Coffee houses were the traditional gathering places where the protagonists of the Italian Risorgimento discussed politics, artists met and the bourgeoisie talked business. Today, too, many historic cafés still conserve their original furnishings and heady atmosphere of animated conversation. The barman will fix to order not just a cup of coffee but an entire range of variations on the bean--espresso, ristretto, macchiato con latte o panna, cappuccino, marocchino, caffè freddo, or a tempting "bicherin", a specialty made with coffee, chocolate and creme.

As a world-famous wine-growing area, Piedmont's wine shops and restaurants offer a vast selection of fine wines. And as wine connoisseurs know, wine is not just wine. Depending on the vintage, the producer and the terrain, each wine develops its own particular character. So too the characteristics of the grape, the method of vinification and the type of wood barrel used to finish the wine all play a role in creating its distinctive qualities. Wine tasting is the art of discovering all the aromas, crispness, bouquet, tannins, degree of maturation, and with practice, even the age of the vineyard.

Turin has a long, not widely known tradition of brewing. It was in fact the home of Italy's first brewery, Bosio & Caratsch, inaugurated in 1845 and soon followed by many otherts including the renowed Boringhieri, Durio, and Metzger breweries, attracted by the particular characteristics of the water of Turin. As a matter of fact all these breweries were located close to Dora river. Nowadays Turin still has in the same area a production of  crafted beers