"Sustainability" is the key word of this year's International Alba White Truffle Fair scheduled from 9 October to 5 December which will bring the heady scent of Tuber magnatum Pico to the Langhe, Monferrato and Roero hills. The curtain rises on the most eagerly awaited appointment of the Alba autumn, announcing a new course: "Connected with nature" will see the centrality of food and wine alongside the topicality of a very contemporary challenge, that of sustainability. The 91st edition of the Fair will be characterized by a decisive turning point that will take into account more contemporary themes, such as environmental protection, climate change and sustainability, understood not only in its environmental meaning, but also declined along social and economic lines, by following the path of the opportunities of the energy transition towards a zero-emission economy.
The heart of the Fair will remain the Alba White Truffle World Market, in the Cortile della Maddalena, together with the Albaqualità review, and the Alba Truffle Show (enhanced by Truffle Sensory Analysis performed by the judges of the National Center for Truffle Studies, by the Wine Tasting Experiences dedicated to the great wines of Langhe, Monferrato and Roero and by the many chefs who will sign the Foodies Moments).
The main novelty this year will instead be represented by the Dawn to Earth project, which by connecting Alba with the rest of the planet will lead to dialogue with each other - in the "Cross Sustainability" series of meetings - characters from the world of high finance, innovation digital, excellent craftsmanship, haute couture, art, music, design and culture and, of course, signature cuisine: the common denominator of this symbolic convivial table, on the last weekend of October , Saturday 30 and Sunday 31, will be sustainability.
Among other innovations, the process undertaken by the Fair Authority to obtain ISO 20121 certification, delegated to Bureau Veritas Italia, is significant, which will supervise the implementation of a management system for the Alba White Truffle Fair in line with the requirements of the international standard on sustainable management of events. The goal is to minimize the impact on the environment and at the same time enhance the positive effects on people and the local area.
Among the confirmations, on the weekend that anticipates the opening of the Fair, Saturday 2 and Sunday 3 October, folklore and tradition will find ample space, thanks to the commitment of the Giostra delle Cento Torri. It begins on Saturday 2 October, with the Investiture of the Podestà and the historical re-enactment in Piazza Risorgimento, in an unprecedented formula, detached from the traditional race: the Palio degli Asini, in fact, will take place the next day, Sunday 3 October, once again in its ancient headquarters, around the Cathedral of Alba. The Fair also confirms its attention to the new generations of visitors, setting up the Alba Truffle Bimbi area for children, at the Palazzo Mostre e Congressi named after Giacomo Morra.
Renewing the appointment with solidarity, in collaboration with the Enoteca Regionale Piemontese Cavour, the Castle of Grinzane Cavour will host – on November 14th – the XXIII edition of the World Auction of the Alba White Truffle, an event which sees the participation, in hall or in connection from all over the world, of great chefs and famous personalities from politics, culture, entertainment and the international jet set, gathered for the purpose of selling the best specimens of the Alba White Truffle to raise funds for benefits in Italy and in the world.
In addition to the Truffle, Wine and Sport appointments, reinforcing the link between the Alba White Truffle, great wines and the world of sport, an authentic immersion in the territory and culture will therefore be offered thanks to the rich calendar of exhibitions, events sports, reviews, meetings and concerts. The absolute novelty of this year is the start of the collaboration with the Castello di Perno and the collective The Musketeers, linking the kitchen to art, so as to promote the network of starred restaurants adhering to the initiative, making it a widespread museum of contemporary art .
“Climate change is making itself felt more and more, so much so that it has prompted us to postpone the opening of the Fair by a week, following the postponement of the truffle season. Sustainability is a current challenge that can no longer be postponed, and represents the turning point that this year we have decided to give to the event, after the first in which we concentrated on shifting the focus from the product, the White Truffle of Alba, to its use in haute cuisine, with the involvement of numerous local, national and international starred chefs, alongside the chefs of the trattorias and taverns of the Langhe, Roero and Monferrato, guardians of the local gastronomic tradition - says the President of the International Fair Authority of the Alba White Truffle, Liliana Allena –. It will be an edition with many confirmations and various novelties, which for 9 weeks will enliven the autumn of the Langhe and Roero area, of Monferrato with Asti and of the City of Turin”.
"The City of Alba, Capital of Corporate Culture 2021 and next venue for the Global Conference on Wine Tourism, is the leader of an extraordinary territory, capable of playing as a team with all the players in the territorial system - adds the Mayor of the City of Alba –. Nature gives us the prized truffle, great wines and extraordinary agricultural products that contribute to making the welcome for thousands of visitors from all over the world exceptional. We owe the beauty of our hills to nature and to the extraordinary work of modification implemented by man. We just have to preserve this marvel, enhancing it without ruining this heritage, not at all protected by UNESCO, which does not belong to us: we inherited it from our fathers and we are simply its custodians, waiting to hand it over to future generations ”. “If 550 people visit our Unesco hills every year, and from all over the world they consider them the gotha of taste tourism, it is thanks to the strength of excellent products such as our wines and an extraordinary ambassador such as the Truffle Bianco d'Alba – underlines the President of the Piedmont Region -. Since its inception, the Fair has been a fundamental engine of promotion not only for this unique product of our land, but for the entire Piedmontese and Italian territory. This is why we are very happy to present this new edition, which has the unmistakable scent of the truffle, but also of the restart. And we will make sure that this event is unmissable and safe from every point of view, including health. Because the Alba White Truffle Fair has always been a guarantee of quality throughout the world”.
