11AM - 5PM AT BOTH SHOPSSilvia Altare will be at the Ravenna shop from 11:30-2:00
and at the Queen Anne shop from 2:30-5:00
The wines of pioneering modernist Elio Altare in Piemonte's La Morra are some of the finest in all of Italy. His vineyards are cultivated without the use of any chemicals or pesticides, and his winemaking has only minimal intervention. Stylistically, Elio's wines favor elegance, finesse, and balance. Elio's dynamic young daughter, Silvia, who is increasingly taking more responsibility at the estate, will be in the shops sharing her humor and charm, proudly speaking to the family's history and philosophy of wine growing, and pouring the family's new releases. Come in to meet Silvia and sample these truly exceptional wines.
2010 Elio Altare Dolcetto d'Alba 19.00 15.77VS
2010 Elio Altare Barbera d'Alba 22.00 18.26VS
2007 Elio Altare Barolo 75.00 62.25VS
Taste the above wines on Saturday January 21st at both shops from 11AM-5PM
Also available for sale, but not part of the tasting:
2008 Elio Altare Rosso 'Arborina' Langhe (Limited) 87.00 72.21VS
2008 Elio Altare Rosso 'Larigi' Langhe (Limited) 87.00 72.21VS
2008 Elio Altare Rosso 'La Villa' Langhe (Limited) 87.00 72.21VS
2007 Elio Altare Barolo 'Vigneto Arborina' 100.00 83.00VS
From the Elio Altare web site:
"I'm a farmer, I know the hard work from the past times. I was here when farmers would plough the vineyards with an ox and I did it myself until I was twenty. This way I learned to respect work and the land."
Grandpa Giuseppe came to la Morra in 1948, the family Altare was originally from the town of Dogliani, even if old documents and wills, translated by a close relative archpriest, spoke about some Jewish descent from Palestine.
Giuseppe bought the farm in La Morra, the estate covered 5 hectares, a few nebbiolo, barbera and dolcetto vineyards, and some peach, hazelnut and apple trees, but those were times when orchards gave higher yield and more profit than vineyards.
They were not easy times, given the economic crisis that lasted for years, Elio, along with other friends, decided to learn about winemaking beyond the borders of Piemonte and try to grab some of the success that those regions were enjoying. Their first trip to Burgundy, in January 1976, was a revelation, and when Elio got back home he knew there were major changes to be made, first of all his "mind frame", but also in the farming, winemaking and trading, so he began experimenting with methods outside of the traditional ones in Piemonte.
He wasn't afraid: he grabbed a chainsaw, as if it was a sword, and first he cut down the fruit trees in the orchard, then in the cellar he chopped up the big old wooden tanks into fire wood, this way he made room for his first brand new barrique.
His father Giovanni didn't understand him, his son's radical decisions were too far from his way of thinking, the old man was not able to accept what he thought was an offence against common sense and tradition, and he sought comfort in silence, he died in 1985 and disinherited Elio.
Elio stood firm then and still today. Firmly he decided to his change direction and to give a different interpretation to the family's wine, favouring elegance, finesse, and balance, following a strict regime in the vineyards, adopting new vinification and aging techniques in the cellar, Elio still stubbornly chases his dream today.
The farm is still today family managed, under Elio's supervision, we work on 10 hectares with an average production of 60,000 bottles.
