A quick stop in Piedmont to taste Barolo and Barbaresco wines.
I always say that Italians have the superpower to transform simple into extraordinary.
Piedmont is a region in Northern Italy highly renowned for its fantastic gastronomy, history, culture, beautiful landscapes, truffle hunting, and wine.
Piedmont is a large region that borders Liguria, Lombardia, a tiny part of Emilia Romagna, Valle d'Aosta, Switzerland, and France.
It is the hometown of some of the most renowned and highly-priced grape varietals, such as Nebbiolo, Dolcetto, Barbera, and Moscato d'Asti. This region is also Italy's most significant area appellations. It holds 59 DOC and 17 DOCG.
Piedmont is a region with a lot of history. Starting with the establishment of the Turini and Salassi tribes, descendants from the Liguri were the first to plant grapes.
Then Romans arrived, and it took them over a century to fully conquer the territory. However, they started to develop viticulture further, but it was not yet a prestigious area.
When Rome fell, Piedmont was devastated like many other regions of Italy, disrupting agriculture and viticulture in general and going through a social and economic decline.
A while later, the Lombards arrived in the 6th century and divided Piedmont into several dutches and counties. Two hundred years later, Charle Magne conquered the land.
During the middle ages, viticulture flourished again through the work of the monks who began to regulate the area, and grapes started to appear in official documents. (The first records are from Moscato and Nebbiolo).
In the 1800 century, they acquired the land of Sardegna and became one of Italy's most powerful and influential kingdoms. Until 1861 when Italy became "reunified."
All of these changes and separations play a very significant role in what is Piedmont now. I wanted to mention all of these facts to contextualize the region; understanding the past gives us a better understanding of our present.
When visiting Piedmont, I spotted a lot of subdivisions in the area. I noticed many dialects, accents, and traditions from region to region, even if they are close. And all of these factors are present in winemaking styles and techniques. Each town speaks for its land.
During the trip, I discovered that in 1885 the first enological school was founded in Alba. And it made me realize that people from Piedmont had been in contact with the wine for generations, and it is fascinating how it is just part of their lifestyle. People are part of that atmosphere. They grow, taste, living, and breathe good quality wine.
It was a fascinating experience to visit Asti and Alba, the two principal wine towns.
We visited Ca'del Baio, a well-known family winery producing their Barbera and Dolcetto wine. I have to say there is something about tasting wine in the winery; the flavors feel more fresh and pleasant.
The vineyards of this winery are in a beautiful hilly area with perfect sun exposition, which was a dream. Intense colors of yellow and orange covered the scene.
Mornings in Barbaresco are magical; I have read in books that fog is necessary and very important in winemaking because it refreshes the vines and creates a better environment to grow delicate grapes such as Nebbiolo (early ripener). But witnessing this natural condition makes the experience even more incredible.
Walking in Barbaresco made me feel like in a movie. The town is at the top of the hill; some of the most majestic wineries like Gaja are around.(Which is my dream to visit next year). It is a fairy tale land.
Our next stop was Barolo, a gorgeous wine tasting in #Cannubi at Frateli Serio Batista. Famous family winery for being among the best MGA´S and top exposition sites and its unique soils. A region where Serravallian and Tortonian terroirs merge, the magic begins.
Due to the limestone and clay mixed soils, the area is rich in minerals, magnesium, and manganese carbonates, perfect conditions to grow the highest class or top crus from the region.
The views were magnificent, and the gentle sunrise in the morning lightened up the landscape. It was perfectly harmonic; it is hard to put in words all the beauty of that place, but it´s wines surely speak for their territory. I will never forget the flavors of roses, violets, red plums, vanilla, and spice and of those wines and the sensation of that cold misty morning while we were enjoying the most excellent wines.
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