SEPTEMBER
For many people, September is a month of new starts but for us, it’s the summing up of an entire year's work. In the cellar, September is a haze of aromas, of emotions, and lots of adrenaline; the worry that all is proceeding as it should; a continual change of plans; September means rising before sunrise and finishing work for the day when the sun has long since set. This is the harvest–our favourite time of year!
THE 2023 HARVEST
It hasn't been an easy year, nor one blessed with good fortune. There was lots of rain in May and June–a good and necessary thing, as the hills are green once again! However, we had to work very hard to keep the downy mildew at bay. Marco was quite worried and worked valiantly to protect the vines. At the end of June we had a heat wave with violent thunderstorms and as a consequence, damage more or less all over. On July 6th, San Rocco Seno d’Elvio was struck by a huge storm from the direction of Turin, with both hail and wind. Fortunately the Neive vineyards were untouched and the anti-hail nets in Barbaresco protected our Nebbiolo vineyards there. Moreover, we had not yet begun thinning foliage in the affected vineyards so they were well-protected by a thick covering of leaves. In conclusion, about half the crop was saved. Of course we were dismayed, but despair and anger resolve nothing, so we took a deep breath and declared that with the little that remained we would do our best to make our wines. And thus we arrived at the harvest. At present we have finished harvesting the whites and Dolcetto and have just begun bringing in the Barbera. Only the Freisa and Nebbiolo remain. All told, the situation is better than we expected–there are fewer grape bunches, many of them ruined, meaning extra work to clean up the hail damage; yield is low but we are happy because the grape musts are good!
Here are some photos from a morning spent harvesting Moscato:
AROUND AND ABOUT
DINNER WITH THE WINEMAKER AT THE CACCIATORI RESTAURANT
Five of our wines will meet up with five delicious autumn dishes from the chefs at the Cacciatori restaurant. A cuisine handed down from generation to generation, just like our winemaking. We look forward to seeing you there!
When: Friday October 6th at 20.00
Where: Ristorante dei Cacciatori | Via Rivasacco, 2 Givoletto (TO)
Info: For updates on the menu follow @ristorante_dei_cacciatori on Instagram
Reservations: +39 11 994 7868
LUINO WINE FESTIVAL
An autumn festival filled with things to see and do but above all else, to taste.
We’ll be there with our wines!
When: Sunday October 7th from 10.00 until 21.00
Where: The historic town centre of Luino
DINNER WITH THE WINEMAKER FROM REWINE IN LATINA
We’ll be there to acquaint Lazio with Piedmont through our wines. We can hardly wait!
For updates on the menu follow Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rewine_latina/
Where: Rewine | Via Carturan, 6 Latina (LT)
When: Thursday, October 12th at 20.30
Reservations: +39 340 225 7158
PIACERE BARBARESCO
We’ll be in the Regional Enoteca of Barbaresco all day along with the
Sassi San Cristoforo cellar to acquaint you with Barbaresco!
When: Sunday October 15th from 10.00 until 18.00
Where: Regional Enoteca of Barbaresco in Barbaresco
PROGETTO FORME 2023
Did you know that Alba, Bergamo and Parma are the three Italian Creative Cities of UNESCO
for haute cuisine? We’ll be there. We are representing Alba with our hazelnuts
and our wines at the big FORME cheese fair in Bergamo’s beautiful upper town.
When: Friday, October 20th, Saturday, October 21st and Sunday, October 22nd
Where: Bergamo upper town
For information: https://progettoforme.eu/
ON THE MOVE | Ebike
Autumn with its many colours is gorgeous here in the Langhe.
Come and admire the resplendent hills as you pedal through them with BikeSquare.
Our motto is always: no fatigue, lots of fun!
Bike rental available in our courtyard for anyone who doesn't already know. For those of you who have already been, we invite you to come and try out the new super mountain bike on the circuit we formulated last autumn.