Truffles and Brunello at Oscar’s FICO Eataly

When Oscar Farinetti came across the Montalcino stand, he immediately recognised his label, the celebratory tile he had designed for Benvenuto Brunello 2014, and wanted to immortalise it in a photo together with Montalcino’s Deputy Mayor, Angelo Braconi and sommelier and truffle sensory analysis judge, Luigi Pinarello. This happened last weekend at FICO, Eataly’s giant food-themed park in Bologna, where for two days the National Association of Truffle Cities celebrated the truffle and presented a summary of the process that led to “Truffle hunting and extraction in Italy” becoming a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage candidate.

The opening ceremony on 6 October was followed by a screening of the short film “Memories of truffles. A hidden story”, which accompanies the candidacy dossier. Attending the event were the President of the Truffle Cities, Michele Boscagli, the Vice-President of the Chamber of Deputies’ Industry, Trade and Tourism Committee, and the host, Eataly founder, Oscar Farinetti. The latter subsequently visited the Montalcino stand, which featured Brunello di Montalcino (offered by the Consorzio del Vino Brunello di Montalcino) and the prized Sand Giovanni d’Asso White Truffle, as well as other truffle products. The following day, Luigi Pinarello led a tasting entitled “The Truffle marries Brunello”, where he explained the difference between “real” and surrogate truffles, the history of Brunello and how these two examples of gastronomic excellence from the Montalcino area can complement each other. How did it go? 40 people, a full house, in the same way the products on the wine and food stand sold out.