Ep. 105 Monty Waldin interviews Roberto Bava (Bava Winery) | Discover Italian Regions: Piedmont / Piemonte

Italian wine podcast. Chinching with Italian wine people. Hello. My name is Monte Gordon. This is the Italian wine podcast. My guest today is Roberto Baba from the Baba winery in Cocconato Dasti in the Pemonte region of Northwest. Italy, Roberto. Welcome. I think. Yeah. It's afternoon. I didn't have It's all that. All that Barolo you've been drinking. Okay. Roberta, tell me a little bit about the family history of the Baba winery. When was it founded? We discovered we are growing the same vineyard back to the eighteen. That's only the sixteen eighty two. So it's roughly on the deals. We became, an official, winery in hundred five years ago because they were building a railway station next to the farm. So we were able eventually to ship the winer on the world. Nineteen eleven. Exactly. Right. Okay. And did the railway line go to Genoa? The railways were linking, asti to Tarina, but it was on the on the long way from was it linked between Genoa and Aosta. Yeah. That is we, finally, we often forget the importance of railways in in stimulating wine growing because it's obviously easy easy to transport and Listen, it it my great grandfather used to to deliver barrels to to to to to toino. It's fifty kilometers. It took one day. Milana took two days, horses and barrel on the back. I'm mean, if you if you see all the wineries, very often, they are close to to a railway station. Yeah. Okay. So that was a little bit about the history. How big is the Babawiner at the moment? We are a family owned company that families all involved in, in the business as usual happen in Piamonte. I couldn't say big. I mean, we we have, twenty people working in, in the winery, and we have, sixty actors of, wine. We have department line. We we we ship all over the world. We are so what are your main wines then? What are your most famous? And what are your main wines in terms of for you? Let's say the the main three grapes we grow are Babvera and, of course, Napiola, because we are vineyard in castiglione Falletto, which is the Barolo Heart. Which is, quite an interesting grape, white or red. Red, aromatic, and smelling of roses and raspberry is quite unusual. Did you make that dry or sparkling? No. Definitely sweet and it's pretty young. Not really spark. So what would that be? What would you drink that with? Of course, I would say strawberries and cream, but, as soon you go to Thai, in Thailand, they would, drink it with, with shrimps, if you go in Korea, they wouldn't drink it with kimchi. So I'm quite open. I'm I have a sensorial approach to the wine I make. Glad to glad to hear it. And the other one, so the barbera, very underrated gray variety. Well, it What are its what are its main qualities? Why why is it so embarrassing? Don't say any more underrated because Babera, I mean, I I'm one of the of the Babier Boy that started the revolution in nineteen eighties, and, now Babier is a great wine, well made. I could tell you I have twenty vintages to sell a Babier. So it shows that it has a potential also to to to keep well. So age is is more because of its acidity than it's telling. It's not a hugely tannic grape, is it? Normally, it's not a tannic grape. But then I used to have a kind of acidity, but with modern technique, we can mild the the the character by still keeping the great identity working on, of course, as usual on on the clone, on the soil, etcetera. That's a new story in Babbea now. I don't know if you heard about Nitza, the sub area of Babbea. So it's going to be the third great led from from Baba from Piamonte, so you have to Barolo in Baba. It's called. So Nitza is n I z z a. It's in particular. What makes the Nitza zone in the Barbera Dasty area so special? Wately slim it? Well, no. No. Historical is known to be, like, the very heart of the baby a dusty. And the soil is is peculiar. There's, sandy soil. It's quite spicy as a character, and it's a great potential of, a nutritional, fact that we'll say in the back label. I mean, minerals, anti chance, great alcohol, potential and quite well balanced. So all of this makes a great quality wine. And one of the main differences between Babbert Adasti and Nitza is Nitza is always a hundred percent barbera, whereas Baba Dasti is, I think, only ninety percent. It can be a hundred, but it's a minimum. I'm glad you've been studying. This is quite not well known. Yes. Nitza is one hundred percent, Bibera, Dasty. You're allowed to have up to fifteen percent of traditional, grape, close by in the same venue, like, Guenorina, Dolce, etcetera. So it's in a way it's pure, it's more specific, it's more an expression of that specific area. But very audacity, by the way, it can be good everywhere. But the debt needs to be very peculiar, so it deserved to have a specific name apart. Yeah. I think it's one of the, well, there are other examples, but it is an example of where Italian wine denominations make a hundred percent sense. It is a special area. It is a special area of this particular grape. The wines do taste different. They have more intensity and more width and and more texture. And if all Italian denominations, risk coherent, as Nitza, life would probably be a little symbol. Anyway, that's another story. So, hello, you made some sparkling wine? Yes, we do. One of our, wine in Malvasia is also sparkling. So, it's, we've been making it for tiers now. It's a it's a Jose wine, very dramatic. So it's smell of, again, the roses and and and in the last building and stores. I mean, what to drink? Time days. You're a teenager normally are not invited to drink wine, but if it is like four point five five point five, is the minimum allowed. It's still a little more than a than a simple beer. So it's quite drink all nice, you can even do a pizza with it. It's a new way to see, one of the most traditional Piamantes wines. Tell me about your barolo? Marolo, of course, is the jewel the crown always. We we have the privilege to have this little state in the Scalone area, which is just under the tower of Castillo Falletto. It's six actors. So it's not a big, quantity but, it's perfect. It's elegant. No. What's the tailwater like? Is it sloping? Is it flat? Is it? It's extremely steep. When they say, oh, but all is expensive, I normally invite them to, to take that basket of twenty kilos from the bottom of the hill and and go up to to the seller, they will realize why it is expensive. It's not only it's not always money. Yeah. I feel proud of of being PMantese and being a barrel of produce, of course, even if it's in such a small state. And what is a good food match for Barrera? Everybody has their own opinion, but food. Your Barolo in particular? Well, I'm, I'm in a, in a parmigiana recently. I like, to play with different seasoning of Permigiano Ejano, and I believe that, forty eight, up to sixty month seasoning Permigiano could be good, but, to a very strongly flavored one because it's aged. Yeah. Yeah. No. They are they are that's more more character. But I wouldn't mind that too. I don't know if it is shocking a little, but a two zero two have Crambury is better than Lasbury with Barolo, or should we break the rule for a while? You sound a bit you sound like you're a bit of a rule breaker anyway. So I think that's a terrible question, isn't it? Uh-oh. Does it work? Crambury's with Barolo? Try. What makes what makes it work? Is the acidity of the cranberries? I I discovered these dried cranberries, dried ones. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And and they have that, that kind of a cherished flavor and, and, they'll soft creamy. It's a flowery. I mean, I think it's, it's good to balance, polyd acidity. And, but again, it's it's it's publication. Can we not the usual meat and cheese? No. That's good. Although they are often good matches for. I suppose some people think that cheese isn't always a great match for white, because it's too it's creamy and it and it masks the tannins, and but I think your idea of having an aged sort of flaky, almost spicy cheese would make a pretty good match with, with your burona. Okay. I just wanna say thanks to Roberto, on your business card. Everyone's been like, no, who say, oh, export manager or, use technical director, or all this. Yours says, Roberto Bava, fun manager. A fund manager. I am the director of fund of the binary, actually. Okay. I used to be the expert manager. My brothers were complaining. You go around the organized parties around every place in the world. Drinking and eating looks like it's easy. It's a come on. You must be a professor on Easter to do this. So to to to cut, the story, I decided to be officially. So they no more complain. I am the fan manager. Nice, man. Nice to meet you, Roberto. Roberto, Baba, for an Ababa winery. Guanathorasti in the Piamante region. Thanks very much for coming in. And I hope to, you know, I wanna try that cheese and wine pairing you suggested. Okay. You're welcome. Yeah. You come come tomorrow and have a look. Yeah. Some aged parmesan sounds very tempting. Thanks a lot, Roberto. Follow Italian wine podcast on Facebook and Instagram.