Throwback to hand destemming grapes with the team at Elio Altare
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Throwback to my first Vendemmia and my first trip into the vineyards collecting grapes!
Uno per Uno
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.
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.
A Year in Review
January: Hedonism Wines London
February: Oddero Winemaker’s Dinner in Oslo
March: Celebrating my Birthday with Guiseppe Cavallotto
April: Chiara Boschis and Claudia Cigliuti at Terrioriet
May: Crashing a wine tasting in NYC with Mauro Veglio and his wife Daniela
June: Drinking from a really large glass at Le Benjamin
July: Hanging out at Romanee Conti
August: Working at Mangialonga
September: Fine dining at BA53 with a friend
October: My first harvest
November: I’m back in Piemonte, again…
December: Back with the family for Christmas
Harvest 2016
Going into the vineyard
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.
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. 
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.
Top 5 on my Barolo Bucket List
- La Ciau Del Tornavento
- Truffel hunting
- Pasquetta
- Harvest
- Conterno
La Ciau Del Tornavento
I have never been to this restaurant, but I here it is something you should experience. They have an insane wine list, and a very cool wine cellar. They have over 60.000 bottles of wine from over 450 producers in over 14 countries. That’s quite a selection. Some of the wines are quite old, so if you’re looking for some grape juice with some age, this is the place to go.
Truffel hunting
It may be clichè but I have always wanted to go truffel hunting. Truffel season in Piemonte is very busy as it is a very popular activity. Some *hunting trips* are better than other, or so I have heard. These days the whole thing is very staged. But I think it would be fun, besides the restaurants serve dishes with fresh truffle, and who can say no to that?
Pasquetta
“Easter Monday, also known as La Pasquetta in Italian, is part of the Easter holiday celebrations that are celebrated across Italy. It is a popular time to take short breaks to the countryside with friends and/or family. Easter games include egg races.” Basically, the whole day is set aside to eat and drink as much as you can with as many people as you can. If the weather permits, picnic outside is a must.
Harvest
This is something I have wanted to do for a while, but I have always been away at school during harvest time. Hopefully in 2016 I will be able to go down for at least a weekend to experience it. I’m sure I won’t last more than half a day, it would be nice to tick it off the bucket list.
Toni and Luca Currado (Vietti)
Conterno
This last one might come as a surprise to someone, but visiting Conterno would be pretty cool. It is almost impossible to get an appoitnment and if you are lucky enough to be let in the gate you mostly likely have to cough up about 300 Euros. Many think this is silly, and it kind of is, but Conterno is one of the legends and it would be interesting to both taste the wines but also see the winery and meet the family. Hopefully one day!
PIEMONTEGIRL 