As I write, the last of the Nebbiolo is being harvested, notably by Mario Fontana (Cascina Fontana) and Davide Rosso (Giovanni Rosso). This year I struggled up the hill to talk to Ferdinando Principiano in his vertical Barolo Ravera vineyard, Luca Roagna in the gem of a Barbaresco site: Montefico, ‘newboy’ Pier Bovone at Cornarea […]

If you, like me, have a wee problem rolling your ‘r’s then exploring the Roero region just north of Alba can prove to be a tongue-twisting experience. Some would say – with a perfect roll if they’re oh-so lucky – that the Roero is best left to growing (exquisite) apricots. Compared to the orderly, monocultural […]

Wine is a product of its environment, and if one had to choose a region to show just that then the Alto Adige, on Italy’s northern border with Austria, would be a prime example. It’s also one of the reasons why I love what I do: drawing on geology, climate, history, oenology, politics, people and markets […]

Rest assured I’m not about to tell you how the Piemontese wines of 2010 taste before they’ve been made…although, and call me ‘nebbiolonuts’, has anyone else noticed the similarity between vintages over the past four decades, eg. ’09/’99/’89/’79 etc..? Only ’81,’82, ’91 and ’04 appear to buck the trend radically…