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DOC, DOCG, IGT and DOG

What in the world is this about?! It’s about wine; that’s what it’s about!

“I’ll start with the highest classification system and go to the least restrictive”

Italy is unarguably* one of the best places in the world to grow grapes and vinify them into beautiful, outstanding wines. In the early 1960s, Italy came up with a regimented system to protect the quality of their wine. If a particular wine varietal (e.g. Brunello, Barolo, Chianti, Valpolicella, etc.) gains a reputation as a great wine, you don’t want some upstart winery coming in with their own formula using the very same varietal name to give that varietal wine a bad name and ruin everything. So, it’s kind of a marketing thing. And it’s kind of an safeguard thing. And, it’s kind of confusing thing on top of all of that.

You can see the DOCG designation written out at the top of the label, just above “2011”

So, the system that they developed is a series of laws that classifies Italian wines by quality of specific wine varietals, like those mentioned above. It’s a way to regiment the stature of Italian wines and to guarantee that they come from whence they say…in other words, they’re authentic. And not just where the wines come from, but their alcohol content, type of grape, and their aging are regulated in their classification systems.

It’s a good bit about geography, as wine zones have been set up within Italy. Within these zones, the growers and producers of wine must follow government regulations in order to have their wine certified within this system. You will find that most of the DOCG wines (defined for you just a bit later), for example, come from Tuscany (e.g. Brunello and Chianti), Veneto (e.g. Amarone, Valpolicella, and Soave), and Piemonte (e.g. Barolo and Barbaresco). This gives you a wide variety of wines from which to choose for your drinking pleasure.

And on the neck of the bottle is the serial number

Can the classifications lead you to the better Italian wines as you shop? Yes, they can. That’s pretty much the whole point. You will need to look for words on the label, like the words on the back label of the Banfi 2011 Brunello di Montalcino shown above where it says, “Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita”, i.e. DOCG. There will also be a paper band that has a serial number on the neck of the bottle…or it might cover the cork, like the band on the neck of that same bottle of Banfi 2011 Brunello di Montalcino, as seen here. A serial number? Are you serious? Yes, these Italian law-makers are serious about their wines. [More on Banfi wines here]

You may hear the word ‘appellation’ used. This comes from the French system of classifying their own wines. Basically, it refers again to a specific wine varietal.

Now to the classification system. I’ll start with the highest classification system and go to the least restrictive. Here’s how it works.

DOCG

Short for Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita, or in English, “Controlled and Guaranteed Designation of Origin”.

DOCG is the highest level of quality recognition which can be bestowed on an Italian wine. Because there were so many DOC wines (covered next), and because not all of those wines were of equal quality, this DOCG designation was created in 1980 to ratchet down the quality designations of those wines. Government officials actually have to taste the wines to give DOCG status! Hello…can we get one of these jobs?

Besides taste, they make sure that the grapes were grown in the correct geographic region, have a lower portion of blending grapes, come from lower yield fields, have a higher alcohol content, and receive longer aging. All of this creates and opportunity for a great wine to emerge from the certification process.

Who got the first DOCG designations? Piemonte’s nebbiolo-graped Barolo and Barbaresco, and Tuscany’s Brunello di Montalcino and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, both of which come from the sangiovese grape. It was a presidential decree that gave these wines their DOCG status. Is it just me, or does the Italian government seem to be more on the ball than our own?! I mean, tasting wine, making decrees…life is good in Italy.

After the forces of government complete their evaluation, a wine is “guaranteed” with an official, government, serial-numbered seal/label, like the one shown a bit above. That’s what you look for whilst wine shopping. And, how many DOCG wine varietals might you find? That would be 74 at this moment.

Before we leave DOCG wines, I need to clarify something. Those 74 wines don’t represent 74 wines from 74 wine makers with a total of 74 wine labels. That number 74 represents the number of varietals of wines, not the number of producers with the label of DOCG attached to their bottles. For instance, whilst in Italy, I’ve seen hundreds of different bottles of Brunello di Montalcino with DOCG on their label in wine stores, and it’s the Brunello di Montalcino varietal that is but 1 in 74, not a particular wine makers issue of Brunello di Montalcino. It will clear things up a good bit if you click here to see the full list of DOCG varietals of Italy.

DOC

Right below DOCG is Denominazione di Origine Controllata, or Controlled Designation of Origin. The lack of the word ‘guaranteed’ is the key here. Those government sponsored DOCG sippers and spitters aren’t there to put their official guarantee on these wines. Compared to the DOCG rules, think of these rules as strict, but generous. The wines still must be scrutinized for quality, and there are still rules about permitted grape varieties, maximum harvest yields, and aging requirements, but the rules tend to be less stringent than with DOCG, which adds a quality tasting panel to the mix.

The label of the Renato Ratti ‘Ochetti’, just above the word ‘Nebbiolo’ (the varietal), clearly states on the label that it is “Denominazione di Origine Controllata”. [You can see more about Renato Ratti here]

So, DOC isn’t as stringent as DOCG. Does that mean that the wines won’t taste as good. Not at all. You are the determinant of what you like…not designations, wine raters, and government types.

The DOC rules vary by region, but there must exist a traditional formula for the vinification.

In this label, we find that even Vin Santo can have a DOC designation.

How many have DOC designation? At around 329, they are much more common, but the number is a bit slippery. You can see the current full list here.

IGT

One of our favorite wines is IGT- so don’t shy away from them

Indicazione geografica tipica, or “Geographical Indication”, or IGT, was created in 1992 to recognize the unusually high quality of many of the wines not making the DOCG or DOC category. Mostly what you get with an IGT designation is the locality of their creation.

Don’t confuse this lower ranked designation with poorer tasting wines, as many Super Tuscans are in the IGT classification, and they can be quite tasty.

And that label in this photo for Allegrini’s Palazzo della Torre, shows IGT status, and I can guarantee you that it is an outstanding and inexpensive wine. [See more about Allegrini wines, and in particular Palazzo della Torre and the unique way that it is made, here]

INTERESTING SIDE NOTE (at least it was of interest to me): Sometimes, when the harvested grapes in a particular year are not of a superior quality, a producer might abandon the production of their normal DOCG- or DOC-designated wine because, with asperations lowered, they don’t want to adhere to the more stringent and costly standards using a lesser-quality grape that just wouldn’t wind up meeting the standards for the wine that it winds up producing. So, they drop down to the IGT designation and move on. They might even do this a year or two into the vinification of a wine that was destined for appellation status to cut their losses, yet in the meantime, they produce a pretty darned tasty wine of IGT quality. One more thing: quality can be defined as meeting the customer’s expectations…so if you have less of an expectation of an IGT-priced wine, you are more likely to have your expectations met. IGT wines can have a high quality-to-price ratio.

VdT

Vino da Tavola (VdT), or simply ‘Table Wine’ is a lesser known designation. It doesn’t have a geographical component. The wine must be made from grapes grown in Italy. I’m not sure that you’ll see the VdT designation in your local wine store, as they normally aren’t worth the effort of shipping them here. Our experience is that most ‘vino della casa’ (house wines) of a ristorante in Italy, often served from a spigot like beer, are usually good with their pasta and pizza, and I’m guessing that many of these would be of the VdT variety.

The Settecani Castelvetro Winery had a mishap…but a good one!

Not to belabor the point about wine from a spigot too much, here is an interesting anecdote. We all know who once turned water into wine…right? Though this time it was just an accident, earlier this year the people of Settecani, Italy thought they were seeing a miracle as they turned on their faucets to see water turn to wine. People were literally showering in Lambrusco from the Settecani Castelvetro Winery as the winery’s valves got a little out of kilter.

DOG

Finally we get to DOG. That simply spells ‘dog’. We tend to like dogs, so I’m just throwing this in. Thought you’d want to know. In Italian, that designation would be ‘CANE’. And maybe you’ve heard of the dyslectic agnostic who didn’t believe in Dog? Sorry — I’ll stop now.

So, I’ve always said that ‘I don’t know what’s supposed to be good, but I know what I like’. That covers it for wine, too. But, I have to say that in our experience, the wines that we really, really like happen to fall into the DOCG appellation. In the ‘really, really like’ category we find in no particular order: Brunello, Amarone, Valpolicella, Rosa Regale (a magnificent type of Brachetto d'Acqui, or sweet spumante red wine), Soave, Prosecco, Moscato di Asti, Barolo, Barbaresco, Nebbiolo, Vin Santo, Florus, and many more. I just had an epiphany! Right here, at this moment, I’m creating a new ‘RRL’ appellation…for ‘Really, Really Like” — so look for a little RRL appellation sticker on the bottom of certain Steve-approved wines.

And by the way, Ellen and I are generally available to join you for a meal and to sip Italian wines. Really. Just call. I’m serious. And, if you don’t want to cook, we can just drink wine.

Ciao for now,

Steve

* I said ‘unarguably’, but I’m not sure that there is anything that one can’t argue about these days…though I’m not sure I agree with that!

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Eat Here: Da Divo

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This hidden gem is in an out-of-the-way part of Siena, as you can see in the photo, below. If you can find Via Franciosa, look for number ‘25’. Making your way from the Piazza del Campo (at top left) to the Duomo (cathedral), you are almost there.

The red arrow marks the location of Da Divo

The unassuming entrance from the small street to Da Divo does not reveal what lies within…and below.

Scott suggests that it’s time to come in and eat

Da Divo is a most interesting restaurant. Its history is that it used to be an Etruscan dwelling or tomb. Going once again to a restaurant’s website, we see the description of their restaurant as “To dine in history of a suggestive and unique atmosphere, which goes from the Middle Ages to the Etruscans”. So, there you have it…right?

The Layout

After you enter through the street-level entrance of the restaurant, you will find three subterranean levels of the restaurant. In this photo, I am standing on the first subterranean level, with the entrance level to the top right. Down the steps to the left is the second subterranean level, and then further down (where the bare-bulb light glows) is the third subterranean level.

This is underground level two of Da Divo.

Photo taken from level 3, showing level 4

In this photo, you see the lowest, or third subterranean level, with couples enjoying the quiet atmosphere.

Dinner Time

OK, enough about the layout of the multi-level restaurant. Before we move to the food, it is time for that time-honored toast to friends, both present and absent…which includes you!

Here is a sampling of the good eats you find at Da Divo.

Cooked rice of risotto gathering up cheesy goodness

Here we had our first look at a unique way to make risotto. Normally, one will stir in Parmesan cheese when the rice is completely cooked. However, here at Da Divo, we see that the cooked rice is placed into a scooped out wheel of Parmesan cheese, gathering cheesy goodness as the rice is stirred. Man-oh-man…it was really yummy!

A Parting Glance

As we enjoyed our meal at Da Divo, I made the mistake of looking up. What I saw was the structural system that was holding up the roof. I would suggest that it has been doing its job for many, many years…so, don’t worry about the structural integrity as you dine. And, be sure to try the risotto.

The roof has been steadily sitting there for many years…not to worry

So, there you have one more meal in beautiful and tasty Italy. As you sit watching your risotto being stirred whilst it is in that scooped out wheel of Parmesan, look up at the face of the one doing the stirring…it just may be me!

Ciao for now,

Steve

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Eat Here: Enoteca Della Valpolicella

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Has there been a time when you’ve had a meal and you think, “Wow, I’d like to come back and eat here again!”. We said that. And, we then went back and ate there again. It was that good. Italy at its best. Here is what you can expect.

We had just completed a mourning tour and tasting of the wines of the Allegrini winery, and it was oh, so good. Now it was time for lunch. Because of a recommendation by Silvia at the Salvaterra winery, we had made a reservation for lunch at Enoteca Della Valpolicella…and we are glad we did, as the locals already know about this gem.

Getting There

On this map, you can see the short drive from Villa Allegrini (red circle) to Enoteca Della Valpolicella (blue circle) in the small village of Fumane, just 9 miles north of Verona. So, it’s possible that Juliette and Romeo had their first date here. Yeah, I know. Right?

Drive through the gate and park in the small lot.

“Whether you dine for lunch or dinner, either experience (or both, as in our case) will please you no end”

Eating There

First of all, don’t expect to be treated like a customer…you are a guest at Enoteca Della Valpolicella, and that’s the way you will feel.

Dining is upstairs, and it is a very pleasant place to eat. Add to that our very pleasant cameriera (waitress), and you have a very pleasant meal, assuming the food is also very pleasant.

Elisa Riolfi took or order, with a bit of a twist. She asked us what sort of things we liked (and didn’t like) and she then suggested that she bring us what one might call a 'chef’s menu’. We handed her our unopened menus and put our trust in Elisa.

We were glad that she approached our meal this way…because it turned out that, along with everything else, the food was very pleasant, indeed!

It turns out that Elisa has a good relationship with the chef, as Chef Ada is her mother.

I mentioned in the introduction that we returned to dine for dinner after having eaten lunch at Enoteca della Valpolicella. One of the reasons we wanted to return? This absolutely heavenly starter of Tomato Sauce alla Veronese.

It is finished with a bit of burrata cheese, basil, and a splash of EVOO.

And, for our dinner, once more we let Elisa and her mom take the reigns, but with one demand —- we wanted this starter with our meal, once again!

In this photo, you can see the texture of this scrumptious delight.

In testament to just how good this simple dish is, Ellen’s action speaks for itself! This gives new meaning to ‘diving in’ to a dish!

Ellen says, “It is remarkable that something so simple should be so flavorful!”.

And it is super simple. There are only three ingredients, and one of them is butter!

We know how to duplicate this dish. Click this thumbnail and you can see for yourself.

Wine with Our Meals

As with virtually every meal we eat in Italy, wine is always appropriate.

For lunch, we opted for a bottle of La Grola from the Allegrini winery which we had just visited that morning.

For dinner, it was a nice Amarone. This wine is the one that is made from grapes that have been raisinated for about 100 days before being pressed, described in the article here.

They have over 800 labels in their cellar. And they know each one…as well as the families that produce them. Just ask, and you will receive a wine that you will enjoy with your meal.

Whatever the meal, there is always a toast to Italy and friends not present — and that includes you, of course!

Ellen and Steve (in photo) along with Leslie and Craig, offer a toast

Here are the chef’s selections for our lunch and dinner. And it is oh, so good to know that bacon is often a part of a meal in Italy! That particular dish is Dandelion Leaves with Monte Veronese Cheese and Crispy Pancetta (which you will find on page 47 of the yet to be mentioned cookbook, below).

See the third dish in the top row? That is Duck Breast with Recioto & Honey Sauce…and it was absolutely fabulous.

Recioto is a sweet, red dessert wine made in the Valpolicella Amarone style. By putting the Recioto together with the honey, a delicious sweet, but not overpowering, accompaniment is created for the duck breast.

Here is the recipe so you can try it at home. Just click on the thumbnail to get a larger view.

Dessert? Yes please. And thank you!

A Visit from Chef Ada Riolfi

During our trip, we had found a cookbook that we really liked, as it had dishes that were the specialty of Italian chefs of the Lake Garda, Verona, and Valpolicella area - the area which we were visiting.

The cookbook is titled, “Polenta & Amarone: The Flavors of Lake Garda, Verona and Valpolicella”. It so happens that Chef Ada is featured in this cookbook with 7 of her recipes. As we happened to have our own copy with us, we had Ada autograph our book. Surely you too have a cookbook with you as you travel. I certainly hope so!

It is interesting that Ada had not seen the cookbook before tonight, as it was not of her creation. And, upon taking a look at some of her recipes therein, she spotted errors in cooking temperature and time.

Here she is as she signs our cookbook, after penciling in changes to the Duck Breast with Honey and Recioto Sauce recipe. She changed the ‘brisk heat’ of the Recioto sauce to ‘low flame’, and the time of ‘15-20 minutes’ to ‘40 minutes’. It’s nice to have a chef handy whilst you’re cooking, so we will try to do that for our future at-home cooking sessions! We’ve already scheduled Keller, Douglas, Flay, Giada, and more!

Four women of whom bother-in-law Craig and I are in awe

The Cookbook

If you are interested in obtaining a copy of the cookbook (without Chef Ada edits…unless you make a personal visit to Enoteca della Valpolicella, of course), click here.

Just be sure to select the Italiano-English version (rather than the Italiano-German version). Each recipe is given in both Italian and English.

By the way, the woman on the cover is Pierina Caprini. Though we know her, you probably don’t…but you will soon when i publish an article featuring her restaurant and cooking. So, stay tuned for that…it was one of the most truly magical evenings of our lives.

That’s it for our back-to-back visits to Enoteca della Valpolicella. Both lunch and dinner were fabulous.

Want to give Enoteca Della Valpolicella a try for yourself, To the right is their contact information.

And here is a direct link to their website, where you can make a reservation…which is a must. Click on the British flag to get an English version and/or let Google translate for you. Click on the word ‘Reserve’ and fill out the form to make your reservation.

Whether you dine for lunch or dinner, either experience (or both, as in our case) will please you no end. If a bottle of un-ordered Amarone shows up at your table, make no fuss…just turn to the table near the window to see Ellen and me giving you a thumbs up of affection…that bottle is on us.

Ciao for now,

Steve

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Eat Here: Donna Selvatica in Neive

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You’ve heard of the term, “A Diamond in the Rough”, which refers to something special surrounded by something not so special. I was going to suggest that for a subtitle for this article, but it just doesn’t work. The Ristorante Donna Selvatica is surely a diamond, but it doesn’t sit in a rough…it sits in a charming hillside town called Neive.

So, let’s say that Donna Selvatica is a diamond on a golden crown, instead.

We happened upon this place within a place after a long afternoon of wining at Michele Chiarlo’s Le Orme vineyards and Calamandrana winery…I know, someone has to do it, so we gave of ourselves for each of you. And, you’re welcome.

“The folks of Neive finally had something to be proud of when their last homegrown countess, Countess Maria Vittoria, became Queen of Spain”

Ristorante Donna Selvatica

As just mentioned, we spent the afternoon touring the Michele Chiarlo vineyards, winery, and tasting room (more on that in a future article). It was early evening as we headed west to our lodgings at Villa Gremi. We had not researched, or even thought about, dinner because we were so intrigued with our afternoon activities. So wife Ellen took to Google as we headed west and suddenly shouted out, “Turn right at the next road!”. Being well trained, I turned right at the next road. This road led to heretofore unheard of Neive. Having interpreted the command to, “Park right here!” to mean park right here, I parked. Who says I never listen?!

Walking the cobblestone and brick-paved streets of Neive soon led us to Ristorante Donna Selvatica. As we arrived well before the opening hour of 19:00 (aka 7:00pm), we made a reservation for patio dining and we explored Neive, as described a bit further in this article.

We really liked this restaurant…the location, the view, the ambiance, the service, the wine, the food…everything.

The location is pretty much in the center of Neive, as can be seen in the aerial view a bit further down the page.

But the view…magnificent. The rolling, vine-covered hills go on and on, with the small town of Barbaresco sitting mid-distance.

This closeup view from our table provides detail of the famous Barbaresco Tower, and an elevator ride to its top continues those magnificent views.

For our nightly…daily…frequent…toast, we chose a white wine called Arneis. We had never heard of Arneis until our afternoon tour at Michele Chiarlo, which happens to also produce this crisp, minerally-yet-light wine. The grapes are grown in the Roero area of Piemonte. It is now our favorite white wine of Italy.

Those are in-laws Craig and Leslie Johnson toasting on the patio.

The homemade ravioli pasta with mountain butter and 36-month aged Parmigiano Reggiano is poised and ready to be eaten.

Might this be a mix of potato gnocchi pasta on Castelmagno-cheese cream, and sliced Castelmagno cheese with honeydew honey, jams and Langa Bio hazelnuts? Yes, I believe so. It’s like eating a cheese-covered cloud.

At this point I was in a food coma of some sort, so I don’t remember exactly what this dish is. But, it appears to be duck fixed a couple of ways — one of which is wrapped in pancetta. I’ll find out exactly what it was next time I’m there.

You know how sometimes you don’t have room to order dessert, but they bring you some anyway? I think that’s what this is.

If you are a grappa fan, and I’m thinking that one-in-a-hundred of you might be, they have dozens from which to choose.

Here you can click to see an actual Italian/English menu from Donna Selvatica >>>

But before we depart, I need to tell you what ‘Donna Selvatica’ translates to in English. That would be ‘Wild Woman’. You don’t have to be/take a wild woman to this restaurant; however, Craig and I found that it helps. We love our own wild women!

The Town of Neive

While waiting to eat at Donna Selvatica, we explored to tiny town of Neive.

Like many of the small hill towns of the Piemonte, this one sits on a hill — naturally. The hill upon which it sits is about 4 miles northeast of Alba, which is one of the towns-of-considerable-size in the Piemonte.

Neive is a very small town. This photo shows its extent. Ristorante Donna Selvatica is within the red oval.

Today, things are quiet in Neive, but it hasn’t always been that way. Witness the fate of the nice Castle of Neive that used to stand here proud. The Neivesi had a hard time of it in 1274 because both the communes of Alba and Asti wanted that little hill-top town as their own. The Albesi and Astigiani met for battle, and since neither could pull off the heist of the town, it seems that one or both of them destroyed the Castle of Neive in spite. But did they have to take it out on the nice folks of Neive?!

Then, in the next century they were totally embarrassed when Giangaleazzo Visconti’s daughter Valentina married the Duke of Orleans and the town was given up by her father as her dowry. And I thought an envelope with cash and some jewels were customary.

A couple of centuries later Neive went to the House of Savoy, and then to the French for 17 years before being returned to the House of Savoy. In 1618, Neive became a fief assigned to Count Vittorio Amedeo Dal Pozzo, who assumed the title of First Count of Neive. The folks of Neive finally had something to be proud of when their last homegrown countess, Countess Maria Vittoria became Queen of Spain.

I’m guessing that after all of that, they would just like to be left alone. But go anyway, because in addition to Donna Selvatica there is a particularly nice little shop there.

Fili di Fantasia

Fili di Fantasia translated to English is Fantasy Threads.

We were really surprised to find this nice shop of things with threads open at a late hour — and frankly that it existed at all on its itsy-bitsy street.

Wife Ellen and Sis-in-law Leslie were quite pleased with this little shop.

And, I was quite pleased with the view from the back balcony.

And yes, purchases were made.

Strolling Neive

We found the brick pavers to be a bit easier on the feet than the cobbles, but either are more charming than the typical asphalt pavement.

The church of Saints Peter and Paul existed in the 12th century, but was rebuilt to its present form in the 18th century. I was fortunate to capture in a gorgeous evening light.

The inside of the church is very peaceful with numerous artworks.

Here you see a typical home and garden. Note the soil. It is calcareous and is just what the enologist ordered for the growing of grape vines.

One would think its not so great for vegetable gardens, though.

Love the Italian roof tiles!

Wish I had them on my villa.

Wish I had a villa.

Wish I was even near a villa!

Though these people are not enjoying a meal at Donna Salvatica, they do look to be having a good time.

As we closed out our evening in Neive, we were treated to the lights of the surrounding hill-top towns, with Barbaresco prominently featured in the foreground.

Links…

Ristorante Donna Selvatica

Fili di Fantasia

We fondly remember our afternoon in Neive and our evening dinner at Ristorante Donna Selvatica. If you are in the area, I would recommend that you follow my wife’s advice and, “Turn right at the next road!”…you will not be disappointed…unless you are coming from the other direction, of course.

If we happen to be at Donna Selvatica at the same time one evening, I’ll gladly let you purchase the first bottle of Arneis…I’ll get the second.

Ciao for now,

Steve

Renato Ratti Winery

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‘The King of Wines’: that’s the title bestowed on the Barolo wines of the Langhe region of northern Italy. And Renato Ratti’s Barolo is the culmination of decades of this royal lineage. We experienced the charm of Renato Ratti during the fall of 2018.

The Langhe is a beautiful area of the Piemonte, or ‘foot hills’ (Piedmont in English…and why do we change place names like that, by the way?).

The view like this one from the Renato Ratti winery is breathtaking, and it is typical of the views within the Langhe.

Click any image for a larger view

“Our recommendation? Go to the Renato Ratti winery to experience the Barolo wine-making process. Visit their beautiful facility with one of their informed hosts. Then opt for the higher-end wine tasting that will find you sampling several vintage Barolo wines.”

The Grape

The predominant grape of the Langhe is the Nebbiolo grape, seen here growing on the hillside vineyard of Renato Ratti.

This beautiful grape gives Barolo wines its body and rich color. And by the way, it is also the grape of the Barbaresco wines of the Piemonte, though the Nebbiolo grape for Barbaresco is grown a few miles away in a different micro-climate and in significantly different soils.

The Founder

Renato Ratti is the founder of this fine winery. After spending his younger years learning the art of wine making in Brazil, he returned to his native Italy in 1965 to begin his legendary journey in the vinification of Barolo wine. On the hillside immediately above the current winery lies the Abbey of L'Annunziata. It is in this 14th Century abandoned abbey that he created his first vintage of Barolo.

This is the man, himself — Renato Ratti. Doesn’t he look like a man you would have liked to have called ‘a friend’? And not just because of that large bottle of Barolo he is holding!

Renato Ratti came into the wine business with what to me seems like a bit of an edge…he had no family history of wine making…he had no regimented tradition that, though historical, may have been flawed, or non-productive. It’s best said in his own words: “I came to the world of winemaking without a family tradition behind me. I believe that this opening admission is necessary, for being free of any ancestral ties or responsibilities, I was able to face Barolo with neither pride nor prejudice, but with unfettered freedom.” Unfettered freedom…I like that aspect of his learning process.

Sadly, Renato passed away in 1988 at the young age of 54. Fortunately for the wine industry, his son Pietro had recently graduated from nearby Alba's renowned Enological School. Pietro took charge of the company and has guided it into the 21st century, including construction of the modern, new winery in 2002.

The Locale

A visit to Renato Ratti winery is special in many ways — from the greeting, the creative introductory video, the unique gravity-inspired winery, and of course, the tasting of Renato Ratti’s fabulous wines.

The winery sits on a hillside below the town of La Morra, the dominant town of the Barolo wine region.

In the aerial view below, you can see one of the aspects that makes Renato Ratti winery so unique. It is difficult to see the footprint of the winery (bounded in red) because of the vegetation-covered ‘green’ roof. This winery is vertically oriented, rather than being spread out over acres.

The original location of the winery in the 14th-century Abbey of L'Annunziata is bounded in blue.

The fact that the winery sits on the slope of a hillside leads us to the other unique aspect of this winery. The slope of the hillside allows the flow of gravity to work for Renato Ratti, eliminating the need for needlessly agitating the wine through pumping during the vinification process.

Here you can see from the elevator panel that there are a total of 5 floors in the winery.

And thick concrete walls hold back the hillside in the subterranean levels of the winery.

And the soil that produces the Nebbiolo grape variety? Beautiful! Really?

I must say that, like a baby that only its mother would call beautiful, the soil is beautiful only to a vintner. In this photo from the Renato Ratti winery’s web site, you can see the calcareous soil responsible for the growing of the Nebbiolo grapes that produce such a fine wine — very little organic, lots of mineral. Molto perfetto!

Our Visit

Upon our arrival, we found this modern facility for the production of Barolo wine. Note the green roof. And the beautiful countryside of the Langhe.

Barolo is not the only wine vinified by Renato Ratti - here are some of the wines, and a grappa, that are produced by Renato Ratti. Click on an image for a larger view.

Behind this wall of wooden wine boxes sit the staff of Renato Ratti winery, busily filling orders for their wonderful selection of wines.

After being greeted by our beautiful host for the tour, Christine, she directed us to a video that blew our minds!

This video was prepared by Pietro, himself. It is the most creative and informative video we have ever seen that explains the history and origins of a wine production area. If you are at all interested in Italian wine, you will be well rewarded if you click on the video thumbnail to view Pietro’s hand-crafted masterpiece.

Our tour quickly moved to the vinification floors.

As we were in Italy at harvest time, the grape-handling process was in full swing. Here is where grapes are fed into presses for extraction of their juice.

After grapes are destemmed and crushed, they undergo a thermo-controlled fermentation in the steel vats.

Malolactic fermentation in November is then accomplished in oak barrels.

An elevator takes us below the fermentation tanks to the aging barrels.

Here Craig, Leslie, my wife Ellen and I learned about Renato Ratti’s wine production process from our host, Christine.

A soon-to-be-delicious Barolo Marcenasco waits its turn to be bottled after 2 years of aging. But wait…don’t drink it right away…this fine wine can wait for you for over 20 years. We soon learned the benefits of letting the wine age in your home cellar, so read on.

In this deep, dark cellar, we saw bottles awaiting their fill, as well as the Ratti’s own private reserve of bottled wines.

The Tasting

As Craig soon found out, like all of the other aspects of the Renato Ratti winery, the tasting room was gorgeous.

Besides wanting to know how Barolo wine tastes, we also wanted to know how aging of wine affects the enjoyment of red wines. We opted to purchase the Exclusive Tasting. This allowed us to experience the impacts of progressively-aged vintages of the Renato Ratti Barolos.

WARNING: Don’t try to enjoy a vintage wine-tasting experience with a stuffy nose! There is a lot of sniffing required to fully enjoy the experience!

Christine was a wonderful host — she is knowledgeable and willing to answer all of our questions.

[NOTE: The Coravin device that Christine is using allows one to sample wine from a bottle without removing the cork; thus preserving the wine from destruction through oxidation. We have been able to sample 30-year old wine using this excellent device. See a full Coravin description here.]

Seen here are the wines we tasted. Christine gave us an excellent interpretation of each of these wines. We started with the Nebbiolo, as a representation of a young wine that only ages for about one year before release. Then we worked our way across with Barolos from 2014, 2013, 2004 and finally, a 20-year old 1998.

What did we learn from this tasting?

First, we learned that a Barolo, being a full-flavored and full-bodied wine, should be aged in your cellar before being uncorked. It is best to drink between 6 to 12 years after the vintage. As we learned upon tasting each vintage, the flavor comes out as the tannin drops over time. The tannin of the younger Barolo wines will suck the moisture right out of your mouth...your lips kind of get stuck to your teeth. As the tannin drops, the elegant flavor of the wine becomes more evident.

Second, we learned that the color changes significantly over time: moving from the typical garnet red in the younger wines, to a not-off-putting orangy-brown in the later vintages. Don’t take the color change as a flaw…consider it a feature.

The Labels

We were intrigued by the labels on some of the non-Barolo wines that Renato Ratti winery produces. You will note that there are uniformed militia featured on six of the labels.

Ratti’s research into the history of the Barolo area revealed that each of the hill towns put together a uniformed militia to combat invading armies, like Napoleon’s. Matching the geography of these hill towns to the location of vineyards supplying grapes for their wines, the Rattis developed the labels for the regionally-associated wines.

In this example, the militiaman of 1775 served in the Asti regiment, about 20 miles northeast of the Renato Ratti winery.

Our Recommendation

Go to the Renato Ratti winery to experience the Barolo wine-making process.

Visit their beautiful facility with one of their informed hosts.

Then opt for the higher-end educational wine tasting that will find you sampling several vintage Barolo wines. You will not be disappointed.

Here is a closing photo from our wonderful time at the Renato Ratti winery. In the photo, from left to right are: my wife Ellen, our host Christine, brother- and sister-in-law Craig & Leslie, myself, and the driving force behind the Renato Ratti winery, Pietro Ratti.

We were pleased that Pietro, when we mentioned that we were from the Denver area, immediately offered, “Ahh, the Barolo Grill!”. He knows it well, as it has been a stop in the annual take-your-employees-to-Italy trip that Barolo Grill conducts. Wouldn’t a place that takes the staff to Italy each year be a wonderful place to work?! It certainly is a wonderful place to eat!

Renato Ratti Winery

Coravin Wine Preservation System

Barolo Grill Restaurant in Denver

I hope you enjoyed our wonderful time spent at the Renato Ratti Winery in the Langhe region of Piemonte, Italy. If we run into you there upon our next visit, I’ll buy you a bottle of wonderful Barolo wine! Otherwise, Renato Ratti wines are readily available at restaurants and wine shops in the U.S.

Ciao for now,

Steve