Saturday 25 January: Torino e Grandi Langhe 2025

We travelled to Gatwick from Andover on the 09.06, which involved a change onto a very full train at Basingstoke and the tedium of the slow Richmond loop, to reach Clapham Junction. The onward train was quick, and we arrived (not for the first time) very early. The luggage drop and security were rapid, and by noon we were seated in Wagamamas for lunch. So far, so good.

What a shame the plane was delayed…. In fact we left more than two hours late, the process exacerbated by the absence of a passenger whose case and ski equipment had to be recovered from the hold before we could depart. The flight was full, a little turbulent, but made good time. Turin is a wonderful airport. We were through passport control without a queue, and we arrived in luggage retrieval as the carousel started. David’s case was second off, mine not far behind.

As we purchased our bus tickets for the shuttle, the vendor phoned the driver to hold the bus, and we were rattling out of the airport less than 25 minutes after landing, arriving at Porta Susa directly opposite the hotel Dock Milano, and ten minutes walk from the Grandi Langhe venue.

 

The local enoteca was full (Saturday night!) so we booked there for Monday evening, and headed for a traditional trattoria Risto where we were squeezed into a corner with local family groups and couples, benefitting from a table not needed until after 21.30. When we left at 21.45 there was still no sign of its next occupants. 

Sunday 26 January 2025: sight-seeing in Torino

We slept well, and found the Dock Milano’s breakfast less chaotic and more palatable than the Diplomatic next door. The sun was shining and the weather mild, so we headed towards the centre in search of a shopping Galleria near the main market square. It was elusive, and when finally found, very disappointing; on the brink of re-development with only a popular traditional cafe still functioning within this boarded up space. 

En route we strolled through some of the earlier medieval quarters which had survived the aggrandising Baroque phase; streets and shops and alleys of human scale, without the covered walk ways and six lane wide streets. The remains of Rome stood out as we reached the Duomo and Reali centre. 

We used an old trick – finding an expensive hotel (one of the Lingotto chain) in which to have coffee and re-group. We had the space to ourselves though the coffee was disappointing! After a quick visit to the Duomo which has a surprisingly light and airy feel despite housing the famous Shroud and too many over-elaborated side chapels. In my view its glory is the (15 tomb of Giovanna D’ Orlier della Balme (1400 -1478) whose stonework is exquisite; understated and delicately decorated, with her women attendants in the dress style of the day. Giovanna was the mother of the Bishop who built the Duomo’s Bell tower.

Having learned that via Roma was the pedestrianised main shopping street, within no time David had bought two pairs of shoes in the post Christmas sale. Honour satisfied, we moved on towards the Egyptian Museum to Fresh Cut for a healthy lunch, though the ordering has become impersonal ( on line, of course) though the concept of fresh vegetables and free choice remains! 

We walked down the via Po, the crowds building on this sunny Sunday afternoon, along the river, turning off to have a clear view of the enormous, eccentric Mole, originally built as a Synagogue, but never used for worship. It is now the museum of cinema, with the Rai museum close by. 

The walk home occupied the late afternoon. I began this blog while David researched supper and planned the schedule for tomorrow’s visits. 

We were 40 steps short of 20,000 taken today in a sunny and friendly Turin. 

Monday 27 January 2025: Grandi Langhe e Vini di Piemonte – day one 

The wonderful OGR building has opened two additional rooms to accommodate this year’s enlarged version of Grandi Langhe, now billed with Vini di Piemonte, and there were over 500 producers showing their wines including those from Monferrato and Alto Piemonte. This development is contentious; the Langhe producers less enthusiastic than the newcomers. The buyers and the journalists, including David, are supportive. 

In the morning we were in pursuit of white wines – Favorita, especially,  for the Decanter article. We booked the high quality Snodo ristorante lunch on both days, enjoying the hour or so of relative calm and comfort, as well as an excellent seated and formally served meal. 

By chance I spotted Stevie Kim, the person in charge of VinItaly, just before noon, with whom David has had some loose discussion about his making a presentation this year. I hustled David to go to greet her, and despite her having a meeting imminently, a decision was made for a presentation around his Decanter article on the increase of white wine vines in Piemonte, and voice-mail messages sent to her implementers. Fantastic!

As we were speaking with Stevie, Francesco Monchiero hove into view, greeted by her as the ‘Big Cheese’ to our amusement and his delight. This led to a discussion about the progress of David’s book’s translation, at which point Anna was summoned, from whom we learned that the process could begin, though the precise message was unclear. Two breakthroughs in ten minutes!

Fortunately David texted Andrea Fattizzo who was able later to clarify the terms with Anna, and after a few days of uncertainty, not least because of David’s full diary and other commitments, a timetable for corrections and updates for a final version was agreed. Andrea has proved very helpful, and encouraging.  

En route to the hotel we tackled the train ticket machine and bought returns to Alba for the next day, enjoyed a hot chocolate at the downbeat bar on the corner by the hotel, had a short rest in our room before heading to the Parlapa’ enoteca (booked on Saturday) for 20.00. Service was slow, and a little grumpy but the food and wine was good. We packed before bed, in readiness for our departure the next evening. All very business-like! 

Tuesday 28 January 2025 : Grandi Langhe e Vini di Piemonte – day two 

After breakfast we left our cases with the helpful and efficient reception, and walked via station to purchase the extra tickets (Porta Susa to Aeroporto)  for Sunday,  and then moved on to the OGR which was much less busy; still in pursuit of Favorita and Timorasso but also Nebbiolos and the odd Grignolino. 

We ate lunch once more at Snodo and were greeted warmly by the waiters in a half full dining room. I took some time out of tasting to finish my handwritten diary while David tasted. 

We left the fair at 17.00 as it closed and headed to a better cafe for half an hour before collecting the cases and walking the very short distance to the station to wait for the 18.33 to Alba. It is a busy train, stopping frequently to let commuters and students off at the various small towns to the south, en route to Bra, and on to Alba. 

Arriving around 20.00 we picked up two Poké bowls opposite the station and walked to I Castelli to eat them in the hotel, washed down with a beer served by the grumpy general factotem. The women receptionists recognised us and used their existing copies of our passport for our details. Even the room -213 – was the same aspect if a floor lower.

Almost home from home! 

Wednesday 29 January 2025: Nebbia e Luce visits – the Langhe part one

The Maggiore car hire office is 40m from the hotel entrance, and Luigi (not Eduardo) was ready for us at 08.45, surprised by our opting for the Fiat 500 over a larger automatic. Might it have been the same little red hybrid we’d hired 15 months ago? Whatever, it was waiting for us on the huge car park opposite the hotel, and we reached Gian Luca Colombo at Roddi on the dot of 09.30. We didn’t even notice the wheel arch scratches until after lunch!

This time the sheep were secure in what had been the chicken run, timid when turned out to graze. The poultry have been re-housed. The main building is undergoing major and noisy refurbishing, to be finished in May. The vineyard immediately behind the house sits on Sant’Agata marls, sodden from autumn rains and extraordinarily cloying. A few steps into the rows attracted kilos of slimy yellowy mud some of which clung on all day. I kept my distance; David had his boots on. 

Gian Luca responded generously to David’s invitation to talk about his journey to consultant, and now vineyard and winery owner, talking for hours about those whose influence and support have helped to form him. His aim: to produce the best Barolo ! His respect for the land, the vine, the natural processes of fermentation matches his scientific knowledge of the chemistry; and as we discovered at our first meeting, he is now increasingly drawn to many of the as yet inexplicable bio-dynamic processes. (It reminds me of acupuncture: it works, but we don’t know why)

We stopped for lunch in the Trattoria del Mulino in Gallo, just below Roddi. No menus, just la Madrone walking through the tables offering standard antipasti from large serving dishes, followed by a wave of primi – four types of pasta and four types of sauce; minestrone soup; meat – guancio (cheek) or coniglio (rabbit). Full of italian people from workmen to retirees, and us

I drove to Az Ag Paolo Saracco in Castiglione Tinella, via SP 3bis dual carriageway, and turning east towards Barbaresco and on through Nieve into Moscato country. We recognised the village just as we drove past the hotel in which we had stayed in the summer of 2023 (as David put the finishing touches on his book) and where we heard three impressive sopranos sing outdoors. 

Still within the Cuneo Langhe region, this business is run by a meticulous Paolo, who had just returned from a round-the-world trip, calling in the USA and then on to Japan to meet his importers. He looked dreadful; pale, almost grey, but maintained his composure and sharp focus despite the jetlag and an upset stomach. 

His wife Mary had made a deliciously light hazelnut confection to accompany the sparkling moscato and coffee she produced and which we ate, overlooking a stupendous view of the whole Langhe. Once consumed, Paolo began a detailed and comprehensive tour of the whole winery, the fermentation tanks and the autoclaves, precisely explaining each stage of the process. 

We travelled up to the highest point of the village, to a tiny church at 500m. There he is converting a farmhouse into accommodation for his seasonal, largely Macedonian workforce. He values their loyalty and the quality of their work; this will create permanence. 

We drove home in the fading light, parked the little car on the side street and headed indoors. Our first walk into Alba proper told us things are very quiet, with several eateries closed (including Tritolo despite its website information. After circumnavigating Alba, taking in all our previous apartments and most of the restaurants, we arrived at Ristorante dell’Archo and sat alongside each other at the last free table. artichokes and tongue for me, and a salad and coniglio for David, with a lovely bottle of the Carema cooperative’s 2019 Nebbiolo riserva. A lovely evening after a tiring day, capped by some distracting football results at bedtime. 

Thursday 30 January 2025

By 09.15 were en route to the home of Claudio Boggione on the Via Alba at the very northern end of the Barolo denomination. His is a tiny winery with only 1.1 hectares of the Brunate vineyard, next to Ceretto and Oddero, at the lowest point of this famous vineyard, where their cantina sits,  just behind the massive Vite Vigne buildings. A mechanic by training, he runs a business in Alba, alongside his modest wine-making. Nebbia e Luce have bought his wines – an enormous compliment; his little business alongside the mighty Conterno and  established Oddero!

For lunch we drove through the low cloud and light drizzle up to La Morra and ate a lovely lunch in  More e Maccine with glasses of Arneis and Timorasso, before heading back to Alba to attempt an afternoon’s writing up, and to try to plot the increasing number of time-sensitive calls on David’s time. 

We discover that the next 11 weeks require a fortnight in South Africa (and consequent writing for WSET levels 3 and 4); arranging and completing 16 more visits in Valtellina, Ghemme, Caluso and the Langhe during two weeks of March, and their writing up; prepping for six days in Verona for VinItaly and a masterclass on the white wine article in Decanter, all running alongside the up-dating of some of the general data, and the 200 producer entries in The Wines of Piemonte, in preparation for its translation and publication in Italian.

Easter falls on 20 April, after which the race will be on to address WSET deadlines, complete Nebbia e Luce profiles and finalise the revised text of the book, before a trip to San Gimignano in May and the Wine Scholar Guild’s June Tour! 

We spent a happy evening in an old favourite : Osteria del Vicoletto excellent food and a wine list to entrance David. On both these evenings in familiar places we were fortunate to get a table – both were virtually full, so our arriving 20.00 made a real difference, though it feels that in winter people eat much earlier.

Friday 31 January 2025

We’ve been parking our little red car just outside the hotel, and each day we’ve driven south west along via Ognissanti towards La Morra and Barolo; it couldn’t be easier. Today we visited Isabella at Oddero, arriving for 09.45 just before she arrived. We drove up from the main road, past the chapel on the side of the village.

There followed a very thorough rehearsing of the family’s values and aspirations: to honour the traditions of La Morra, to respect (ie take notice of) the vines themselves as they find their way through climatic change, while remaining open to new perspectives. Isabella (along with several other, especially the larger, established wineries) is not a fan of the expanded Grandi Langhe; temperamentally she is conservative, and understandably protectionist. 

The winery’s latest recruit, Massimo, a young Sicilian from Palermo who trained as an enologist at Alba and Turin, first took us through their Timorasso. Each year, to their relief, the volume of their own-grown grapes in the wine increases as their newly-planted vineyards in Colle Tortonese come into production. They find it difficult to source bought grapes grown to their exacting standards. There followed their Barolo Classico, and the seven MGA wines they produce. Some tasting! 

Our next appointment was at Cascina Sòt, in Bussia San Pietro, en route to Monforte, so we called in at a familiar roadside Tavolo Caldo just before 14.00 where the staff were already eating their lunches. We were half way through a pranzo del lavoro when David realised our appointment was at 14.30 not 15.30. We were only 9 minutes late, though unusually Maurizio Sanso was already outside, waiting for us. This was the first indicator of an anxious and shy personality !

We walked with him up the farm road from the cascina to the crest of the scarp around 480m , from which we could see the vineyards sweeping down on both sides of the watershed; Bricco San Pietro facing west, and facing east, the land sloping down towards Corsini, the landscape dotted with grand houses of the past, the homes of the former owners of their land. 

Maurizio’s grandfather had been share-cropper, to whom the land he worked and its cascina were offered for purchase at a low point in the wine industry’s history. As his grandson said, he didn’t properly realise what he had got, and never enjoyed his life there. Maurizio’s father, one of eight children, born in 1962, was the only one who showed any interest when the grandfather finally gave up, and having bought out his siblings, began farming there. 

The only vines from that past were a few rows (like a snake, Maurizio pointed out) near the house grown for domestic use. His father expanded the vineyards, and sold the grapes, phasing out the mixed farming and cattle which required water that didn’t exist there. Maurizio, born in 1989, had trained in Alba as an enologist, and his father gave him a free hand to make some wine, using a building constructed originally for agricultural purposes. 

The beautiful cascina, the well-cared for cantina and orderly vineyards, and the extraordinary views set between Novello and Monforte make this winery stunning. It is staffed entirely by the family; sister, wife, mother and father. The next generation, shy Alessio, just home from nursery, was already happily driving his toy tractor and trailer before supper. Another extraordinary Langhe story of transformation – in three generations – from tenant farmers, to producers of 11 different labels from the heart of Barolo bearing Cascina Sòt . And they continue to sell some grapes – belt and braces – for €4-5 a kilo….

By the time we left in the gathering dusk he was more voluble, easier in himself, but still worrying; about the wisdom of a family working together; having time with his son, and cycling on Saturday instead of working 24/7, paying the mortgage. Perhaps there are compromises to be made – like good enough! Apparently I offered the same observations as his mother. I took it as a compliment. 

Back to the hotel for a short break before setting off for supper, this time in Il Museum, tucked underground in ancient brick cellars dating from Roman times. Good food, big wine list, efficient single-handed waiter and a handful of diners. Alba in January is a quiet place.

Saturday 1 February 2025 

The final visit of this phase was once again to La Morra, or rather more precisely, to Annunziata where Renato Molino has a minute completely unreconstructed cellar in his small family home, with the small yard guarded by crooked gates held closed by tied wire. The rain had finally set in, welcomed at least by growers though snow instead would be preferable – slow melt is better than rapid and eroding rain – but everywhere Is quickly waterlogged and the countryside awash with mud. Renato arrived shortly after our arrival, and Chiara, his one enology-trained daughter (the others are Olympia, Lucia and Grazia) nervously appeared with an umbrella. 

Fitting four of us in what had once been a little tasting room bordered on the comical. Three botti now occupy the main space, leaving a narrow passage along which we shuffled in turn, until two extra chairs were recovered from the tops of the botti, and we shoe-horned ourselves round a tiny table. It became even more demanding when Grazia (who lives next door) arrived; sulky, sour-faced and monosyllabic; keen to eat the nibbles Chiara had prepared. The easy explanation is painful shyness; and the photo-op produced radiant smiles, actually, from everyone! 

The grapes are fermented in small concrete tanks crammed into the next room, with flat pack boxes stuffed into various nooks and crannies. For those for whom hygiene in the cantina is essential these tight grubby spaces would be a nightmare, but Renato and Chiara’s wines are remarkable; fragrant, fruity with soft tannins and great depth.

Renato works as his parents did, with the advantage of electricity to work pumps and heat water, and the use of small vehicles to convey plastic crates rather than men tipping 40kg of grapes from their backs, at the top of a ladder, straight into the fermenters. It is hard to imagine how things will pan out as Renato ages, though Chiara’s initiative of creating a new vineyard points to the future. The labels below date from the sixties…

We drove back to Alba, filled up the petrol (finally getting the hang of the automatic system) parked the car in the big carpark from whence it came, and dropped off the key in the key box of Maggiore, for Luigi or Eduardo to find on Monday. It rained steadily through the day, so we found a simple lunch in a bar close to the hotel (the new Zupperia was full!) before settling down in the hotel lobby to write up some of the visits, sort out conflicting data for the Decanter article and to catch up with emails. Most of this blog was written here! 

For supper we hit on Aldente, with the red and white checked tablecloths, where we had eaten with Martin Hudson in January 2020 during the last Grandi Langhe to be held in Alba. I negotiated a plate of Spinach with the coy waitress, while David put the padrone through his wine paces in pursuit of a (as it turned out, a non-existent) Ca da Biao Nebbiolo. The food was fine and homely. 

Despite being tired, tonight sleep was elusive; good and poor nights appear to alternate! 

Sunday 2 February 2025 

Breakfast, checkout and a 15 minute walk to the train station to catch the 09.07 to Torino airport, tickets already purchased while we were in Torino earlier in the week. The train is slow, stopping at the many small towns on the main north-south line as we headed north towards snow covered Alps. Here there is snow, but not on the pre-Alps or the Po plain. Just rain and mild temperatures.    The train goes slowly through Lingotto and  Porta Susa, arriving in masses of time for our 14.10 flight to Stansted.

Thereafter the journey into and across London was tedious, and Sunday engineering works between Woking and Basingstoke meant a longer journey via the Richmond loop route. 

The ten minute delay at Clapham nearly finished us off – but fortunately the busy train arrived and we scrambled on.  We were home by 19.45, David having spent many hours typing, and had almost completed a first draft of all five wineries! 10 down, only 15 more to go – for which 16 days in March have already been allocated. Meanwhile, it’s South Africa in only six days time, this time for the WSET!