Harvest 2016
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Category Archives: Piemonte
Piemontegirl’s First Vendemmia
I have been in Barolo quite a few times, but I have never been there for the harvest. But finally, this year, I got to experience it. It really is a very interesting moment. All the hard work that has been done in the vineyard is now on it’s way to become wine. Most of the work is done. Now we just wait and see. These grapes will be wine in 2 to 5 years.
Mauro Veglio
I have been to Mauro Veglio’s winery many times, both for visits and for a coffee break. But I went back again for a visit this time because my brother had never been for an official winery tour and tasting. It’s always a pleasure to spend time with Daniela, and Mauro of course (although it’s easier to have a conversation with him if you speak Italian). Daniela was kind enough to show us Barolo 2013 from the tanks, so we could compare them to the 2012’s. It’s always interesting to compare vintages.
Looking forward to visiting again soon, and of course drink more of their wines!
Nadia Curto
When you visit with Nadia it’s more like a casual aperitivo than a wine tasting. She offers some salami and cheese, opens a few wines and you just sit around and drink together. I always love coming here, I just have the best time. Nadia is wonderful, extremely funny and very kind. It was a while since I’d been there, and one thing that was very different from last time was her labels! She completely changed them, as you see above. Below are her old labels.
My brother enjoying the wine and salami
The 2012’s are looking really good, it was a treat to taste her 2012 Arborina. She brought out a 2007 so we could compare them, which is always fascinating. The 2007 is showing well. Nadia also makes a Freisa, which is a lesser known wine, but quite a few producers make it. Sometimes it’s fizzy and sometimes not, some make it one way on purpose and others make it so it’s fizzy one year and not fizzy another. Anyways, it was an excellent visit and I hope to be back soon!
New label vs Old label
Back in Piemonte
Finally back in Piemonte. It’s vacation time, which means lots of eating and drinking. And many winery visits. The next few days are full of exciting visits many different producers.
Labor of Love
I enjoy reading wine books, browsing the pictures, learning about grape varieties and wine regions. The newest addition to my wine book collection is “Labor of Love” by Suzanne Hoffman.
I actually had the pleasure of meeting Suzanne at a dinner last summer. At the time I was working with Silvia Altare at her winery. We met up with many other winemaker women at a restaurant in Barolo. Chiara Boschis, Silvia Altare, Marta Rinaldi and a few other women were there. The only man at the table was Suzanne’s husband, and at the end we were joined by Enzo Brezza.
Suzanne’s book is about all the women in winemaking. So may families in Piemonte now have only women running the show at the wineries. And “Labor of Love’ highlights the women in these winemaker families. These women will carry on the work and traditions going forward and I am really excited to see what’s in store for the future.
Planning my trip to Barolo
My next trip to Barolo is fast approaching and the winery visits are quickly adding up. I try to plan as many tastings and dinners as I can, but the Italian people do not do so well with planning. So, they key to success is to plan as many visits as possible, but leave enough space open for impromptu garden parties and aperitivos.
Claudia Cigliuti and Chiara Boschis
I have booked a few visits. I’ll be visiting Massolino in Serralunga, never been there before. I also booked a visit with Claudia Cigliuti, I have never been there either. Luisa Rocca is in the books and hopefully she’ll join us for lunch in Babaresco.
I am hoping to be able to visit Ettore Germano as well, everyone knows I love his Herzu! And of course I hope to pay visits to the usual suspects.
Monaco
Day 7
Monte Carlo here I come!
I couldn’t believe it when I realized I had agreed to go to Monaco for a day. Yikes! Of well, off we go!
Crazy! That is one way to describe Monaco. The buildings, the people, the yachts, the cars, the stores; crazy! But also, so beautiful! We had a fantastic day! Lunch was so fun they had to throw us out! And we made many fun friends.
After lunch we walked around. We went to the Casino square and looked at all the amazing buildings. Incredible. And the casino was so beautiful. We only got to sneak a peak but I am not that interested in casinos so it was ok. As we were headed home the Birthday girl wanted Starbucks so we stopped by to get her a frappucino before driving back home. What a day!
Day 6
On the 6th day of my trip I started with a wine tasting at Manzone in Monforte. I had the pleasure of meeting with Mirella, and she showed me the cellar and a few of her wines. I will write more about my visit at a later time.
After the tasting I drove back to La Morra for lunch at Osteria Veglio with Isabella and Pietro Oddero. I know Isabella very well from before, but I only recently had the pleasure of meeting Pietro in Oslo at Territoriet when he was here for a wine tasting. For lunch we had Marchesi di Gresy’s Sauvignon.
After lunch I drove straigth to Brezza for a quick tasting and to buy some wine. Amanda, she works at Brezza, is a very nice young lady from America. We have spent some time together from before, so the tasting was more of a catch up. She has started a blog, check it out here: http://www.amandaswineadventures.com/
After Brezza I rushed over to see Carlotta Rinaldi and her beautiful dog Vida. I always love visiting Rinaldi. The whole family is great. And it is always a blast when Beppe *Citrico* joins us, as he did this time! The visit had more to do with dogs and motorbikes than to do with wine, although we did have the chance to try some of their fantastic wines.
The night ended not so quietly at More e Macine with a little too much wine that I actually consumed in the kitchen. A first for me. I spent the majority of my time with the staff in the kitchen, trying both food and wine while dancing to *Watch me whip*. This was a day for the books.
PIEMONTEGIRL 