Ms Sharma of Piedmont

We started preparing turinepi22 one year ago these days and the first person we interviewed was our very own "Ms Sharma of Piedmont" aka Jyothi Aimino.

If you are a fan of Bridgerton and have been a Turinepi follower for quite some time, by now you know most of Jyothi Aimino's story.

Jyothi Aimino with Lucia of Turinepi

Of Indian origin, Jyothi has grown up a true Canavese lady (Canavese is one of the wine district of Piedmont) with deep roots in her land and a strong penchant for wholesome food and high quality wines. 

We first met her over her personal IG account where she defined herself as an Indian-Piedmontese gastronome written in our local dialect 😉 and over the years we have invited her to multiple Turinepi editions because her enthusiasm is simply irresistible.

Back then, when she was 'just' an Indian-Piedmontese gastronome, Jyothi was completing her studies at the Slow Food University in  Pollenzo (Stanley Tucci visited it in Searching For Italy 2.2) and exploring different options for her future. 

with her eyes wide open and senses well awaken, she has relentless investigated and collected experiences giving life to one of her young girl's dreams: working the land where she has grown up, producing those traditional products you can only find  in that district: wine, jams, juices, all the local specialties of the Canavese wine district located at about 1h driving from Turin.

This is how she funded her winery, L'Erm or the hill in the local dialect. This winery has now an orchard and a small olive grove as well.

The selection of her Nebbiolo and Erbaluce vines might sound expected but definitely the fruits of her orchard and the jams she makes are rather original and unique.

Passaggio Canavese DOC Nebbiolo

Just like the Viscount's wife, Jyothi is very inquisitive and loves to always add her personal touch to everything she does. She's highly creative and multitalented so it comes easy to her to think of a specific vinification process to guarantee the authentic flavor of her grapes; or to resurrect some long forgotten fruits the average Mario isn't very familiar with anymore, or to tweak the traditional recipes to provide a subtle Indian twist.

giuggiole originally jujubes or red dates

We were lucky to sample some of her creations:

• her Passaggio Nebbiolo DOC from the Canavese district here in Piedmont: aged in French oak barrels that lost all their wood aromas to preserve the true Nebbiolo grapes identity  
• her surprisingly delicate peach, amaretto cookie and cardamom jam, perfect with your breakfast, cheese dishes and desserts
• her unique giuggiole or red date jam we used for a brie roll made with puff pastry and seeds
• her smooth olive paté perfect with any pasta, bread and cheese!

In short we were spoiled and traveled with each bite and sip 🍷

delish brie roll with L'Erm giuggiole jam and mixed seeds

However, our very own Ms Sharma of Piedmont is a creative engine, always working at new projects to share her Canavese roots, the products of the land that welcomed her and naturally, her deep Indian soul that lights up everything she does.

Italian interview:

Look Jyothi Aimino up on IG, visit her at L'Erm when you are in Turin and Piedmont (yes, there will be activities for your kids too!) and ... think of her when watching Bridgerton season 2 and 3!