“Nobel dinner” for physicist Francis Halzen with Piedmont cuisine and great wines

Perhaps there is nothing better than receiving a phone call informing you that you have won the Nobel Prize in physics while sitting at the dinner table, especially when enjoying the finest Piedmontese cuisine perfectly paired with some of Langhe greatest wines. This is no exaggeration: that is exactly what happened to Francis Halzen, whose mobile phone rang a few days ago while he was attending a dinner, already dubbed a “Nobel dinner”, at the Nh Collection Santo Stefano Hotel in Turin. The event was organized by the Italian National Institute for Nuclear Physics to celebrate the physicist who won the prestigious 2026 award “for decisive contributions to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and the discovery of high-energy neutrinos of astrophysical origin”. He celebrated the occasion with wines from Luigi Vico, a young and small Langhe winery founded in 2016 with just 2.1 hectares of vineyards, yet producer of the prestigious Barolo del Comune di Serralunga d’Alba and Barolo Prapò, from the renowned cru of the same name in Serralunga, one of the 11 official Menzioni Comunali of the “king” of wines. Also served were the sparkling wines of Travaglini, a much larger winery and benchmark producer of Gattinara, along with the Langhe Riesling of Massolino, the historic Piedmontese estate founded in the nineteenth century, also based in Serralunga d’Alba.
As a welcome happy hour for the distinguished physicist Francis Halzen, whose work paved the way for the study of ultra-high-energy neutrinos originating from the cosmos, particles investigated by the IceCube experiment in Antarctica, which he helped conceive and develop, and by the underwater neutrino observatory KM3NeT in the Mediterranean Sea, guests were served Nebolè Vaq, Travaglini Metodo Classico sparkling wine made from white-vinified Nebbiolo grapes in Gattinara. To accompany the starter of Piedmontese beef carpaccio with Sicilian anchovies, caper leaves, lime mayonnaise and parsley, glasses were filled with Ius Soli Moscato Secco by Luigi Vico and Langhe Riesling by Massolino. The first course, a Carnaroli risotto cooked with Barolo and porcini mushrooms, was paired with Langhe Nebbiolo Ne Bis in Idem and Langhe Nebbiolo Vigne Vecchie Blu Label, both from Luigi Vico. The same winery wines also accompanied the main course of braised veal cheek with mashed potatoes and honey-glazed spring onions, namely Barolo del Comune di Serralunga d’Alba 2022 and Barolo Prapò 2017. Finally, to round off the meal with dessert, guests enjoyed Moscato d’Asti Echinopsis Mirabilis and Vermouth Bianco di Torino, both produced by Luigi Vico.