Order of Knights of the Truffle and Wines of Alba

The Order of Knights of the Truffle and Wines of Alba was founded on 22nd February 1967. What started out as a small food and wine fraternity in a simple tavern in Grinzane Cavour is now an Order with thousands of members. What has never changed is the aim of the 21 founders: to preserve, protect or revive local customs and traditions, to qualify the area’s food and wine, to actively promote the gastronomy and wines of the Alba area, both in Italy and abroad.

The Order – led by a Grand Master and a Regent Council – has a large number of Knights, scattered throughout Italy and abroad, particularly in Alba, Turin, Genoa, Milan, Rome, Lucerne, Lausanne, as well as in Argentina and Hong Kong, where delegations are set up to hold regular meetings to test and verify the combination of local food and fine wines from the Alba area.

In 1967, the Order contributed to the establishment of the “Enoteca Regionale Piemontese” – the first wine shop of this kind in the Piedmont Region – located in the Castle of Grinzane Cavour, where thousands of visitors every year can taste and purchase wines produced by many local wineries approved and authorised by the Enoteca according to precise regulations.The historic Castle also houses the “Ristorante dell’Enoteca”, where traditional dishes are served: at this restaurant, the Order of Knights of the Truffle and Wines of Alba organises meetings – called Chapters – during which food and wine issues are discussed and dishes prepared according to traditional recipes are served and paired with the best wines selected by the Order’s experts.

Since 1974, every year the Knights Tasters prepare a “Selection of the Great Wines of the Alba ares” under the supervision of the Ministry of Agriculture. The Order also publishes valuable texts on local gastronomy, oenology and viticulture.