Borgo Rinaldi
There are some reunions that feel less like meeting again and more like simply continuing where you left off.
We finally arrived at Tenuta dei Fiori in Calosso, our home in Piedmont for the next three days. We first met Valter, Yvette and their two lovely children, Simone and Michelle, 12 years ago. Since then, we have stayed connected across countries and years. We hosted them when they visited Singapore, and last year Yvette welcomed us into her home in Zurich. So arriving at their beautiful winery home this time felt wonderfully familiar.
After settling into our rooms, we did what one should always do in Piedmont. Gather around, pour some wine and talk. Before long, we were off for dinner at Borgo Rinaldi, where Chef Claudio Meschiati runs a rustic cucina di campagna home restaurant.
This was Piedmontese cooking in the way I enjoy it most. Generous, unpretentious and deeply rooted in tradition.
We started with classics including Acciughe al Verde, anchovies dressed generously with parsley, garlic and olive oil, and Vitello Tonnato, thin slices of veal served with the region’s famous creamy tuna sauce. There was also Insalata Russa, the Piedmontese version of Russian salad, rich and comforting.
Then came Ravioli del Plin, one of Piedmont’s most beloved stuffed pastas, followed by Rolata di Coniglio con Verdure di Stagione, stuffed rabbit roll, that tasted exactly like countryside cooking should. Slow, hearty and made for a glass of red wine beside it. Dessert included the sort of old fashioned Piedmontese sweets that remind you this region has never needed fancy tricks to make people happy.
And of course there were Valter’s wines throughout dinner. Probably more bottles than any of us needed, but nobody at the table was counting.
The food was good, but what made the evening special was everything around it. Valter and Yvette, their family, old friends meeting again after 12 years, our own friends travelling with us, and conversations that somehow stretched late into the night.
Sometimes the most memorable meals are not about the most technically perfect dish. They are about whose table you are sitting at, who is pouring the wine and how reluctant everyone is to call it a night.
Our first evening in Piedmont could not have started better.
