All language subtitles for V.is.for.Vino.S04E05.Piedmont.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DD+2.0.H.264-playWEB

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.

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.

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.