This is one for the books.

I had met Roberto at a Champagne dinner earlier this month, and decided I needed to visit his winery. I have tasted very few, if any, of his wines before, and so it was time. And it was a very good decision. Naturally, I did not expect him to be there. He is a busy man, and as always I try to not expect to much when I visit, as I know it’s a busy business to be in. His daughter in law, Miriam, showed me around (we were a group, it was not just me).

We started in the vineyard. Few wineries do this, but I think it’s one of the best ways to start a visit. Because, after all, that is where the winemaking starts. And Voerzio is a firm believer in that the winemaking is mostly done in the vineyard. The work done in the cellar, once the grapes are picked, does not have an enormous effect on the wine. And as they add nothing to the wine, it’s really the vines, soil and grapes that makes the wine what it is.

“The wines are an expression of the soil” (paraphrased, but nonetheless what Miri said.

We of course went in the cellar, where we ran into Roberto. He was doing a tour simultaneously. An example of how busy they are. After the cellar, we went to the beautiful tasting room. We tasted Barolo 2008, Barolo Riserva 2005, Barbera Pozzo 2010 2008 2004. Of all the wines my favorite was the Barbera 2008. Extremely good. They treat this barbera like a barolo, which is probably one of the reasons why it was exceptionally good.

Now lastly, I want to mention the label. I think this is my favorite label so far. And this is why: As you can see, the label in 2004 does not have a star in the upper left corner, but the 2008 and 2010 do. This is because Roberto’s wife died of cancer. So the star represents her. A beautiful way to commemorate a family member.