I Always Leica… Barolo wine tasting.

Amy and I just completed our first day of this Italian wine journey. We are in the Piemonte (Langhe) region of Italy. This region is known for Barolo and Barbaresco wines. They are the King of Italian wines, and are made from the Nebbliolo grape. They are intense, beautiful wines with a high tannin content and, therefore, may be aged for many years. We attended an incredible wine tasting at Elio Altare winery. Our hostess was Silvia Altare, daughter of Elio, who was one of the original “Barolo Boys.” In 1976 the wines from the Langhe region were being sold as bulk wine. Elio and some friends set out on a trip to Burgundy to determine why their wines were selling for one dollar a bottle, while the Burgundy wines were selling for twenty times that. They were poor and slept in their car. When they arrived in Burgundy, the owner of the chateau they stopped at did not have much time to spend with them. He was busy loading his Porsche for a drive to Nice, so he could go sailing for the weekend. Elio and his friends knew things had to change in Barolo. They returned to Italy and started a revolution. The revolution is well documented in the movie Barolo Boys. Both Elio and Silvia are featured in that movie. Today, Silvia runs most of the family winery. She is a fantastic hostess, full of knowledge, energy, determination, and is very entertaining. She speaks excellent English, learned from living for a time in Ojai, California. We greatly enjoyed tasting seven of their excellent wines. The group this afternoon was very diverse and interesting, with twelve of us sitting around a large square table. Attendees were a couple from Vermont, a wine maker from Virginia, a man who had driven his Aston Martin from Norway, a family from Jakarta, and a couple from Germany. We thoroughly enjoyed the tasting and strongly advise any visitors to Langhe to request a tour and tasting at Elio Altare Winery. You should email your request at least several weeks in advance.