Cinque Terre

Elio Altare is famous for his Barolo's, Barbera's and hi Dolcetto's. What fewer know about, is his project on the edge of Cinque Terre. 
Altare produces white and red wine on the edge of a cliff along the ocean in Cinque Terre. The work is hard, the hills are steep, but the final product is very good. His white from this area is one of my favorites.

The project interests me for many reasons. He is, of course, Elio Altare. His passion for wine is contagious and it was on that cliff in his vineyard along the coast that I first started to love wine; and that was before I had even tasted it. 

A more practical aspect of the project: it helps keep the earth in tact and prevents mudlsides. Mudslides have been a problem in the area, and Altare's vineyard is part of preventing future ones.

Wine production is expensive and hard work, but this little adorable man eagrly runs up and down those hills. And there are no machines. I repeat, there is no tractor or car or anything. They carry the grapes on their backs. 

You can check out the project on their website here.

Toni Fadnes, author of How To Wine Travel wrote a wonderful article about Altare's project in Cinque Terre. You can find the article: here.

Read about Cinque Terre and Elio here: TheVipTable

Vietti

Vietti has made wine since the 19th century, but it was not until the 20th century the winery really started to produce wine for the market. 
Today Luca Currado and his wife, Elena, run the day to day, Luca in the vineyard overseeing the grapes, and Elena the marketing and public aspect.
They have over 35 hectares today, but even though they are quite large, theu are still a family winery, taking excellent care of their grapes, producing high quality, natural wines.
For more information about Vietti, check out their website. 

Castiglione Falletto

My family, and maybe especcially myself, LOVE the Vietti family. Luca and Elena are fun, passionate poeple, and their love for their wines is contagious. A visit with Elena is fun and educational, and the tasting that follows is fantastic. If you are ever in Piemonte, Vietti is a place to stop by. Located in Castiglione Falletto, a beautiful town in the Barolo region. 

Luca Currado                            

I have even worked with Vietti. First with Luca in the vineyards, then with Elena in the cellar (wine visit mostly). The whole wine thing is rather new to me, but it was fun being part of the process, while learning more and more about how the wine actually gets into the bottle. 

Vietti makes a variety of wines, a Moscato, a white Roero Arneis, and of course Dolcetto, Barbera and Barolo. To learn more about their wines, look here.

#tbt: Summer 2013