Travel in Piedmont

In October of 2009 we stayed in a house near Montegrasso d'Asti and every morning we woke to the Nebbia (fog). This is what gives rise to the name of the Nebbiolo grape. Harvest time is almost always shrouded in this perpetual fog. Staying in this house allowed us to thoroughly explore the world famous vineyards in the surrounding area.

The Strada dei Vini (wine roads) wind through Piedmont. Though there is no comprehensive map, you just keep driving through the three B's; Barolo, Barbaresco and Barbera. There are many other grapes grown in this area such as Cortese, Moscato, Dolcetto and lots that never make it out of this area. We call these roads Strada Bianco picolos (small white roads). You pass through hilltop towns with historic centers and see many medieval towers. These tiny roads can turn a ten kilometer drive into a one hour trip! But who's complaining when you are surrounded by world famous grape vines?

Our first visit was to Ratti winery. This winery is in La Morra, one of our favoritewine towns of Piedmont. There are eleven villages that produce Barolo, and this village is the most important. La Morra has 200 producers and they produce 30% of the Barolo made.

We sell Ratti wines and think they are well structured and affordable. Ratti was a pioneer in his time. Renato had traveled to Burgundy to see the wine production and terroir. He observed many similarities between these two areas. He believed Barolo too could have Grand Cru wine. These are wines made from grapes grown at specific sites chosen for their highly favorable conditions, most often the top of the hill on slopes catching the most sun. Pietro Ratti, Renato's son, now runs the winery and as it has grown he has built a new winery. With respect to theenviornment he built it into a hill. What you see as you approach from the road is a winery with a grass roof (which get to be mowed). This is a very green philosophy allowing the winery to blend into the rolling hills while also keeping the rooms much cooler.

Pietro believes that the less handling the grapes go through, the better the expression of the fruit. When the grapes are picked at harvest, it is the only time they are touched. They are brought to the winery and hoisted by machine into the crusher and from there gravity takes over. All the juice works its way down without pumps and eventually ends up five floors down where it ages in barrels. Hehas a crew of twenty and right now they are working12-hour days, 7 days a week for 6 weeks to get the harvest in. We were very lucky to have him take the time to stop and chat with us.

By law, only natural cork is allowed to be used as a closure for Barolo wine, but Ratti uses natural cork for all their wines. Pietro believes it shows a respect for the quality of all his wines. They have a fine array of Nebbiolo based wines ranging from Ochetti to Marcenasco Rocche, as well as Dolcetto and Barbera wines.

We were very pleased to have such a comprehensive tour of the Ratti winery and proud to sell their wines.