Barolo and Barbaresco

I don't know a lot about wine, but over the years I have learned that Barolo and Barbaresco are two of the most famous names in Italian wine.  Both are big red wines with plenty of favor and character.  They go well with hearty food.  Last weekend Peggy and I spent a day in these two regions learning about these famous wines and the land that produces them.

In preparing for our trip we took a wine class on these varieties and Jason, the instructor, hooked us up with a guide in Italy to give us a day of viticulture, you know, wine stuff.  Robert, it turns out, is originally from Stillwater, Minnesota but has lived in Italy for 13 years, following his wife Leslie there.  She was a wine buyer in Minnesota who represented many big name Italian wines in the US market and is now working in Italy.

We took a train from Turin south to Asti. (Yes, it is a town and yes someone from here once sold Spumante, you may remember this from years ago. "Spumante" is just Italian for "sparkling", but now no Italian wine maker hoping to send their sparkling wine to the US will use this name.)  Here our guide Robert met us for a day of wine and food. We started in the Barolo region.  Barolo is called the king of Italian wines - it has lots of structure, plenty of tannins, and can be earthy and rich.  It is not what one sips on a patio on a sunny afternoon.  It is very famous (meaning that even I know something about it).  We spent some time in La Morra, a village here that overlooks, I kid you not, the entire Barolo region.  This is possible because all Barolo wines come from an area of just 4,900 acres!  Here is Peggy taking in this view.

The grape used in both Barolo and Barbaresco is called nebbiolo.  Named after the fog that collects on the hills here: "nebbia" is Italian for fog.   It is a very difficult grape to grow and requires a long season, but the rewards make it worth it.  We stopped in the Cantina Comunale di La Morra - the wine shop of the village that sells only Barolo from this corner of the Barolo region.  There are still plenty, as you can see:

From here we headed to the village of Barolo.  A small place with a big reputation.

On the way to Barolo, Robert told of the purchase of the Vietti winery a few years ago.  The Italian headlines read "A fall from grace" as some Americans had bought it.  Vietti has a rich history of over 100 years and makes very good wine.  Fortunately these Americans have left things alone, keeping the family winemaker and only changing things a bit by adding a tasting room.  Still it caused a lot of consternation here.  Robert was asked about these Americans and had to do a little research to find out more about them but determined they were alright and were doing this for the right reasons.  Who were these Americans?  The family that owns Kum & Go gas stations all over Iowa!  This was, obviously, not expected.  We tasted a few Barolos in the Cantina Regionale here.  Here is a Vietti bottle in the fancy wine dispenser.  

Next we headed to Robert's house for lunch -- local cheese, roasted vegetables, and homemade pasta. And some wine, of course.

It was as good as it looks!

Next up, Barbaresco; equally famous but only about 2,500 acres. In the village of Barbaresco we visited the regional wine center and tasted a few.  Of course they have produced wine here forever, but a little over 100 years ago the local priest thought the village could save itself from economic decline by selling their wine collectively, and the local winemakers stored wine from those first 4 years in the basement of the local church.  Protestants could learn a thing or two from the Catholics...

The wine pictured above is the 2008 Riserva. We bought one of these.  I won't even try to explain how good it is.

Then we visited a winery owned by one of Robert's friends - she also makes amazing wine.  Here we had a taste and wandered the facilities.

We ended up back in Neive, a village that is also a UNESCO World Heritage site.  Dinner at a casual but delicious place - look for a future blog entry on Fassona beef - this stuff is spectacular.

We had a great view the next morning, a lovely breakfast, and then a bus and train ride back to Turin.  A wonderful day and a half in the Piemonte region!

~Eric