Isidoro Vajra Celebrates the Beauty of Barolo

Barolo is the most storied spot for wine lovers in the Northwest Italian province of Piemonte. Here, where Isidoro Vajra’s ancestors had been growing grapes since the 1880s, the family built a winery in the early 1970s rooted in tradition but also in innovation. Vajra was the first organically certified winery in the region, they have pioneered the renaissance or, as Isidoro says in Italian, the Renascimento, of wine styles from the 17^th century (including a sparkling Nebbiolo!) and the resurgence of interest in the local grape Freisa, which was all but forgotten before the Vajra family brought it back to life in 1980.

Piemonte is a region that is home to many grapes – Cortese, Arneis and Moscato among white grapes and Dolcetto, Freisia and Barbera among the reds. Indisputably, the king of the red grapes in Piemonte is Nebbiolo, a thin-skinned variety that gives wines often pale in color but robust in fruit, acid and tannin. This is the source of one of Italy’s greatest and most famous wines made exclusively from the Nebbiolo grape in the small village of Barolo. You may also know of the Nebbiolo-based wine from nearby Barbaresco – these are certainly the two most famous villages for Nebbiolo but the grape is grown throughout the province.

The villages and small towns of the region – Gavi, Alba and Asti, Barolo and Barbaresco among them – are famous for wine but also for truffles and mushrooms and exceptional cuisine. Piemonte gets its name from the words pied, meaning foot, and monte, meaning mountain. It is in the foothills of the Alps with amazing vistas, a cool climate and many different exposures for vineyards. Most of all, it is a region of stunning beauty, especially in the prime Nebbiolo sub-region called the Langhe where the Vajra family lives and works.

In this conversation with host Lyn Farmer, Isidoro Vajra shares his and his family's passion for the area, their close rapport with nature, their respect for the land and their willingness to let their vines tell them what kind of wines to make. Isidoro is a not only passionate, he is compassionate and a wonderful guide to and storyteller about this magical place, the Langhe of Piemonte..

G.D. Vajra is one of Piemonte's most important wineries, and their website is very well done – I recommend it highly - you'll find it at www.gdvajra.it

The website has explanations of all the wines we discuss in our conversation including not only the classic Barolos, but the unusual Nebbiolo Claré, the Barbera Freisa blend, the stunning Riesling Petraciné and others as well.