Tag Archives: elio altare

Winery Wednesday

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This winery is near and dear to my heart. Silvia is a good friend and I am a super fan of the whole Altare family. Besides the fact that they are wonderful people, they also make really good wine. Elio is considered the “godfather” of Barolo, something you can learn more about if you see “Barolo Boys, The Movie”. If you are in the area I suggest you try to book a visit here. Read more about the winery and their wines here. And if you end up going, please say hello to the family for me!

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Elio and his assistant Tess (and Toni) testing the wines before bottling

Half way to 50

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My birthday is coming up and what better way to celebrate than spending a weekend in Barolo with some of my closest friends. Since I am a Norwegian and the area is becoming more popular, I have planned ahead and the itinerary is almost complete.

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When planning the trip I kept a few things in mind. First of, I want to make sure I visit as many of my favorite restaurants as possible. Second, I try to visit a few of my “regular” wineries so that I get to see my friends. And lastly, I want to make sure my guests have a good time as well. Hopefully there will be a good mix of food, wine and wonderful people. Below you can find the agenda for my birthday weekend!

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Wine of the Week

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Elio Altare Langhe Nebbiolo

 

IMG_7375Wine: Langhe Nebbiolo

Producer: Elio Altare

Region/Appellation: Piemonte, Italy

Grape varieties: Nebbiolo

Vintage: 2014

 

Eye: Intense ruby

Nose: Rose petals, red fruits

Mouth: not too dry, good tannins, red fruits, good acidity

 

 

Price Point: $17

Available at Vinmonopolet: Yes

Read more about the wine here.

Uno per Uno

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What is Uno Per Uno? Literally it means One By One. And that pretty much sums it up. Unoperuno is an Altare wine and they pick the grapes off the stem by hand, one by one. Why? One of the things I love about the Altare family is their innovative spirit and endless energy. A few years ago they decided to try and make a wine where they hand destem the grapes. By doing that, they avoid letting other things into the wine, like part of a stem or a leaf.

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I was very lucky this fall because I got to participate in the hand destemming of the grapes (for maybe 45 min), but even if it was a short experience it was incredible. The whole team sits around these buckets and pick off the grapes one by one. And while I did it for less than an hour, they do it for 10 days!

The work is tedious and takes a very long time, but the product reflects all the effort put into it. If you have the chance, try it! You can read about the wine and the winery here.

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Going into the vineyard

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I was very lucky to be invited along into the vineyards to collect already harvested grapes with the one and only Silvia. We drove her truck along the hill, deep into the vineyard, where the grapes were waiting in their buckets. The leaves are starting to change color, many grapes have already been harvested and there’s dust coming up everywhere where the trucks and tractors are driving around collecting the harvest. It was a truly incredible experience.ja

Silvia and a member of her team loaded the buckets onto the truck, strapped them down, and off we went to bring the grapes back to the winery.

In the picture below you can see that there are many dry berries. This is because of the hail. There was terrible hail in the vineyards along La Morra, and the loss has been devastating for many wineries. PS, the grapes depicted are not the ones belonging to Altare. img_9228