its very existence and harvest, year after year, are increasingly conditioned by the climatic changes in progress; the same ones that led the organization to move the opening of the event by a week, given the postponement of the truffle season, with the start of the 91st edition scheduled for October 9th, lasting until December 5th.

SUSTAINABILITY

Key theme of the 91st edition: sustainability. This will be stated on three axes: environmental, social and economic, through an integrated approach in which characters from the world of high finance, digital innovation, excellent craftsmanship, high fashion, art, music, design and culture and, of course, signature cuisine will interact. The common denominator of this symbolic convivial table, in the last weekend of October, will be sustainability.

DAWN TO EARTH

By connecting Alba with the rest of the planet, Dawn to Earth envisages the use of the Alba White Truffle as an ambassador and its annual fair as a shared house to be made available to highlight the most valid ethical projects in the world panorama of food, biodiversity, high finance and ICT, looking for the "game changers" of every continent to offer them support, network and storytelling or promotion campaigns aimed at opening their message and the nature of  their efforts. The zero edition, in 2020, saw chef Norbert Niederkofler rewarded together with the team of young people who - in addition to keeping the three Michelin stars of the St. Hubertus restaurant in San Cassiano alive - every year redesign the contours of two events with a strong ethical matrix, Care's and Cook the Mountain.

CERTIFICATION

The Fair Authority has started the process of implementing a management system for the Alba White Truffle Fair in line with the sustainability requirements of the international standard ISO 20121, on the sustainable management of events. The Alba White Truffle Fair is designed to minimize the impact on the environment and at the same time to enhance the positive effects on people and on the territory: the Bureau Veritas Italia, one of the leaders in testing, inspection and certification activities, will conduct checks during the salient stages of the Alba White Truffle Fair (planning - carrying out - sustainability reporting). The ISO 20121 certification is a prestigious international recognition, which will help enhance the image of the Fair among an increasingly attentive and sensitive public to sustainability issues.

THE KITCHEN AT THE CENTER

The heart of the Fair will remain the World Market of the White Truffle of Alba, together with the Albaqualità exhibition, inside the Cortile della Maddalena. It will be the place where you can buy magnificent specimens of Tuber magnatum Pico, carefully selected by the Truffle Sensory Analysis judges, trained by the National Center for Truffle Studies.

To embellish everything, the Alba Truffle Show (inside the Beppe Fenoglio Room), is ready to welcome, in the usual atmosphere of refined familiarity, the gourmet creations born from the skillful inspiration of great names in national and international cuisine, the seminars Sensory Analysis of the Truffle - an immersive experience that allows you to get to know in a simple but profound way the characteristics of the truffle and the Wine Tasting Experiences dedicated to the great wines of Langhe, Monferrato and Roero -; many chefs are ready to sign the Foodies Moments of the numerous cooking shows, letting themselves be seduced and inspired by the aroma of our most precious diamond. The winning format of unusual dinners was confirmed again this year, which will see the successful combination of prestigious scenarios and starred chefs reappear.

THE CREATIVE UNESCO CITIES 

Alba, together with Bergamo and Parma - the three Italian Unesco Creative Cities for gastronomy - will be the protagonist this year of the Creative Moments: through a twinning with the other cities that share this title all over the world, a new way to meet will be proposed and to plan the future together, create and intertwine, entering each other's culture. The calendar foresees the presence of a different international partner for each Sunday of the Fair.

TRUFFLE AND WINE

While awaiting the Global Conference on Wine Tourism, which in 2022 will see Alba as the world capital of wine tourism, hosting the forum promoted by UNWTO, the United Nations agency that deals with the promotion of sustainable tourism, there are several events that will see its majesty the White Truffle of Alba protagonist together with wineries of absolute excellence.

In addition to the consolidated partnership with the Alta Langa DOCG Consortium and the Barolo Barbaresco Alba Langhe and Dogliani Consortium, this year the world of Champagne will make its debut at the Fair.

Among the other "firsts", at the end of October the Barolo en primeur auction will be held, promoted by the CRC Foundation, in which the barriques produced by the "Cascina Gustava" vineyard, at the foot of the Castle of Grinzane Cavour, will be auctioned off.

Renewing a successful appointment, here is La Vendemmia, one of the most anticipated events of the Milanese autumn, conceived and promoted by MonteNapoleone District, with the aim of uniting the great international luxury brands and the most prestigious national and international wineries, with the participation of the best restaurants and 5-star luxury hotels in the city.

FOLKLORE

To anticipate the nine weeks of the Fair, Saturday 2nd and Sunday 3rd of October, the appointment with the Folklore Weekend is renewed this year, with the traditional Donkey Palio and the activities proposed by the Giostra delle Cento Torri. On Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th October, the Baccanale del Tartufo returns to the squares of the historic city center.

FROM THE LANGHE, ROERO AND MONFERRATO TO THE WORLD

Expanding its range of action with a series of "off" events, the International Alba White Truffle Fair will be the protagonist from 26th to 28th November at the Asti Regional Truffle Fair, re-proposing the Palazzi del Gusto. Crossing the borders of the hills of Langhe, Roero and Monferrato, on October 25th the White Truffle of Alba will land at the court of S.A.S. Albert II of Monaco, in an exclusive event at the Yacht Club of Montecarlo, in the presence of the prince. Other international events include a series of events in Switzerland, starting with Verbier, up to the presence at the Dubai Expo.

TRUFFLE HUB

The Truffle Hub has been reconfirmed also for this year after the debut in the last edition, in a branch of the Fair at the Castle of Roddi, transformed into a territorial digital hub that will act as a showcase for Piedmontese food and wine excellences, enhanced through the organization of “four-handed” dinners, signed by local chefs in collaboration with chefs arriving from all over the region.

The pertinence of the castle will also be home to the Alba Digital Truffle Lab (digital experience which, through the Truffle Judges of the National Truffle Study Center, will accompany the participants in the discovery of the most prized mushroom in the world) and the Langhe Digital Wine Lab (which will offer digital guided tastings to discover the great Piedmontese wines, in collaboration with the Consortium for the Protection of Barolo Barbaresco Alba Langhe and Dogliani and the Alta Langa DOCG Consortium).

NEW YEAR’S EVE FOR TRUFFLES

A consolidated tradition is that of the celebration of Tuber Primae Noctis, the New Year’s Eve for the Truffle, which will be an opportunity to toast - after the biological shutdown - to the first night of the year in which the search for the trifolao is started. At the stroke of midnight on September 21st, in the original  setting of the Orsolina28 Dance School, in Moncalvo, a theatrical piece written by the Holden School and dedicated to the narration of the truffle will be staged, in collaboration with the National Center for Truffle Studies.

THE WORLD AUCTION OF TRUFFLES

To mark the calendar of the Fair, this year too, the appointment with the World Truffle Auction is renewed, an event that over time has been able to reconcile the promotion of local excellence with solidarity, allocating large funds to charitable causes. In connection with the Castle of Grinzane Cavour - headquarters of the Cavour Piedmontese Regional Enoteca, recently enriched by the inauguration of the open-air museum "In Vigna" -, on November 14th in Hong Kong, Moscow Singapore and Dubai (where Expo is starting on October 1st) will compete for the most prestigious lots of Alba White Truffle.

DESIGN

"Giacomo" is the truffle brush - created in collaboration with Gufram, the Italian design brand that has always stood out for its pop, disruptive and radical identity - imagined by the nonconformist genius of Job Smeets, the designer who chose the iconic image of the "nose" of Giacomo Morra, considered the creator of the Alba White Truffle Fair and its international success story, transforming it into a functional and, at the same time, evocative object of that olfactory experience which, anticipating the pleasure of taste, is the very essence of the Alba White Truffle.

The last element added to the Kit for the Alba White Truffle, the sculptural nose with a 24-karat gold finish will be presented in a new limited edition with a precious finish, however created following the performance principles disclosed by the National Center for Truffle Studies.

CULTURE

A rich calendar of cultural events will be the corollary to the 91st edition of the Fair, starting with the important art exhibitions that will enrich the program, opening with Burri - the poetry of matter, desired by the Ferrero Foundation, in addition to the proposals of the Sandretto Re Rebaudengo Foundation and the Bottari Lattes Foundation.

In September, the exhibition dedicated to Piero Simondo, promoted by the CRC Foundation and Archivio Simondo, will be inaugurated in the magnificent church of San Domenico in Alba. In October Alba will be, together with Cuneo, Bra and Mondovì, one of the four main squares of “Cuneo Provincia Futura”, the great open-air exhibition promoted by the CRC Foundation and curated by the show designer Alessandro Marrazzo.

Absolute novelty this year, the start of the collaboration with Castello di Perno and the collective The Musketeers, linking cooking to art, so as to promote the network of starred restaurants participating in the initiative, making it a widereaching museum of contemporary art.

TRUFFLE AND SPORT

Furthermore, the link between the Alba White Truffle and the world of sport is strengthened, with the precious underground mushroom protagonist during the ATP Finals in Turin, which from November 14th to 21st will see the elite of world tennis competing in the prestigious tournament that will be held in Piedmont this year. Further initiatives will involve other sports disciplines, with an eye to the world of golf.

*The borsino is The Truffle Stock Exchange, an instrument that enables customers to be updated on the quotations of the main varieties of truffle on the market. 
Source: https://www.tuber.it/borsino-del-tartufo/

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Caricato il 29/06/2021

Organizzazione

Fiera del tartufo

Eventi

91^ Fiera Internazionale del Tartufo Bianco d'Alba

Immagini

Settori