Ep. 148 Monty Waldin interviews Valentina Abbona (Marchesi di Barolo Winery) | Discover Italian Regions: Piedmont / Piemonte

Italian wine podcast. Chinching with Italian wine people. Hello. This is the Italian White Podcast. My name is Monty Woodin. My guest today is Valentina Bona and Valentina's family winery is called Marquesi Di Barolo. So you are you are you are you are Mark questy. Do you have a tie? Are you titled? Not really. That's a yes. Yeah. But I always been told that work gives you title, so we work a lot. Let's say this. Okay. That's a very diplomatic answer. Tell me a little bit about the family winery because you're very big producers, very important producers in Barolo. I would say very historic, first of all. Maricisidi Barolo was the first wine and refounded where Barolo was born and made as the dry and silk wine that we know nowadays back in eighteen hundred. And this happened because of beautiful and very intelligent woman, Demarquis of Barolo, she was a noble one. And she got married actually to Demarquio Barolo. She was a French noblewoman that arrived in Italy because she got married to her husband who was living in the castle of that Olim. That was when this part of Italy was part of Savoy. Is that right? It wasn't Italy yet. Italy was not unified as one country. Do you feel very Italian yet? Feel French? I feel very Italian. Even if I should say that in Peemont, we have kind of a French influence I find that in the wines as well. There is a nice parallelism between Barolo and burgundy. Okay. So tell me about how, you know, you're which meant you're a very large producer, big picture of, you know, very influential producers. Tell me a little bit about your, where are your vineyards, how much wine do you make in your main markets. Markisserie Barolo, it's, it's still family business, first of all, and we produce all the very typical varietals wines from Piedmont. Such. So, of course, Arnese coming from Rioo, Bibera, Dolceto, which are more of the everyday typical wines. And, of course, all the different expressions of Nimbiolo, such as Bervarisco, Nebiolo Langue, and Barolo, of course. So just a basic question, what's the difference between the Nebiola Olange and barolo. They're both made from the same grape varieties. It is the same variety, a nebbiolo, the main variety because in languella, you can actually blend a little bit of verbiara or the grapes typical from lang as well. Do you do that in your nebbiolo, in your language wine not. In our language, we have a little percentage of Barrera, and that's a very new wine. It just was bottled, last month. So it's the first time that we are going to show it just in Italy. I'm quite excited. So for the style of your barolo offer, are you very Do you use barrels, large oak vats when you're aging the wine? Our barrels range size goes from small barrique all the way up to one hundred and eighty five hectoliters. So huge, slavonian barrels quite old, around six years or sixty five years old. And we also have barrels that are two hundred years old, which Two hundred years old. Two hundred. That my dad had restored around twenty five years ago now that we still use for making our wines today. It is very old wood. We believe it's Italian wood, and of course that is very neutral. So the one will spend that, final time for, for the aging. So why did your dad do that? Was he looking for tradition or did you just say, I can't be bothered to spend more money on barrels? I honestly, if I can, you know, recycle these old vats that probably date from the French times. Well, it is a pity to throw away what you can still use today. So even if it was a big effort to make, useful again, because it were very old and very delicate. So it was a long and delicate process to clean them up. It was definitely beneficial for the aim that I will want every house, which is to continue the tradition of the Mercisserie Barolo and to continue producing Barolo in the most classic way of representing the different ros of our beautiful land. So not necessarily using just one or the other type of oak, but representing the tour. That's our main focus. So you're modern in outlook, but traditionalist in application. I would say that we are in between modernism and tradition. We are a traditionist that look in an innovative way. That's how I would describe us because, for example, for our wines, we do use a little bit of Barrique at the beginning of the aging, but all of the wines would finish their aging in Big's Livonia nope. Other wines will just age in Big's Livonia nope. So it really depends on where the grape is sourced from. Okay. Next question is about the market. Obviously, Barolo is a is a highly sought after wine and prices for the best wines, the top scoring wines have become quite out of the reach of everyday drinkers. How do you see that? Do you think that's a bit of a shame? And there's nothing you can do about it. It's the market. Right? No. It's just the market. And I still think that it's fair. The prices that that auto have on an average range, of course, then you have the outsiders, but those are also beneficial to the market because people are starting to pay attention to the ones that we're making in our in our area, which require a lot of time, a lot of investment because they can come out of the seller after one year, they need to age there for a little while, and that will end as becoming crazy expensive. So it's good that people are realizing this. On the other side, I think that it's a little bit of a pity because wine is made in my opinion to be enjoyed. So we should just pop bottles and enjoy them as more as we can. And good food matches? Give me a couple of examples, but when you go home after a long day, selling, talking about your family, and you have to have a glass of, say a barolo, or just any of your wines, what are you what are some ideal matches soup and wine? Well, Piamentese cuisine is very rich and with different flavors. I think that dayerin are still my favorite, pasta dish in order to to match our wines to make with a lot of yolks. It's handmade pasta, around forty yolks per each kilo of flour. Forty egg yolks per kilo of flour. Yes. So it gives a very yellow pasta. Right? It's actually quite white because you have to, you have to work on it quite a bit. Well, I I enjoy it. I'm not the best, but maybe Diaz don't enjoy when I do it, but it's fun. So it's a very, is it a very thin pasta? Very thin. Very thin and delicate. And what is the typical sauce that goes on that? You usually have them either with or you have them playing with, buttons say and some tortufu bianco. Right. So a regular would be a meat based sauce with without tomato. With tomato. And the typical meat would be? Beef. Our fasuna beef, which is a very lean. Lean. Thank you very much. Very lean beef that grows in Rita that is in Kemante. And then do you do you make, Arnese, white wine from the Arnese variety? Yes. And what does that taste like and what is a good food match for that? Arne is, first of all, means LitterASco. So as any Litteraskol is different difficult to explain. It is a white wine with a red wine personality because it's very creamy and rich. It's beautiful. It's a wine that you can enjoy with many different kinds of food. Just tell me about the Arniece what it tastes like? Typical flavors. A little bit of licorice, chamomile flower, banana. So it's sweetened notes, but on a dry wine. And a good food pairing? Rabbit, I think is the best theory. Very decisive answer. Very decisive. Yes. And, you good at cooking things like rabbit. Not really good at cooking. You're good at shooting them? I'm better at shooting them and definitely at eating them. Did you have a pet one when you were small? No. Okay. No. No. No. It's okay. It's not an affection thing. Right. Okay. You're running you're now running the winery. I know your dad is still around, but you're running the winery with, And that's it. Well, it's still actually all the four of us. My mom, my dad, are still very involved, and my brother and I a little bit little taking over and learning from them. Do you all get on? Is it is it very stressful working with your mom and dad? Super stressful. Really? Super stressful. You should hear what they serve by you? No. I think they say the same thing, but it's also beautiful. It's stressful, but beautiful. Is it more about time management and, or is it just is it or do you have, like, really big differences opinion? Very different opinions. But on the same side, Daniel realized that you're saying two different things, but for just one aim, and that's when the better result is reached. Talk back your dad. He's quite he's he's I mean, he's a I don't know how old he is, but he he when we were talking, he was like a teenager. Well, he's very teenager. He is, isn't he? Yes. Very alive. A lot of the new ideas that we have a devonery to actually coming from him. We should stick around. You should get rid of his children and just say, right. You know, well, you guys are useless, you know? We should stick with him. He's coming up with all the ideas, you know, you're just thinking about rabbit and pastor and things like that and good life. Now. And your mom? My mom is a very strong woman. She's a tough woman. Very tough. I'm mad at her. Very nice. I'm sure you do. Yeah. Handshakes. You almost when I shook her hands, you must do my hand off. Yes. That's really her. That's your mom. You're different. You're more cuddly than Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Alright. Valentina, well, not really nice to talk to you. Your brother's like, he's in the studio. He doesn't agree. He doesn't agree, but he doesn't want you to speak. So go on. We have a very quick comment. Go on. Very quick. Introduce yourself very quickly. What's your name? Yeah. No. I I understand it. It's, my name is, David Bona, and, you all who between the two of you, who's the eldest? She's, right. Okay. And your role? My role now is I'm fine. Yeah. Thanks. Okay. So you're just, a time wasted. Just a okay. Alright. Well, great. You your your moment at fame is now passed. I'm afraid. In the future. Okay. Alright. I'm sure you'll do something. What did you study? You studied marketing? No. I'm now I'm I'm studying languages, Chinese English, and also, economic subject. So basically, the the family idea is to you learn Chinese and you guys have been trying it. I've been here with my mom in in Asia. And, I've been in in Japan, so I have to go there again. And, I really want to visit also on China. So, but your job is basically like all of those. Yeah. Alright. Well, thanks a lot, David. I just said in my making an analogy in high school. When I was attending high school, I I studied an ology at at Alba. It was a very, very fun, high school because, I really, to do my study. No. I study, I I study very much. I really, really enjoy the time because, because you're having lots of fun. Yeah. It. You know what? Valentina, Bona, thank you very much for telling us about the Marquesi di Barolo winery, and also the fascinating detail about those, several hundred year old wooden vats. I didn't know that. Two hundred years old. Alright. Okay. Two hundred years old. And that's that's, you know, it goes back once the French revolution That's pretty good. Thanks a lot, Valentina, and, I'll come and visit you in PMonte, and we can try some of that. Perfecto, and rabbit. And rabbit. You can have Thairin with rabbitrigu as well. Oh, you will you make one for me? I'm not sure you want me to go, but I can try. Alright. We'll try. Okay. So if if if I don't come back, it means I've got food for example. Okay. And no one else will come. And no one else will know. Okay. It's a very bad advertisement. Okay. Thanks a lot, Valentino. Thank you very much. Follow Italian White Podcast on Facebook and Instagram.