HISTORY

Although the Nebbiolo grape has a history dating back to the 13th century, the word "Barolo" did not begin appearing on labels until the mid-19th century, around the same time that glass bottles were introduced to the region (before that, only wine was obtainable).

Before the mid-19th century, Barolo was made drastically differently than it is today, in a richly sweet and fruity style.
The truth about who made the first dry Barolo is still unknown. One version begins in the mid-19th century, when Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour (also partly responsible for Italian unification) saw an opportunity to modernize his family's estate in Grinzane by improving winemaking techniques and introducing a monoculture of vines. He enlisted the help of the Frenchman Louis Oudart as an oenologist, who had a method with which he could ferment the Nebbiolo completely dry. This made him the first winemaker to make a modern Barolo.

In the same period, a noblewoman named Giulietta Falletti (Marchioness of Barolo) had also enlisted the help of Louis Oudart and for her he also developed a Bordeaux style wine from the grapes from her extensive estates in La Morra, Serralunga d'Alba and Barolo . These wines attracted the attention of King Carlo Alberto di Savoia. He was so impressed by the wines that it inspired him to buy the estates near Verduno and Roddi for his own wine production.

Meanwhile, Emanuele Alberto Guerrieri, illegitimate son of Vittorio Emmanuele II (Count of Mirafiori and first king of Italy) also started planting vines around a family home called Fontanafredda, near Serralunga d'Alba, around the same time. Today, Fontanafredda remains one of the most famous Barolo producers with one of the largest adjacent vineyards in the Langhe.

It was the association with the then ruling dynasties of Italy that earned Barolo the nickname 'the wine of kings, the king of wines'. A name that it still carries with verve and pride to this day!

Progressive insight or patriotism?

The idea that Barolo was once a sweet wine and that it took a French oenologist to turn it into a dry wine has recently been discredited based on new research by Kerin O'Keefe (author of the highly interesting book Barolo & Barbaresco; The King and Queen of Italian wine ) has been questioned.

According to this revision of Barolo's history, Paolo Francesco Staglieno was responsible for the modern dry version. He was the author of a wine-making manual, Istruzione intorno al miglior metodo di fare e conservare i vini in Piedmont , published in 1835. It was Staglieno who was appointed oenologist by Camillo Benso, conte di Cavour and who placed him between 1836 and 1841 on his estate in Grinzane experimented with wines made with Nebbiolo grapes. Staglieno's task was to produce quality wines suitable for long-term preservation and stable enough to be exported. Staglieno fermented the wines dry, something that was called the Staglieno method at the time.

Oudart was a grape and wine merchant, not an oenologist, who moved to Genoa in the early 1800s and founded a winery, Maison Oudard et Bruché . By the time Oudart showed up in Alba, King Carlo Alberto and Camillo Benso were already following Staglieno's guidelines and both produced dry Barolo wines. This revised version of Barolo's history was positively accepted by other experts.