- Benvenuti in Piemonte. The rolling hills of Northwest Italy are what wine wanderers dreams are made of. Rows of vines blanketing the landscape, all linking quaint storybook towns and villages. Within those villages, hardworking family businesses, lining the streets to cook your food and keep your glass full. What are they filling those glasses with? There's a good chance it's Nebbiolo, the grape of the famous, age worthy, world-renowned wines, Barolo and Barbaresco. One of those families was gracious enough to welcome me into their home and share the stories that made them so well known across the globe. Welcome to Piedmont and welcome to V is for Vino. Piedmont is located in far Northwest Italy, bordering France to the west, the Italian provinces of Lombardy and Emilia Romagna to the east, and Liguria to the south. Our journey starts here in Turin. The capital of the Piedmont region. Turin was actually the capital of the entire country until it was changed to Florence and eventually Rome, the capital of Italy that we know today. Turin has many claims to fame. Vermouth was invented here, Fiat, the Italian car manufacturer was founded here and has its headquarters here, and they hosted the 2006 Winter Olympics. You can even thank Turin for inventing chocolate bars. But most importantly, Turin's smack dab in the middle of Piedmont, and makes a great home base for exploring. The word Piedmont or "Piemonte" in Italian, come from the Italian words, "Piede" and "Monte", which translate to foot and hill. So you can see how it was aptly named. It sits at the foot of the Alps from west to north, and the Apennine Mountains border the south. Though the Apennines are closer to large hills than mountains. There's some push and pull from the warm seas of the Mediterranean and the cold air from the mountains, which results in the world-famous fog that Piedmont is known for. Most days start foggy, especially low in the valleys of the hills, but clear up by the afternoon. And why does this matter? Did someone say diurnal shifts? Yes. It allows the grapes to ripen during the day, but retain acidity in the cool evenings. And for my soil nerds out there, Piedmont soil varies from calcareous marl, clay, chalk, and limestone that varies from vineyard to vineyard. This variety of altitude and soil is why so many different styles of the same kind of grapes can be made here. All these hills and mountains make Piedmont one of the most stunning wine regions around, but when it comes to actually learning about Italian wines, it can be a bit overwhelming. Most of the grapes are native only to Italy and have names you've never heard of before. Just dozens after dozens of different varieties, you never knew existed. And sometimes the grape will have two different names based on where it's grown. So you'll see wine makers labeling the wines sometimes based on place, sometimes based on grape, and sometimes based on both. But if you can get your mind past all of this, you'll be rewarded with some of the most famous, unique, and incredible wines to ever grace this planet. And while they make dozens of indigenous grapes here, reds like Barbera, Dolcetto, whites like Moscato, Arneis, and Cortese, there is one grape that reigns above the rest. Nebbiolo. It accounts only for 8% of the grapevines planted here, but that small amount of Nebbiolo coming out of Piedmont, makes a big enough impact to be known worldwide. And that's exactly why we're here. There are 41 DOCs and 18 DOCGs in Piedmont, more DOCGs than any other Italian wine region. We're gonna explore a few in detail. The town of Asti has the DOCGs Barbera d'Asti, and Moscato d'Asti. Both of which you may have heard before. These names specify the grape and the place. It's Barbera, the grape, from Asti, the place. Same goes from Moscato d'Asti, Moscato from Asti. Alba is another heavy hitter, known for Barbera d'Alba, and Dolcetto d'Alba, same naming scheme. But as I mentioned, we're here mostly for Nebbiolo, and there are two very famous places where it's produced. The commune of Barolo and the commune of Barbaresco. These wines are famous enough to only have to list the place on the label. It won't say Nebbiolo d'Barolo. It'll just say Barolo, and it's on you to know that Barolo makes Nebbiolo. Both of these DOCGs are near the top of the hills, and have south-facing slopes, which are the most prized, as the south-facing slopes get more sunlight. Of all the wine produced in Piedmont, Barolo and Barbaresco make up just 3% of it. It doesn't sound like a lot, but these are the Italian wines that get winos hearts racing. The wines of Barolo and Barbaresco line the cellars of restaurants and collectors around the world, because one, they're revered for their ageability, and two, their impeccable sense of place. About an hour south of me, is the place where we'll be spending most of our time, right in between Barolo and Barbaresco in the town of Alba. It's home to a fifth generation-owned family winery, where every wine has a story. This winery helped usher in the modern era of Piedmont wines. And I'm absolutely honored to spend a little time with them. You know, when you think of him. Oh. Uh-oh. No, what's funny about Barolo, is that any of these towns, sometimes Barolo has a very, very grand reputation, and then you come to the town, and the town is just this quaint, very small, you walk the whole thing in five minute town. But it's the inspiration for the region. And it's the reason it's named what it is. They are these old cities that were constructed before there was really any planning. These little houses all tucked in together. And I love that you're on top of your neighbor's patio. Like you can look down or next to your neighbor when they're on their patio and say, "Hello." We drove the hour south from Turin to Alba, the city at the heart of the Piedmont wine region. But on the way to meet my guest, I got... Let's call it purposely distracted. You know what? The one with just the sauce on it, that's the one to me that looks incredible. Oh, yeah. As good as you would hope it to be. The texture on the dough, perfect blend of like chewy. It's one of those pizzas that you don't mind having a little cold. I think it's supposed to be served that way. Mm. Delicious. I love the brick. I just love everywhere, the brick buildings in almost every one of these old churches, just really, really nice. I like this sign coming up that says "Gelati" with three exclamation points. And then just in case it wasn't clear, ice cream with three exclamation points. I met with Federica Boffa, the head of the family-owned winery, Pio Cesare, who is kind enough to walk me through an intro of all things, Alba and Piedmont. So this is your home. - Yes. I was born in this town and I was grown up in the wine world. So since I was very young, my parents kept me inside of the winery inside of the cellar. - So since you could crawl, you were crawling in a winery. - Yes. - And Alba is I think a really special town, you know? It's the largest town of the region, but it still feels like a very small Italian quaint town. - It is. Alba has always been fascinating and a very dynamic city. There's not only hills and vineyards, but Alba is surrounded also by a lot of towers coming from the medieval times. In general, the region is a very dynamic region full of diversity. Just like how it happens in Burgundy for example, the hills are developing into a series of multiple micro climate, terroir, soil. Diversity can be seen also in the gastronomical point of view. For example, we have a three-Michelin star restaurant in Alba. - There's a three star in Alba? - Yes. And then there are a lot of like Trattoria or Osteria, so more casual kind of restaurants, but they serve excellent cuisine. And of course, Alba is renowned for being the capital of the white truffle. - Yep. - Which is why we are renowned all around the world. Nowadays, we have a lot of traces of the Roman period, for example, traces of, for example, road like this. It was a very old road with a temple. And at Pio Cesare, we are very lucky to have a part of this Roman wall inside of our cellar. Grazie. This is espresso, so very short espresso. Like the Italians drink. - Oh yeah, that is good. But it is, I mean, Italian espresso is very, very distinct. You know, you start big, right? American coffees, and you go smaller, French coffee, and you go really small and you're in Italy. So why did Pio Cesare land in Alba of all the places it could be? - So Pio Cesare actually is the name of the founder of the winery. And he was my great, great grandfather. In 1981, he decided to buy the house where we still today live and operate in the heart of the city center. Alba was really in the center of everything. So there was, for example, the train in the center of all the different transport and facilities. He had one of the very first passport issued by Italy. - Oh, really? - Yes. - His passport was number 55. So he was really one of the pioneer of bringing Barolo and Barbaresco outside of the border of Italy. - And really being an advocate for this region on a global stage. - Yes. Being an advocate, especially with the city of Alba. Because since day one, Pio Cesare is the only producer allowed to use the crest of the city of Alba on the label. - Really? - Yes, we are the only producer, and we are very proud of having carried throughout 140 years and across five generation, the name of our family associated with the name of the city of Alba. - You are tied to this city as both a family and a brand. - You may imagine how difficult can be working in the old town center of a city. And also the winery is built on four different levels, one of each, even under the level of the river. So even if it's very tough, we could not imagine to move anywhere else. For example, on the hills. - Well a lot of wineries did do that, right? - It could be easier, but everything started in Alba. And thanks to Alba that today Pio Cesare is among one of the most respected wine producer in the world. - From downtown Alba, it's just a short walk away to Pio Cesare's production facilities and Federica's home, which was good because I was getting hungry, and I heard Federica's mother Nicoletta, was almost ready with lunch. Boffa family lives right on top of their four-story winery in downtown Alba. And it was the perfect day to have lunch on the patio. Thank you for having us in your home. - Ah, thank you. - I love "Aperitivo". It is probably my favorite part of European culture that we don't really do in America. - We have Vermouth. - The history of Vermouth is very old. - It was invented here, was it not? In this region? - Yes, in Turin. - Explain to me what Vermouth is. - It is a fortified wine, which is made with a mixture of herb. The main herb is wormwood together with different mixture of other herbs. It depends on the recipe. It's made with our Chardonnay, Piodilei, and our Moscato. - Thank you so much. - Thank you. - For welcoming us here in your home and your life and sharing all this with us. I'm very much looking forward to the week. - Cheers. - Cheers. - Oh, that is lovely. - Balsamic finish. - Yep. - We say that while you're having Vermouth as an aperitive, you will open your stomach to be ready for either lunch or dinner. - Slightly bitter. So many herbs happening. Ginger, I get the lemon probably both from, you know, the Vermouth and the grapes itself, but also from the lemon peel. Little bit of sweetness. Not a ton, though, I think it's perfect. - Have one of the fake oyster. - Fake oysters. I like these, fake oysters. - The taste is very similar to oysters. - The butter, which kind of gives that creaminess like an oyster would have. With the anchovy, with the saltiness, it's, I love it. It's fake oyster. Now that my stomach was fully prepared for lunch, we sat down for our first course, which is a specialty of the region. - This is with what we call Italian "carne cruda". It's like beef tartare, but it is made with our own cow, cow of the region. - Yeah. - Which is a very particular kind of meat, which has simply olive oil, salt, and pepper. - And a little bit of lemon. - And we're pairing it with our Chardonnay Piodilei. - I don't think people initially think Chardonnay when they think Piedmont, but there's a good amount of Chardonnay produced here. - Yes. There are a lot of producer which are making Chardonnay, but Pio Cesare has been one of the first producer to start making Chardonnay in Piedmont in the Langhe region. In the eighties was a project and the big dream of my father, he decided to do something very strange and very crazy for that period, which was taking away three acres of Nebbiolo for Barbaresco, to plant Chardonnay instead. - So at a time where it would've been a crazy thing to take out the Nebbiolo grapes that go for a lot of money and plant something that's not really planted here, like Chardonnay, he took the risk. - Yes. They were looking for a white wine, which could have the same characteristic of Barolo and Barbaresco. So structure, power, but aging potential, especially. - Oh, yeah. Wow. That is reminiscent of some of my favorite styles of Chardonnay on the planet. There's like a smokiness that's really lovely. And we're getting our citrus. We're getting a little bit of oak. - So we do not employ anymore new oak, because we want you to concentrate on the balance on the elegance of the fruit. - I am loving the Chardonnay. We don't always have to stick with the old, "White with fish and red with meat" trope. Because the raw veal was so delicate and tender, a red wine could have easily overpowered it. So instead, we went with a full bodied white, which matched the weight and cleanliness of this lighter meat dish. And the acidity in the wine cut through the fat from the olive oil and matched the acid from the lemon. Our next course was a fresh pasta, which in Northern Italy is often egg-based. - These are the very typical pasta for our region called Tagliatelle. The sauce is the same veal we had before, but cooked with vegetables and fresh tomatoes. - The prince of our wines, the little prince, which is Langhe Nebbiolo. - The nice thing about the Langhe Nebbiolos, is they give you a good impression of the grape, kind of what the other wines eventually turn into. - We have a lot of care towards the Langhe Nebbiolo, 'cause we age this wine for almost two years in oak. We are employing the grapes, Nebbiolo grapes coming from the same premium position which we use for Barolo and Barbaresco. Then we also use the grape with the Nebbiolo grape coming from the district around Alba, which is called the Langhe district to have a more acidity, to have more freshness. - The nose makes me so happy. It is so distinctly one Nebbiolo, but two distinctly Italian. There is something about Italian wines that has this beautiful rustic quality that just is not comparable anywhere else in the world. Like the tart red, and look at the color. When you look at the color, you see how beautifully kind of- - Yes. That's the typical character and color of Nebbiolo. - Transparent. - It is not at all an intense kind of grape variety or a fruit bomb. - Beautiful acidity, great red fruits, crushed raspberries, cherries. I absolutely love it. - It's a real prince. - Yeah. - If Barolo is the king, and Barbaresco is the queen, Langhe Nebbiolo is indeed the prince. Langhe Nebbiolo is lighter and has less tannins than Barolo or Barbaresco. But what it does have is lots of freshness and acidity. This freshness balanced out the fatty egg-based pasta, matched the acidity of the tomatoes, and the lightweight of the wine didn't overwhelm the relatively lean veal sauce. I mean, is there anything better than an Italian mother's cooking? I just don't think so. When I was in Greece, you would turn a corner and you're in ruins. And I like in Italy, you turn a corner and you're looking at a beautiful church somewhere or at other. Like this, look at how beautiful. The coffee in Italy is strong. It is what you call Ristretto. Very, very concentrated. Hey, Vino fans. I want to talk to you about signing up for Vino VIP. And since I don't wanna bother you with a ton of commercials while you're trying to watch this show, I'm gonna put all the cliche marketing angles into just this one. Here we go. I know we come off as a big production, but the reality is the entire operation is myself and a few other part-time employees. We're not affiliated with a studio or TV channel. We really wanna keep the show going, but literally can't do it without your help. So please, if the show has entertained you, helped you learn or pass a wine exam. If I've answered your DMs and questions, or if the show's just brought you value in any way, support the small business that provided it, and join Vino VIP, which is our very own membership program. If you enjoy the show, joining Vino VIP is a must anyway. Membership starts at just $5 a month, and here's some of the benefits. Early access to all our videos, including new episodes of the show. Every quarter, I host a virtual tasting, and Q and A just for VIP members. Every month, we raffle off wine glasses and prizes, and once a year, we even have a big winner who gets a personalized tasting, where I send wine and food to your house and host a tasting for you and your friends. Plus, if you're a gold member or platinum member, you get your name in the credits of an episode, kind of like this. I never want to charge for individual episodes or worse yet, be unable to make the show at all. But that's why we need support from those of you who can. It's only $5 a month, which is less than a Starbucks coffee. So it's really in reach. Everybody assumes that their support won't make a difference, but I promise you, it does. Look at all this pretty members-only content you're missing out on. Behind the scenes videos, episode commentaries, and full-length interviews that can be seen nowhere else, but our members-only session. The first month is free. You literally have nothing to lose. I know this was long, but everything I just said is 100% true. We have tens of thousands of fans. And even if a small percentage of you joined, we could keep making videos for you in the long term. And the last perk is that you can start watching episodes in the members section, and you don't have to hear this pitch or see ads ever again. Thank you to our existing Vino VIP members, and thanks for considering joining. Before I get into Nebbiolo, I want to talk about Barbera. The reality is while Nebbiolo may be the star of the show, you're more likely to find Barbera on the table in most Piedmontese homes on your average weeknight. Barbera is the most widely planted grape in all of Piedmont. It's much easier to grow than Nebbiolo, and consequently, it's way more affordable. It's got a great juicy acidity, medium body, and doesn't overwhelm with tannin, which allows it to pair with a whole lot of food. And even though it's dark in color, which usually suggests dark fruit, Barbera likes to live in red fruit land, cherry strawberry and raspberry. Though, blackberry and sweet spices from oak are common as well. These wines are super affordable, fun, versatile pairing wines that make for a go-to weeknight staple. Now for the main event, Nebbiolo. With rare exception, Nebbiolo is only grown in Piedmont. It's a darling amongst sommeliers, because it's like Pinot Noir. It's super terroir expressive. Meaning it takes on the characteristics of the place it comes from. This means the same grapes grown just a few blocks away from each other, can end up being totally different. Nebbiolo is also similar to Pinot in the sense that it's super finicky and tough to grow. And only likes certain soil and weather. On top of that, it's a bit of a trickster. Nebbiolo's light in color, almost translucent. And its acid is super high. It's fruit character red. Think cranberry, raspberry, and cherry. It's incredibly perfumed, and the nose really jumps out of the glass. Again, kind of sounds like I was describing Pinot Noir, right? But here's where things differ from Pinot. You taste Nebbiolo, and it's like the pallet was turned up to 11. The tannin is huge and the alcohol high. Nebbiolo really sucks the moisture outta your mouth. And it's one of the only grapes on the planet with tart red fruits, but a rich, powerful, full body. Tar and roses is another classic tasting note for Nebbiolo, along with herbs, leather, wood smoke, and licorice. Because of its high tannin, Nebbiolo usually needs a lot of time and aging in the bottle to soften up. Purists will say, you shouldn't even touch them for at least 10 years, if not longer. But as you'll see in a second, it all depends where the wine comes from and how it's made. Okay, recap, there are two places most famous for Nebbiolo; Barolo and Barbaresco. Now they say Barolo is the king, and Barbaresco is the queen. Barbaresco is softer, less tannic, and ready to drink a bit earlier than Barolo. This is because Barbaresco has mostly limestone soils, which lead to less tannin in the grapes. There are also different aging requirements. Barolo must be aged for 38 months before release, and 62 months for Reserva or reserve wines. Barbaresco only ages for 24 months and 48 months respectively. After these aging requirements, most of the wines can then age an additional 10, 20, or even 30 years after their release. What this means is that you're not gonna see a young Barolo or a young Barbaresco on the market. And because of these aging requirements, both legal and preferential, these wines can get pricey, $60 and up. But there are some regions outside of Barolo and Barbaresco, like Langhe or Roero, that make more affordable Nebbiolos that are ready to drink sooner. Also, more modern producers are making their wines with less maceration, and thus less tannin, which means they too can be enjoyed earlier. At the end of the day, it's ultimately your choice as to when you pop your bottle. Young or old, discovering wines and their different tastes is why we drink wine in the first place. The cellars and production facilities of Pio Cesare, were one of the most beautiful I had ever toured. They're full of history and legacy, mixed with modern innovation. And you showed me up in the village, the Roman wall. And then what you can see here, is it is part of the winery. - So the Roman wall is really going inside our winery. And is dividing our winery in two main part. The part inside the Roman wall, it's a very ancient, which was bought by my great great grandfather. And the part outside the wall is what everything came after 1881. - This is a very, very rare thing, that you have a winery built in the heart of a city like this, on top of ancient ruins, and on levels like this, it is completely unique from anything I've ever seen. - So the main problem for us was the problem was space. We could not expand near us because we have neighbors. We cannot expand on top, because there is the house, where all the generation before me have lived. So the only way to expand was going down. And that's what happened many years ago, when we started to build the new part of the winery. The last level of this winery is even built under the level of the very famous river called Tanaro river. We had to build it twice, because the first time we built it, it exploded. Because of the pressure of the water. - Oh, no. - Everything is done here. So Pio Cesare is producing this wine and bottling the wine in this facility, in this winery. We do not have any other kind of winery in the Barolo or in the Barbaresco region. - Yeah, this is it. And you can see it. When you go through, you have barrels in one section, you have bottle aging in one section. - Yes. - You have production in one section, all on these levels. Federica's father, Pio Boffa, was the fourth generation to run his great grandfather's company. He was a tireless advocate for Barolo and Barbaresco. He was known for bringing his joy, passion and wines, wherever he would go. And go he did. He spent 200 days a year on the road, physically bringing his wines to restaurants and distributors around the world, which echoed his great grandfather's practices of personally delivering wines from town to town. Pio passed of COVID-19 on April 17th, 2021. He was 66 years old. - He was a very forward-looking man. And he was a unique and exceptional entrepreneur. First, together with the help of his father, of course, he turned Pio Cesare from a premium négociant to a well-respected winemaker growers and producer. And that was the most important contribution of his life. He teach me a lot in the sense that he teached me how important was the artisanal approach of Pio Cesare. And the importance of having a very limited kind of production. Family is involved in every step. So we have our feet, our hands, deep involved in the vineyards, in the wine making, in the commercial, in the marketing side. For example, we was traveling everywhere, because you wanted the people to associate the level of our wines with the face of our family. - I had the honor of meeting him in America. - Yes. - In California. He brought wines physically to California. - Yes. - To promote wines. I mean, there's not a lot of wine makers who will do that. - Yeah. He was full of humility. And he was always saying to us, "Don't show off, but let our people discover you." When you're visiting the city of Alba, and you would like to visit Pio Cesare, there are no sign, which are guiding you to Pio Cesare. - Yeah. - We are in the heart of the city center, and part of the Alba people do not know that there is a winery in the heart of the center, but this is part of his understatement. He was a typical Piedmontese. - Yeah. I mean, if you build it, they will come. And if you let your reputation speak for you, people will find you and talk about you. I know he would be so proud of everything that you have done and are going to do to keep this winery and to keep his heart and his tradition alive. I was proud to get to know Federica, who at only 25 years old, is the first female head of the winery. Thrust into a position she thought she had more time to prepare for, she's continuing the tradition of those who came before her, traveling the world and forever linking her family to their wines. - I personally visit every single market, because I like to associate to the old traditional label of the Pio Cesare Barolo and Barbaresco also. The face and the physionomy of a person who is behind the label and behind the bottles. - I love how salad is just like a general word here for thing that is cold. She literally picked the mint from right over there in the garden. Look at this. Anchovy and lots of amazing, beautiful olive oil. I love when things they're just dripping olive oil. Which is just kind like the oyster she had the other day. Yes, you should try it. You should try it. Plini? Plin? - Plin. - So this is Plin, which is like little baby raviolis. They're called Plin, because they're pinched. And that means pinch. These may be some of the best we had the whole trip. We've all heard the phrase, "Ages like fine wine," but what does it actually mean? What's the point of waiting years to drink wine that I could just as easily open and drink right now? Well, patience is a virtue, and good things come to those who wait. But there's a bit of a misconception with aging wines. While people will tell you that wine gets better with age, the vast majority of wine, like 90% of it, is really meant to be drunk young. Around five years old or less. So don't be afraid to pop those bottles. The general rule, is that there are certain grapes known for their age worthiness and thus, better to lay down. The better the producer and the better the vintage, the longer wines made from those grapes can age. And Nebbiolo may be the number one age-worthy red. Good Nebbiolo has a drinking window of up to 30 plus years. Other notable age worthy grapes include Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Tempranillo, Chardonnay, Semillon, and Riesling. Two things change as we age wine; flavor and structure. Let's first talk flavor. Wine has three flavor types, primary, secondary, and tertiary. Primary flavors occur from fermentation. Lemon, rose, or strawberry. Secondary flavors are things the winemaker does, vanilla flavors from oak, butter flavors from lactic fermentation, or biscuit flavors from allowing the wine to age on the dead yeast cells. But tertiary flavors, those are the ones that come strictly from aging. It's a transformation of our primary flavors. Instead of fresh lemon, you get candied lemon with age. Instead of fresh roses, dried roses. Instead of ripe strawberries, stewed strawberry. And these primary flavors as they transform, they also fade. The fruit will start to leave the wine, and it will start to taste more like earth. Minerals, mushrooms, leather tea, herbs, tar, nutty, honey, basically anything that isn't fruit making the wine much more savory. The second thing that changes with age is texture. In this case, we're talking tannins and acid. Red wine becomes lighter and smoother, and not as firm in austere. This is because the tannins and acid fade with time. White wines also lose their acid over time, and become richer, fuller, and sometimes oily. So after knowing all of this, you may ask, "Where it does wanna acquire a such glorious ageable nectar of the gods?" Well, finding aged wines out in the wild is actually pretty rare and fairly pricey. You basically have three options to try age wines. Number one, you buy the wines young and you age 'em yourself. A bit time consuming, but definitely a way to go if you're building a cellar. Number two, you buy wines that were aged before release. Regions like Barolo, Rioja, and vintage Champagne actually mandate a partial aging of their wines before they hit the market. Or sometimes specific producers make the decision themselves and they won't release their wines until they feel they're old enough and ready. Your third option, find them at a retailer or restaurant who ages them for you. This is the most common, but it's also the most expensive option. After all, the retailer had to sit on that inventory for years and someone's gotta pay for that. When it comes down to it, aged wines aren't necessarily better or worse, they're just different. Some people love aged wine, some people don't. Personally, I would encourage you to try some at some point in your wine drinking career. They're usually worth the experience. There's just something romantic about opening up a bottle of wine that was made the year you were born, and thinking about the journey it had up until then. Or the year you were married, or the year you had a child, or the year you took a special trip. Maybe I'll see you in a few years for this one, I'm gonna lay this bad boy down. Did you guys know that on our website, we've the places we've visited, listed on each episode's page? The wines we drank available for sale? And our VIP section with bonus videos? I just thought I'd let you know. Pio's legacy lives on most notably in the vineyards he cultivated. And let me tell you, they're beautiful, but man, are they steep. Okay. So we made it. I have never in my life been in vineyards this steep. - Well, you just need to climb up three or four times, and then you get used to it. - You get the calf muscles, I guess. This is incredible. And this isn't just here, it is all over this region. It's, I think the trademark is the hills. - We are in the heart of the Barolo region. - Okay. - In the village called Serralunga d'Alba. One of the most renowned and popular village in the Langhe region. And we are in the vineyard called Ornato, which is our own property since many years. So my grandfather and then my father in the course of 14 years, have decided to select premium location and premium soil and terroir in the same position where many years before, the founder was buying grapes from historical suppliers who were growing their lands, according to our strict quality control. - So it was a lot of the same places, but your grandfather and your father thought it was important for us to own these places, because we would have more control. - Since we have a very limited production, so we produce small quantity of wine every year, and we have no intention of growing, by having the property 100% of our own land, we can really have a total control on each side, on each aspect of our business. - These slopes, I think you said are south facing? - Yes, we are all south facing. Ornato is a very blessed area because it's a very large amphitheater of more or less six sectors. So it is exposed to the sun all day long, because it has a south, Southeast and Southwest facing. The soil in Serralunga is full of limestone, is full of clay, so it produces very masculine wine. - Okay. - In the Barbaresco region, we have more sand than in the Barolo area. That's why in Barbaresco, we are producing wine more elegant, more refined. The point is that every kind of grape variety, we will plant, Nebbiolo, Barbera, but even Chardonnay or Sauvignon, or many different kind of grape variety, will grow with a particular kind of character. Which is structure, which is power, and aging potential and longevity. - And that is the hallmark of Nebbiolo as a whole. Is that aging potential. But you're saying you also look for that in your Barbera, you look for that in your Chardonnay. - Yes, indeed. - Did I earn my wine tasting yet? - Yes. Of course. Let's go. - After strolling the vineyards, I was more than ready to get a taste of Pio Cesare's lineup. So we head back to the winery where I met with Federica's cousin, Cesare, who lucky for me, had a few bottles he wanted to share. Cesare, you have a great name, part of the label, basically. So tell me about your role here at Pio Cesare. - Okay. It's quite complicated to say something about my role, because both Federica and myself, we are part of the family. So we have to do everything as the founder, Pio Cesare, in back to 1881 it used to make, so a little bit of wine, a little bit of administration, a little bit of traveling, but we want to have the style of Pio Cesare on every single things of our business. - And what we have here are the three titans of Piedmont. Barbera, Barbaresco and Barolo. And I am very, very excited to dive in. - I used to dive in since I was a kid. So we start with the Barbera. Barbera d'Alba. Barbera is the grape. - Yep. - And Barbera d'Alba is the appellation name. Is the appellation that Pio Cesare started to make around 140 years ago. - And Barbera is kind of known as the weeknight wine for a casual dinner. Is that correct? - Bravo. Yes, you are totally right. Because Barbera has always been considered by the local people since the beginning, the everyday drinking red wine of our region. So it is very velvety, very fruity, with a very nice acidity. It is a wine that you could really enjoy every day, and with many different type of food. - On the nose, initially, bright fruit character, very bright. Woodsy character in it too. - Barbera by nature has a very high acidity. You have to balance this acidity with a little touch of oak, which has not to be too high. - Flowers, I get bright acidity. I get fun, fresh fruit. And because of that balance of that acid, but also a little bit more structure from maybe the wood, perfect weeknight wine. - Usually when I speak about Barolo and Barbaresco, I need three hours. So what can we do now? So we can start with the Barbaresco. Considered the queen of the Piedmontese wine. If the half, is the half, in terms of area in comparison to Barolo. Many producer of Barbaresco are aging two years in oak. But at Pio Cesare we have always aged Barbaresco, in the same way of Barolo. So around three years in oak. - Wow. Okay. - Because Nebbiolo, we are convinced that the Nebbiolo needs as much as possible contact with the oak. - Wow. - You see the color. - That's exactly what I was gonna say. Especially when you compare it side by side to the Barbera. I mean, the color is borderline transparent. It is more in that orange tint, it starts to fade a little bit. And that is a function of the oak, right? - Yes. And also, especially the natural color of the grape of Nebbiolo. - Okay. So getting in on the nose, I don't get a ton of fruit right away. And if anything, the fruit character is very complex. This feels like this has some developed fruit character. Maybe it's a little more dried. The body, the tannin structure is there. This is a young wine in terms of Nebbiolo, right? - In terms of Nebbiolo, yes, but it's a very complex wine, as you said. - Very complex. - Oh, okay. I love tannic, I love the dry character. I love the intensity and the elegance of this wine. - I think the famous thing we sometimes say with these wines are tar and roses. There is that rustic edge to this wine, which is lovely. - It's still a baby. - It's still a baby, like this, we could look up in 20 years with this wine. - Yes, absolutely minimum. - So we move now to king Barolo. - King Barolo, king Barolo. - This is a blend of some of your vineyards in the Barolo region. - Actually, all the three wines that we taste are a blend. - Okay. - The family recipe for any kind of wine has always been concentrated on blending vineyards of the same grape, of that particular appelation. - Tell me about the label, 'cause the label has not changed for like a hundred years. So tell me about it. - 140 years before- - 140 years. - The top part, so the black one with the name Pio Cesare in white, we have the city of Alba crest. - And then there's those, the medals on top too. - They are no longer medals. They used to be metals until the sixties. Than a law came on, and didn't allow anybody to put awards on any label. We had to be a little bit Italian and transfer the medals to coins. - Okay. - But the first impression is, is a medal. - And then on the bottom, there's a phrase. - Yes, "Please don't call it regular." - Now. Why? Why is that? - Because many people think that single vineyards are way superior than the classical version like Pio Cesare is doing. - Because it's not a single vineyard they'll say, "Oh, just gimme the regular Barolo." - Yeah. - And it's almost like a dismissal. And you're saying, "We put so much love into these wines." - We don't make any- - Nothing is regular. - Regular wine. Barolo, the first approach, this shows immediately a big structure, big muscles like a very important man. That's why it's called the king. The Barolo is aged exactly like the Barbaresco, around 32 to 33 month. Few month in the bottle, to make Barolo and Barbaresco you need a lot of patience. - Yeah. - This is the reason why I lost all my hairs. - This is flamboyant on the nose. I get flowers, I get candy cherry, I get wood smoke like pipe tobacco, strawberries. It's showing off, if you will. Wow. - And in the nose, the rose is one of the most important characteristic of Nebbiolo. - And then that brooding, like I said, that tar, which tar is a weird description for a wine for maybe some people to wrap their head around. But then when you have it in the wine, it's perfect. I would love to have it with food, 'cause it doesn't have a tannic structure. But, and I know this is a thing for Pio, you know, this is fine young. This is a gorgeous wine. - Thank you. - Yeah, this is gorgeous. We can lay it down if we want, but this is a really, really delicious wine right now. - Thanks so much. - Cheers. I was surprised just how expansive it is. Every square inch was covered with vines. These hilltop towns one after another, after another, you know one of these could be a visit on its own. And you've got a dozen of them within a half hour of each other. And you're looking from one to the next to the next. There is this conversation and dialogue about what is Piedmont and what is Nebbiolo, and what is Barolo between all the producers? What is it going to be today versus what it's gonna be tomorrow? How much do we respect tradition versus how much do we push towards modernity? That was really interesting that they're having those active dialogues and conversations. Welcome to the V is for Vino nerd lab. We take complicated wine topics and make 'em simple. Today, we're talking about wine, open bottles of wine. Open bottles of wine. So what happens when you open wine? Why does it go bad at all? Oxygen. Once wine is exposed to large amounts of oxygen, two things happen. The ascetic acid in the wine feeds off the oxygen and gives the wine of vinegary flavor. And the alcohol oxidizes and gives a nutty, kind of bruised fruit character. Spoiled wine isn't gonna kill you. It just doesn't taste as good as it should. So how long do you have to consume wine once you open it? Well, it's kind of on a case by case basis. First off, different wines have different levels of natural preservatives like alcohol, tannin, sugar and sulfites, which help keep wines fresh longer. Second, the less wine that's in the bottle, the more oxygen is in there, which speeds up deterioration. That being said, if you made me land on a time limit, I'd say two to five days, depending on the wine. Sparkling wines have the shortest shelf life because of the bubbles, followed by reds, and full bodied whites and rosés and light whites live the longest. The exceptions are fortified wines like Sherry and Port, which last about a month due to their high alcohol, and oxidized wines like Madeira and Marsala, which lasts for years, because they've already been intentionally exposed to oxygen during the wine-making process. How can we make sure we get the maximum amount of time possible? First, close your bottles with either a cork or a stopper to prevent more oxygen from getting in. Second, store 'em in the fridge to slow down oxidation, because heat encourages chemical reactions. Are there any wine savers out there that are worth looking into? Short answer, not in my opinion. There's a whole slew of them out there. The most popular being the vacuum-based ones. But most of these options garner mixed results and are too often impractical, expensive, or ineffective. There is one exception called the Coravin, but I don't use this to preserve open lines. I use it to never open the wines at all. A needle goes through the cork, funnels out the wine and replaces the oxygen with argon gas. They claim that the wine will keep for years. But for me, this has a very specific purpose. I use it mostly when I want to taste bottles without opening them for videos or reviews. In my opinion, it doesn't make as much sense for pouring multiple glasses. As the argon gas capsules are a bit expensive and the pour is a bit slow. At the end of the day, your best bet is to consume your bottle within a day or two after opening. After all, life's short, right? I hope you enjoyed this nerd lab on open bottles of wine. And as always, keep geeking out. Italy has a ton of great restaurants and Alba is no exception, but sometimes the very best restaurant is the one where you can relax and feel comfortable. Where you can open as many bottles of wine as you like, and the menu is always of your choosing, home. Plus Federica's mother Nicoletta, is a bit of a risotto expert. So I needed to learn what I could. What have you been working on? It smells amazing. - Pollo alla Cacciatora Hunter chicken. - Okay. - Marinated for one day, chicken with tomato sauce. - Oh, we're gonna do tomato sauce? - Fresh tomatoes. - Oh, yeah. - It's a very typical dish for summer. - I need this giant pan in my life. And it does smell wonderful as we start to get going with the garlic, the rosemary. Can I ask what else is over here? 'Cause you have blossoms over here. - Zucchini flour. - Okay. - I put in the eggs bread. And then fried in the olive oil. - And then fry on olive oil. - It's like Milanese. - Okay. Did you tell me you're making risotto too? - Yes. - Oh, you're very busy in here and I love it. The risotto is one of my favorites. So how do you do risotto? - Celery and onions. - Okay. - I cook very slow. - And is it just a special kind of rice? Like what makes it risotto? - Carnaroli. - What is it? - Carnaroli. - Carnaroli. Yeah. I mean, I notice you're using Barbaresco for our risotto. - Or maybe Barolo. - Oh, that breaks my heart a little bit. - Yes, but now we are in the Barbaresco area. - Yeah. - And I use Barbaresco. - And you should use good wine for the risotto? - Oh, yes. Good wine. Good wine, good risotto. - Like moths to a flame, the smell of Italian cooking always draws people into the kitchen. - Yeah. In Italian, we have a saying, which is, "Everything which is fried is good, even a piece of a shoe." - I'm glad that actually is a, that transcends borders, I think, 'cause we say the same thing. You described her as a risotto ninja. I think yesterday. - No, no, no, no, no. Risotto black belt. - Risotto black belt. I love it. - So when I was a little girl, I used to eat risotto until I was full. Then I stopped for 15 minutes and then started again. - And then you go again. Then you go back in. When we talk about pairing in Nebbiolo, what do you look for? - Barolo is very good with usually with meat, but also with pasta. For example, a very good prosciutto. - Good with protein, it's good with meat, it's good with prosciutto, and it's good for the- We said earlier, braised meat is a big thing out here. - Braised meat is very typical and I believe it's very intense. So like the taste of Barolo. - And then of course, the best pairing of the world is risotto with truffle. - White truffle. So for us is just white truffle. The truffle is white. - Truffle is white, black truffles don't even exist. Wow. You use like a half bottle. We don't skimp on the wine. - So Vince, don't say that you contribute with the risotto. Please. - I'm not gonna take any credit for this, I promise. - Please. - All right. Once the wine is kind of reduced down, we start adding the stock. Now how do you know when it's done? Taste? - The color. - See that's where the experience comes. - Yeah the little pieces of rice, they will get bigger. - Then they change color. Not white, not a little bit of gold. - Oh, okay. While the risotto and chicken cooked, we exited Nicoletta's domain and head to the patio for one last wine tasting before dinner. While Pio Cesare's flagship wines are blends, they do make some very exclusive single vineyard wines. We started with the Barolo Ornato, a wine from the Ornato vineyard in the Serralunga d'Alba subregion. This land was the first vineyard Pio Cesare purchased. - Serralunga is really so important for us. It's where everything started because even our great great grandfather when he was buying grapes, so when Pio Cesare was still young, he was buying grapes from historical supplier since day one from Serralunga. So really, Serralunga is the heart of Pio Cesare. - This was the vineyard you and I walked? That was Ornato? - Yes. That was the vineyard where we climb up. - We climbed like goats up the very steep hills. - Ornato is the expression of a very masculine kind of Barolo. Very powerful with great complexity. - Beautiful flowers. I get that rosiness from it, I get this cherry note. Maybe a little more singular focus with this wine. And I always, I compare it sometimes to scotch, and you get blended and then you just to go into the single malt and you try 'em both. So you can see what goes into your essentially regular Barolo, and now you have a better idea of, "Okay-" - Sorry, but I correct you. I don't make any regular Barolo. - No regular Barolo, I'm sorry. Never regular Barolo. Next was Il Bricco Barbaresco from the slopes surrounding the very table and family home we were sitting in. - Il Bricco means the peak of the hill. So the highest part of the hill. And for Nebbiolo to get the best Nebbiolo is fundamental. Because Nebbiolo grape needs as much as possible the contact with the sun. - This is singing very well right now. I actually get like some orange peel, I get black tea. - Due to this great finesse from the grape, from this estate, we can say that Il Bricco is immediately a great wine. - Yeah. - Without losing the great capacity of aging for 20, 30 years like a grape Nebbiolo. - Finally, Federica and Cesare had a surprise for me, a 2010 Barolo. If you could clone a vintage in Piedmont, and just make that every year, 2010 would be it. It's the perfect year. It made perfect wines and they were kind enough to pull one out of their private cellar just for me. This is something that if this doesn't make you happy, nothing will. There is such joy from seeing the way these evolve and change. You start to see that changing of color. Fruit starts to fade a little bit. You get these lovely dried fruit notes, dried flower notes. This is still so fresh and you can see how it'll age. Right? You can see that, "Okay. If I put this down another 10, it's gonna go more towards a lot of these flavors I'm getting right now." - It's starting to have his natural evolution. So the tannins are much more integrated in the wine. - I've been honored to spend the entire week with you, both learning the history of Pio Cesare and learning where you envision heading next over the next 140 years, I hope. Cheers - Salud, cheers. - As my time in Piedmont drew to a close, we sat down around the table and enjoyed the time we had left in this remarkable place. A place where so many family legacies have been built. So many traditions born. Italy's a road well traveled, and Piedmont isn't some new discovery, but it's not Disneyland either. It appears intact, real and unchanging. Recipes, wine traditions, architecture, and landscape seem like they've just always been. And much like the wine it produces, Piedmont feels enduring. As we all chase after contentment, this place has already found it. And the vines, the land, the traditions, the families, will all be here waiting for you to arrive. Your own Piedmont adventure is right around the corner. Hey, Vince here. Hope you enjoyed the episode. If you have a moment, follow us on Instagram. And if you really wanna support, please consider joining Vino VIP on visforvino.com. It's our members-only club with a ton of benefits. Thanks for watching, and see you soon.