When you visit the area there are so many small producers to try it never gets old. Here are a few of our favorites that are relatively easy to find in the US. You can see my post An Insider’s Short List of Favorite Barolo Wines for some of our favorites.
Here are a few Barolo we have discovered recently.
Viberti Giovani – We visited this winery on our last Small Group Tour of Piedmont and fell in love with the wine, the people, and the cantina. It is a traditional family run winery just outside of La Morra. Its flagship Barolo “IL Buon Padre” is also the name of their traditional restaurant above the cantina. In addition, they recently opened a more contemporary restaurant in Barolo called Locanda La Gemella
Elio Altare – On a visit to the area, we stopped into our favorite wine shop, La Vite Turchese, and asked Stefano to pick out a special bottle of wine for us. We spent the next few hours savoring this extraordinary wine as it slowly evolved in our glasses. This was one of the best bottles we’d had in a long time. The next day at an Easter Dinner with our friends at La Giolitta, we met the winemaker!
Virna – On a trip to Barolo, we were invited to a lovely dinner hosted by Virna Borgogno. A special evening with just a few friends, she shared some wine from a trip to Portugal and of course some of her wine as well. She and her sister Ivana now run the winery passed down to them from their father Lodovico.
Some of our favorite Barbarescos include:
Sori’ Paitin – A very traditional producer who creates beautifully elegant wines. They are also relatively easy to find in the US.
Bruno Rocca – We bought a case of their 1990 Rabaja several years ago and enjoyed it immensely. Later we visited the beautiful cantina just outside of Barbaresco and it is still one of our favorites.
Produttori del Barbaresco – Originally founded in 1958, this is now a collective of 51 growers who combine their resources to produce many outstanding wines including several single vineyard labels.
For a more economical introduction to the Nebbiolo grape try one of these:
Produttori Langhe Nebbiolo – In addition to several Barbaresco wines, the Produttori makes a marvelous Langhe Nebbiolo. This was our first exposure to the Nebbiolo grape purchased at Jimmy’s Food Store in Dallas where we met so many great wine makers at their wine tasting dinners over the years.
Vietti Perbacco Nebbiolo delle Langhe – One of our most memorable tastings we ever went to was at Vietti in Castiglione Falletto. We met with Elena, wife of 4th generation owner Luca. What was supposed to be about a 45 minute tour turned into more than two hours which we only cut short because we had another appointment we had to make. We later met Luca back at Jimmy’s!
Paolo Scavino – A quality family producer whose wines are widely available in the US. Their focus is on the three primary red grapes of the region, Nebbiolo, Barbera, and Dolcetto.
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