A little video insight into the remarkable cellars at Cantina Francone. Enjoy! Many thanks to Fabrizio Francone, Evan Byrne, and Valeria Quintanilla for our introduction to this fascinating must-taste destination in Piemonte.
Tag Archives: barbaresco
Barbera In The Hands Of A Master
Tasting the Arneis!
One of the cooler experiences you can have in Italian wine country is a visit just after the harvest time, when the grapes are collected and pressed, and the sweet smell of fermenting must fills the cellars and tank rooms.
On a recent visit to the lovely Cantina Francone in Neive (just to the southeast of the Tanaro River, outside of Barbaresco village), we had the luxury of tasting the latest Arneis pressings at the tail end of the fermentation–straight from the tank! Fabrizio–a fifth generation wine maker carrying on his family tradition–personally gave us a taste right as the fermentation was coming to a close. We can honestly say we were the first Americans to get to taste the 2016 Arneis; you can still taste a little residual sugar at this point, but the character of the wine is undeniably magic. 2016 is going to be a great year for Piemonte. You heard it here first. We’re more than grateful to Fabrizio for taking a moment out of his day in a busy time of year to show us his amazing wine production process.
Ca’ del Baio
A lovely day spent in Treiso! Ca’ del Baio is a must-have stop on any Piemonte wine tour in our opinion. We’ll let the images speak for themselves, as words fail to capture the finesse and power inherent in the wines.
Visiting La Morra: A Tasting With Oddero
Poderi e Cantine Oddero is one of the most well known classic Piemonte wine producers; the Oddero family are warm hosts with an amazing product that evolves in the glass as you taste, whether it’s the Gallina Barbaresco, a single vineyard Barolo, or a blended one. Great wines, and an amazing location that really popped on the camera as the sun poked through the clouds. The best part was definitely getting to do a vertical tasting across a few different vintages of the Bussia (single vineyard Barolo). A bottle of the 2007 certainly found its way home with us, and will quit getting any older when Doug comes to visit Colorado this winter.
Barbaresco
What a great complement to roasted brussels sprouts, steak, and tuna steak we had with dinner. Some mild oxidation on the finish, typical for a 2006 wine, but still the lovely rounded off by age tannins you’d expect from a Barbaresco. Chocolate and a hint of ripe cherries on the finish, but dry to the core and perfect. What a value.
Fun With Wine And Google!
While Doug is off in Italy running tours, we’re home working and having a relaxing family night. While we don’t have the luxury of being in Italy tonight, here’s a fun alternative that just might be the next best thing.
It’s Friday, and thus we are enjoying a late dinner and a bottle of Giribaldi’s Dolcetto d’Alba (Crottino, 2012…an *excellent* buy at $10 at my local fine wine purveyor), which just tastes like…Italy! Tannic, little of the frivolous fruitiness sometimes ascribed to Dolcetto, and perfect with food. On the back of the bottle, I note that it is produced and bottled in Rodello, Italy, a sleepy little village in Piemonte. Using Google, you can actually go see exactly where your grapes are grown. It is a way fun to brainstorm for places to go exploring in Italy AND feel connected to the artisanal nature of wine making in the foothills of the Alps. Looking up Azienda Giribaldi, Rodello, Italia, Google takes me here:
Green hills, curvy hillside roads, and terra cotta roofs, what’s not to like? Needless to say we’re intrigued, and it’s time to click the zoom in button:
Even better. Rows of grapes and plots of farmland can now be made out from what feels like a 20,000ft view. I feel the aura of the place already. Lovely.
Another click or two and our virtual tour of Rodello clearly shows the individual houses near the farm plots and rows and rows in the vineyard. Yes. Time to click for the street view:
And there it is–not overly dramatic, just an understated structure but with vaguely Palladian symmetry about it that certainly looks inviting. That’s where our wine comes from! A small vintner on a hillside in Piemonte labors to produce something in the crowded marketplace that is our wine, and thanks to the distributor’s efforts and the sharp eye and palate of our friends across the street at Sovereignty Wines here in Colorado Springs, we’re able to enjoy it. It’s neat when you think about it for even a moment. Let’s explore further:
And we see minimalist sign inviting us into explore Azienda Giribaldi. Most of the places that are “must see” for first or second Italy visitors are within walking distance of train stations. I’m sensing that a visit to Piemonte to visit local grape-growers is as good a reason as any to rent a car! You can see the shadow of Google’s robot-on-the-car in the lower left. Moving deeper into the vineyard:
Well…that’s certainly not ugly. That’s where my Barbaresco, my Dolcetto, my Gavi are coming from? Yes, let’s go visit, and soon. (Composes email to the Giribaldi folks about a visit this spring–who’s in?).
Spring 2015: who wants to visit Alba and taste the best wines in the world? Taking applications to go on an adventure here.
Sassi Italy Tours 