A nut to remember: The Piemontese Tonde Gentile

The humble hazelnut came under the spotlight at Cottage Vineyards’ ‘Four Hands’ dinner in Macau and Hong Kong, alongside some of Piemonte’s lesser known grape varieties.

Michelin-starred guest chef, Damiano Nigro, alongside five winemakers who produce some of Piemonte’s iconic wines – Barolo and Barbaresco – as well as some of its ‘forgotten wines’ introduced Hong Kong’s and Macau’s winelovers to a visual feast, with the Tonde Gentile hazelnut as the focus.

The round, glossy nut which grows in the verdant fields of the Langhe – the Tonde Gentile – is behind the famed Nutella story, where a northern Italian farmer, Pietro Ferrero had so many hazelnuts he didn’t know what to do with them, and so created a cheap confectionary using a small amount of cocoa in the grim, post-war years in Italy.

And so it was the subject of Damiano’s fifth ‘Nocciola in Tavola’ (hazelnuts on the table) for his first Asian venture, spread across a dinner in Hong Kong’s Cucina restaurant in the Marco Polo Hotel and Macau’s Aurora Restaurant in Altira.

Working together with head chefs, Andrea Delzanno from Cucina and Francesco Greco from Aurora, Damiano created a multi-course hazelnut-focused dinner paired with ‘forgotten’ wines of the Piemonte region from winemakers, Claudio Viberti of Viberti Giovanni, Mario Andrion of Castello di Verduno, Pietro Cassina of Pietro Cassina, Franco Penna of Cascina Barisel and Fabrizio Franonce of Francone Vini.

Roland Muksch, vice-chairman of the Hong Kong Wine Society led two wine masterclasses comparing Barolo and Barbaresco to wines using grapes that are generally known for blending –  including the grapes of Vespolina and Lessona and Bonarda, as well as white wine, Erbaluce (often used for sweet Italian wines) and Pinot Noir-like Pelaverga Piccolo which is commonly used to make lighter, sparkling wines.

“When people think of Piemonte wines,” said Muksch. “Most commonly, they will come up with Barolo and Barbaresco made from the Nebbiolo grape. Lessona, Bonarda and Vespolina are typically used in blending to soften Nebbiolo’s harsher edges so it’s great to see innovative winemakers making wines with these less common grapes in the main.”

Pietro Cassina’s Erbaluce bianco was a match for the seared scallop and hazelnut starter

Lessona, Bonarda and Vespolina are similar to their Nebbiolo cousin, producing tannic, powerful wines that cannot be drunk too young and rarely as a single varietal, but as wine consultant, Tersina Shieh pointed out, “Whether or not these wines will ever be as popular as Barolo or Barbaresco doesn’t really matter, it’s the idea that the winemakers are championing these lesser-known grapes which reflect the true terroir of the Piemonte region.”

Before dinner, guests were able to try Francone’s 100% sparkling Nebbiolo rose before devouring taglioni with Boston lobster, Wagyu beef cheek with celeriac root and baked seabass with artichoke, black truffle, all of which used Tonde Gentile hazelnuts in imaginative ways – whole, crushed, as a paste and blitzed.

Damiano who has worked with Marco Pierre White, Alain Ducasse and Gualtiero Marchesi and received his first Michelin star in 2010 for his Piemonte restaurant, Villa d’Amelia said: “It’s been wonderful to bring to Asia for the first time my passion for the hazelnut and to see how beautifully it pairs with some of our region’s greatest wines.

“This is the first time I have expanded this event to Asia and Hong Kong as a  vibrant, culinary hotspot was a great setting.”