View from La Morra, commune of Barolo. And, trust me, we needed this damn map. (All photos by Kat Bryant)
Driving south from Alba, on a foggy, rainy morning, the hills began to rise up around us like a misty dream. As our little Fiat traversed the windy roads, the world we were about to spend four days in came sharply into focus (see photo slideshow at bottom).
Hillsides swallowed up hillsides; vistas stretched endlessly to the horizon and tiny castles and towers marked hilltop towns in every direction. After countless pictures I’d seen of this area, I was ill prepared for the magnitude of it. The cathedral of vines on all sides was staggering. The land was blanketed from head to toe in tidy rows of them, many with stakes rooting each one to the earth. The sporadic hamlets and farmhouses seemed to be nuisances to the vines’ path, like large rocks in a lazy, green river.
The pride of Barbaresco
We had three winery appointments, which hardly even scratched the surface of the hundreds of passionate winemakers and grape growers who call these hills home. But they are top dogs, trendsetters, and innovators in this world. Over two days, we were welcomed into the cellars and tasting rooms of Aldo Conterno, Gaja and Renato Ratti. Each spent an excessively gracious amount of time with us and told us their stories and tasted us on their wines as we discussed life, philosophy, business and even beer.
For overview sake, Italy was not taken seriously on the quality wine stage until very recently. While growing a hell of a lot of grapes over a hell of a long period of time, it was not until the 1970’s and 1980’s that the country adopted winemaking practices that showed the world it’s capability of producing world-class wines. Much of this early groundswell began in Piemonte (a name that literally translates to “foot of the Alps”).
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Tags: Aldo Conterno, Arneis, Barbaresco, Barolo, Dolcetto, Gaja, Italy, La Morra, Monforte d'Alba, Nebbiolo, Piedmont, Renato Ratti, Vineyard porn
