The Rise of Grower Barolo and Barbaresco

Grower Champagne is a well known story by this point.  For decades, the Champagne market was dominated by the large houses, the so-called Grand Marques   Then a small group of rebels decided to vinify wine from their own grapes and the grower champagne movement was born.  Now, some of the most respected (and expensive) wines in Champagne are from so-called growers who decided to vinify their own grapes and sell wine under their own labels. 

Now, a similar movement is starting in Piedmont.  A group of mostly younger growers is starting to

cancel their contracts with the wineries they (or their families) formerly sold their grapes to.  These are winemakers who are breaking the mold in Piedmont. A good number of wineries use the so-called consulting oenologist model where they have an employee or employees who work the vineyards and do the physical aspects of winemaking but they are under the direction of a so-called Consulting Oeonologist who went to winemaking school (often in the Scuola Enologica di Alba in alba).  In some cases, the wineries also employ a consultant to advise on the vineyard. 

These new grower winemakers in Piedmont are a different breed.  They live, breathe and die in the vineyards and in the cellar.  They manage the vineyards and make the wines.  They often even sell and market (typically not much) the wines. 

This new breed represents an important new trend in Piedmont for several reasons. 

1. The wines can be more consistent and much better in more difficult years.  Because the grower winemaker is 100 percent focused on his winery and his winery alone, he can make better and more timely decisions in the vineyard and the cellar than a consultant who must make decisions for 10 or 20 clients.  The grower also knows his own vineyards better and can make better decisions as to why to harvest when. Proper harvesting decisions are among the most important decisions that are made by wineries. Pick too early and the grapes will not yet have achieved phenolic ripeness and the wine will be green.  Pick too late and the grapes will lose acidity and the wines will be stewy.  Italy has a horrible reputation for boom or bust vintages with good reason.  Less well trained winemakers often do not optimize growing and harvesting decisions resulting in terrible wines in difficult years.  In Burgundy the level of winemaking skill has historically been much better resulting in good (if different) wines in difficult years.  It did take them a while to get there though. The new grower winemakers in Piedmont are helping to close or eliminate the gap.  
2. The wines can be much more distinctive.  Wines made by consulting oenologists reflect the style of the consulting oenologist.  This is not necessarily a bad thing.  But for sophisticated wine lovers, this reduces the variation and choice in the region.  In Burgundy, for example, we love to taste the wines in the same region (and even AOC) from different growers and evaluate the differences in style. While we can certainly do this in Piedmont, having a new group of grower winemakers each with their own unique style will ultimately result in a wider variety of wines.   
3. Many more of the wines will certainly be drinkable young.  These new growers generally have much better training than the average winemaker in the Langhe.  While Nebbiolo is certainly a tannic grape, most of the reason why so much Barolo and Barbaresco was brutally tannic and undrinkable young was because of decisions in the cellar.  It is certainly possible to make terroir specific wine in the Langhe that is drinkable young just as it is In Burgundy.  Why does this matter?  Because Italian wine lovers can now try new producers and see if they like their style without having to wait a decade or more to see if they want to cellar the wines.  

I’ve always loved properly made mature Nebbiolo.  To be honest, I’ve drunk a lot less of it than I would have because there were few producers that I really loved.  And the ones that I did love were painfully expensive.   I’m thrilled to see a new generation of growers that are shaking things up and making great wine that I can enjoy young and will enjoy even more as they age.  It’s an exciting time in the Langhe.