Corkscrew as a star

I was writing several times about Piedmont wines, smaller and bigger wineries in the Langhe and Roero, however, this time I will concentrate on corkscrew. You may think – a kitchen utensil like many others, what is to write about? Well, let’s just have a look…

Museum of Corkscrews in Barolo, Piedmont, Italy
colorful, optimistic, a real pieves of art…

Continue reading “Corkscrew as a star”

The gnome’s vineyard

Any time I visit cellars in the Langhe area I always come back home full of positive energy and lots of inspiring stories and ideas. It couldn’t be different after my meeting with Sara Vezza Saffirio, a young and entrepreneurial winemaker at Josetta Saffirio in Casteletto (Monforte d’Alba). As 23-year-old girl she already decided to stay in the area and to continue a family tradition of making wines.

Josetta Saffirio, Monforte d'alba, Piedmont, Italy
Sara Vezza Saffirio

Continue reading “The gnome’s vineyard”

Cavaliere from La Morra

After my visit in Elio Altare vineyard I was curious how traditional winery can look like in our time. So I visited Lorenzo Accomasso. He lives and works not far from Elio Altare and his family. In the Langhe he is a legend, honored by cavaliere title by the president of the Italian Republic for his merits in the Langhe wine culture. In the 70s he has already implemented the method of heavy pruning of grapevine gaining in this way a better quality of harvest, what’s more for more than 20 years he was the president of the Regional Enoteca in La Morra. He works with his sister and they cultivate 3 ha of land, take care of both vinification and selling process. Lorenzo Accomasso is a good example of an old generation – he lives lives in a modest and simple way. From time to time he is visited by wine lovers, professionals and distributors even from Asia. It turns out his wines are much more popular in distant Japan, then in shops and restaurants in Piedmont region…

Barolo of Lorenzo Accomasso, Piedmont, Italy
Barolo Riserva Rocche 2006 and Barolo Riserva Vigneto Rocchette 2006

Continue reading “Cavaliere from La Morra”

Barriques contra botti

Barolo, produced in 11 communes, by 770 producers, in the quantity of 10 920 000 a year, it has already become a true ambassador of Piedmont region, and a bottle of this red liquid is an object of desire for wine lovers. No wonder that both tourists and professionals visit wineries and they listen eagerly to winemakers telling about their history, job, everyday challenges, but also techniques used for wine production. And the last one, by the way, can be completely different. An example? Two neighbors living in La Morra: Elio Altare and Lorenzo Accomasso. Lorenzo Accomasso is a symbol of tradition, while Elio Altare was one of pioneers in using new methods in Barolo making process. And even though a division between traditionalists and modernists doesn’t exist anymore, no so long time ago the wine world in the Langhe was heavily divided. And the reason was …the size of a wood barrel.

Cantina Elio Altare, Piedmont, Italy
French barriques

Continue reading “Barriques contra botti”