Cultivate’s winemaker, Nat Gunter, recently returned from Italy. Here’s his travelogue from his first stop:
My first stop in Italy was the famous Piedmont region in northwest Italy. If you watched the winter Olympics in Torino, Italy, you got to see a lot of this region on TV. Some of the most famous Italian wines come from the Piedmont - Wines like Barolo and Barbaresco.
There’s a rich history in this region and the wines and the people are incredible. The great food delicacy from this region are the white truffles from the village of Alba. The short truffle season begins in November and restaurants all over Piedmont shave these Alba truffles over piping hot dishes of freshly made pasta! A glass of local wine with a simple dish like this is really what life is all about.
One of the coolest things to me about Piedmont wines are the old wine labels. Tons of different fonts and colors, all enriched with family crests and little ornamentations and filigree. You just don’t see labels like this nowadays. We visited a winery called Manfredi and Mr. Manfredi has a little museum of Piedmont history in his home. Before we all sat down to dinner together, he showed me his collection of old bottlings from the region. Above are just a few images of some truly legendary bottles! History in a bottle!
Cool! Good to see you writing about your adventures! love you, bg
Great!! I’m beginning to envy your job!! cheers from Chile