A taste of autumn
There is something wonderfully grounding about autumn in Piemonte.
The vineyards turn golden, the hills take on warmer colours, and everywhere you look, the landscape seems to slow down. It is the season of long lunches, wood fires, earthy flavours and perhaps most beautifully, harvest time.
For as long as I can remember, I have dreamed of having a garden with fruit trees. A place where you could simply walk outside, pick something from a tree and bring it straight into the kitchen. It always felt like one of those simple pleasures that belonged to another kind of life, a slower, more connected way of living.
And now, here we are.
At the moment, our quince trees are giving us a wonderful abundance of fruit. The quince or cotogno mele as it is known locally, is not necessarily the prettiest fruit when you first pick it. Firm, golden and slightly mysterious, it has a wonderful fragrance that fills the kitchen almost immediately. There is something unmistakably autumnal about it.
And what better way to enjoy it than by turning it into homemade quince jam?
The process is wonderfully simple but takes time. The fruit is picked from our garden, prepared and slowly cooked until it becomes soft, fragrant and beautifully rich. No rushing, no complicated techniques, just good fruit, patience and a kitchen slowly filling with the most delicious smell of quince.
Everything in the garden is completely organic. There are no unnecessary treatments or shortcuts, just the seasons, the soil and the trees. It makes the harvest feel even more meaningful.
And this is perhaps what we love most about slow living in Piemonte.
It is not about doing nothing. Quite the opposite. It is about doing things differently. Picking fruit by hand. Taking the time to make something yourself. Standing over a pot of jam while the sweet, warm scent of quince fills the house. Then sitting down afterwards with a piece of fresh bread and a spoonful of what you have just made.
Our quince jam is wonderful on fresh bread, but there is one combination we love even more, quince jam with the local Robiola di Roccaverano. The sweetness of the fruit and the creamy, slightly tangy cheese are simply made for each other.
It is a small pleasure but somehow it captures so much of what we love about this place.
The garden gives us something. We take the time to transform it and then we share it around the table.
Perhaps that is the real luxury of autumn at Villa Augustin, not having everything, but having the time to appreciate what is already there.
A basket of quinces, a warm kitchen, a jar of homemade jam.
And the beautiful smell of autumn lingering through the house.