When one of our clients asked to spice up his strategic session with a touch of Italian rhythm, together with our partner Local Vibes we planned something truly unique and approached the idea of travel in a particularly creative way. An article about this was published in the magazine INVESTUOK.
Evening falls. The golden sun illuminates idyllic towers of medieval castles and churches. Gentle rays slip through the open doors of the hall. Guests have been buzzing here for quite a while already – the dinner atmosphere is heating up, and you are part of it.
This is exactly how one could describe a unique motivational business journey to the mysterious Piedmont, where south of Turin the landscape begins to roll gently, and vineyard-covered hills rise up to 500 meters above sea level.
Imagine yourself cycling along narrow winding roads between vineyards, climbing up sun- and wind-kissed slopes, and then descending again into valleys covered with hazel, alder, and oak groves.
At first, you are enchanted by the Italian summer and vineyard views, observing the changing colors and searching for the most beautiful grape bunch. More than once you taste grapes straight from the vine. Here it’s Moscato, there Barbera, Nebbiolo, Dolcetto… Later, your eyes adjust. The bustle grows and you realize – the harvest has ripened, winemakers line up their red baskets and drive away with trailers full of ripe summer. Just like that, without regret, the golden autumn rolls in.
“We fell in love with Piedmont in exactly the same way. We traveled from Alsace in France to Tuscany in Italy via Burgundy, Languedoc and Provence. One day, driving from Châteauneuf-du-Pape to Tuscany, we were running late and decided to stop overnight in Piedmont. We planned for just one night, but stayed for three days,” – recalls Local Vibeswine travel founders Inesa Semionova and Aidas Šemežys.
The passion for traveling and visiting food and wine estates soon turned into a true calling, which began to take up more and more of their lives. Having left careers in IT, today they share the local lifestyle daily on their travel channel Local Vibes.
Living between Lithuania and Italy, the couple became the first Lithuanians to be initiated into the mysterious Order of the Knights of Alba’s White Truffles and Wine.
“People ask us what we received the orders for. We have been organizing unique wine journeys and white truffle hunts for years. Apparently, our sincere work in presenting the region’s gastronomic heritage and traditions to the Baltic audience did not go unnoticed, and after four years we were invited to join the ranks of the Alba White Truffle and Wine Knights.”
Traveling along less-trodden wine roads, Local Vibes organizes nighttime white truffle hunts. And every summer, several Lithuanian companies come to immerse themselves in the local lifestyle, recharge with work energy for autumn, and at the same time review their half-year results.
“For example, two years ago in July we organized a gastronomic wine trip for a construction company. What impressed them most was the working space we created at a winemaker’s ancient cellar among wooden barrels,” – smiles I. Semionova, noting that such experiences are perhaps the best investment in team motivation and strengthening colleague relationships.
From late August or early September begins the most active time, when vineyards are harvested. The grape clusters are carefully cut, inspected and sorted into baskets, which the locals load into carts. The action then moves to the family winery.
This is perhaps the most popular experience planned by Local Vibes, designed for those who want to extend the summer and at the same time immerse themselves in the lively Italian atmosphere: to harvest grapes together with winemakers in the fields, or observe the process from the side, share meals, and witness firsthand how the most famous Italian wines are made.
When it comes to Piedmont wine, it is the name Barolo that resonates the loudest. Barolo is produced in a small territory of only 2000 hectares in southern Piedmont, in the historic Langhe region. The soil consists of clay, marl, limestone, sandy inclusions, and fossilized volcanic ash. Fossils are also found in many slopes, since 5–15 million years ago this was the seabed. This diverse soil results in very different wines, expressing the nuances of the terroir. Vineyards must be carefully selected several times a year. Barolo wines must be aged for no less than 38 months, while Riserva – at least 62 months. It is required that at least 18 months be spent in wooden barrels.
“I remember the first time I suggested to an international IT company that they come to Piedmont to try on a winemaker’s shoes or join us on a white truffle hunt. At the time, I was misunderstood. I clearly remember the criteria they asked us to follow – it must be warm, and the hotel should be by the seaside with a swimming pool. And yet this year marks the fourth time that the same company is coming to us in autumnal Piedmont,” – smiles Inesa Semionova.
It is precisely in Piedmont that the white Alba truffles grow. Their price is determined each year by the harvest and reaches four-digit numbers per kilogram.
“Do we hide the truffles underground and will we search with pigs – this is perhaps the most common question we get asked. And what I am most proud of is that not a single person who hunted white truffles with Local Vibes in Piedmont has ever gone home doubtful.”
According to I. Semionova, doubts vanish as soon as one sees the trifolau and their dogs, with whom they set off into the woods on wet, rough trails. Dry branches catch on jackets, under the leaves the rain-soaked white marl makes people slip, sometimes fall, and then it starts raining again. Twilight. Then darkness. Only the sharp beam of a flashlight for the dog. Everyone watches intently – the evening emotion is real, with no simulation.
After the hunt, in a small traditional farmhouse, untouched for tourist eyes, with the fireplace crackling – the catch is used to season the dishes. All of it is real, deeply authentic, and heartfelt.
“Word about our planned experiences and unique journeys spreads from mouth to mouth, and that’s the best advertising. Often we hunt white truffles with groups of friends, and later some couple returns with colleagues for a workation that we plan individually. To this day we don’t have a single repeated journey. Each gastronomic trip we plan is an experience we have felt and lived ourselves, taking less-traveled roads and tailoring it to the needs of each traveling group,” – shares I. Semionova.
It’s worth noting that the white truffle season is rather short, lasting from October until the end of November, while the most famous white truffle festival in Alba takes place only on weekends. We are talking about 10 autumn weekends, which are practically fully booked long before truffle season begins. Today, demand and growing interest in Piedmont far exceeds supply, which is why foreign companies traveling with Local Vibes tend to book such trips more than a year in advance. In Lithuania, many companies still decide spontaneously or just a few months before – which in its own way is also charming. In such cases, travelers create no expectations, arrive, are surprised, and want to repeat this or other similar experiences.
“Our dream is to discover what is still undiscovered, authentic, to get to know and support non-commercial producers and small family farms. It’s easy to find and sell a well-known brand, but it takes a lot of dedication and enthusiasm to present a less-known, modest rural producer who offers the same quality and even greater value.”
They almost never choose standard chain hotels, nor do they plan them for their guests. People value small winemakers’ houses more, where in the morning the smell of fresh bread wakes you, and the hostess herself pours coffee into your cup. If it is a business trip – it must not be banal, local color is especially important. Why not plan a work session in a goat cheese farm overlooking the countryside, or in a cashmere factory counting hundreds of years of family business success?
“People say we make their dreams come true, but I think we’re simply sharing ours. It makes me sad to see beautiful, well-polished tourist estates that haven’t seen the owner’s footprint in ages, yet buses bring in masses of tourists, and visits lack any personal attention. I believe this is not what we are really looking for when we travel,” – share the Lithuanians who have fallen for the beauty of Piedmont.