Tucked away in the hills of Langhe, traditionally the source of Piedmont’s (some say Italy’s) best wines, is the hamlet of Barolo. Less than an hour’s drive from Turin, the area is nestled among winding roads and chestnut forests and dotted with medieval castles.

This quiet landscape hardly sounds like the setting for momentous events in the Italian wine world, but that’s what is taking place. Back in the 1980s, the much-hyped “Barolo Boys,” a group of young winemakers, revolutionized the area’s winemaking. The next generation of Barolo producers comprises mainly their daughters, and these ambitious young women are redefining the way business is done. It’s time for the “Barolo Girls.” Girl power in the glass, if you will.

 

Meeting the Women

I am sitting in the tasting room of the Paolo Scavino winery, sipping wine and talking with Enrica Scavino. Thirty-something Enrica and her younger sister Elisa are learning the business from their well-respected father Enrico, one of the original Barolo Boys. Enrica’s crystalline laugh fills the room when I ask if there’s something in the water that brought about the high proportion of daughters among the local winemakers. Scavino, Altare, and Sandrone in the Barolo area; and Gaja, Bruno Rocca, Bruno Giacosa, and Pelissero over in Barbaresco are just some of the wineries where women have an ever-increasing role in the family estates.

Although their father is still in charge, Enrica and Elisa are now an integral part of the operation. Enrica, who speaks English well, is in charge of public relations and communication, while Elisa is studying winemaking and working with her father in both the vineyard and cellar.

“I don’t know how my dad will ever survive,” Enrica jokes. “My sister is so detail-oriented; it drives a person crazy! She’s always trying to reorganize my computer files, so I tell her she’s needed in the vineyard.”

Years ago, Enrico was already laughing about the prospect of working with the strong-willed Elisa, but concluded it was a reasonable price to pay for having the pleasure of spending so much time together. “Our father encouraged us to take charge of our lives,” explains Enrica. “I was a teenager when he first visited the States: As soon as he returned, he signed me up for English classes. He had never been so embarrassed in his life—not even being able to ask where the bathroom was—and he wanted to spare me that.”

When I ask Enrica what it’s like to be a woman in the wine world, I am surprised by her answer: “Years ago, Piedmontese producers, who were almost all male, didn’t interact much,” she says. “But nowadays women are involved, and wine has become more a culture of pleasure. The environment has opened up. I’ve never had difficulty as a woman.”

Many charming wines are made in Piedmont, but Barolo and its sister wine Barbaresco (also the names of two villages at the core of their respective winemaking areas) are considered the best. Both are made from the nebbiolo grape, one of the world’s truly great varieties. Along with Tuscany’s Brunello, they are also Italy’s most famous wines.

“What I love about Barolo is its uniqueness,” Enrica reflects. “It can be made nowhere else in the world. They’ve planted it elsewhere, but the results are nothing like ours.” The nebbiolo grape is infamously difficult to grow; it matures late in the season, requires lots of sunlight and flourishes on steep slopes bordering mountainous regions. In fact, nebbiolo is so sensitive that growing it in just slightly different areas of the same locale can yield incredibly different flavors, tannins and acidities. “If you want the real thing,” says Enrica, “you’ll always come back here.”

All in the Family

I step out of the Scavino winery and walk to the next set of houses, one of which doubles as the winery of the Brovia family. Here, sisters Cristina and Elena Brovia have taken over from their father; the former makes the wines, the latter, helped by husband Alex, takes care of the commercial side, but everything is decided upon collegially.

Now in their thirties and the mothers of three splendid children, they manage to be great Italian mamme as well as businesswomen. “With a sixteen-month-old, I try to be here as much as possible,” laughs Elena. “My father always urged us to do something else. With winemaking, you have to hand over your life. It impedes and imposes on you. But women are suited to this work; we have dedication and perseverance.”

I ask her if it is harder for women, and she replies honestly: “Every now and then, we’ll get comments from jealous men. A man might ask me a secretarial question, not understanding that I work with the wine. Maybe it’s harder for us, but we fight hard.”

They seem grateful to their eighty-year-old father, a veteran of fifty-three harvests, who lets them have free reign. “Sure, he frequently critiques us and is always checking that we leave the cellar in pristine condition,” says Cristina. She’s not kidding: When we taste from the barrels, the women bring a rag to immediately clean up every drop of wine that falls to the floor.

“My family has been making wine for generations,” Elena says proudly. “Years back, some consultants suggested we change to a softer, more accessible winemaking style, but we said no. This is Barolo, after all.”

The Birth of Barolo

Strong women abound in the area of Barolo. It couldn’t really be any different, considering that the Barolo we know was born thanks to the insight of—you guessed it—a woman. In the 1800s, the Marchesa Giulia Falletti of Barolo couldn’t fathom why her red wines were often sweet and fizzy. A noblewoman who was used to drinking the best of France, she knew her wines could be better, and called on a French enologist, Louis Oudart. It didn’t take him long to figure out that the poor cellar practices of the time were to blame, and he made the necessary changes. Thus, modern dry Barolo was born.

Not far from the Marchesa’s castle, in the sleepy town of Barolo itself, you’ll find the Chiara Boschis-E. Pira & Figli estate. Chiara Boschis is the original Barolo Girl. During the heyday of the Barolo Boys, she was the only woman in the group. A humorous T-shirt made during a promotional tour read “The Barolo boys and one girl.” Today, it would have to read otherwise.

“It does feel strange sometimes,” she muses. “I was one of the first women making wine in the area, but today I’m surrounded.” When the winery was bought by her family in 1981, Chiara was put in charge.

A charismatic woman, Chiara has the innate Italian ability to speak a mile a minute, leaving your head spinning from more than nebbiolo’s sultry fumes. “Surprisingly, being a woman has never been a problem for me,” she says. “From the start, I was one of the guys: My father treated me the same as my brothers. It wasn’t a man-woman thing—those battles were fought decades ago by my grandmother and mother, for whom I have great respect. Women of my generation had their way paved.”

If Chiara sounds like a modern-day superwoman, it’s because she is. She doesn’t believe in, or even like, specialization: She enjoys all the aspects of running a winery—managing the vineyards, making the wine and flying around the world for promotion. “It moves me to do every part of the work,” she says. She makes two Barolos, the more refined Cannubi and the more austere Via Nuova.

“Our parents set an example,” she explains. “When we began exporting the Borgogno wines to the United States back in 1945, my father, after a day of back-breaking work in the hills, would come home and listen to records that taught English. So you realize why I am—,” she pauses, “—driven.”

Dinner in Piedmont

Later that evening it starts to rain and I find comfort in a cozy trattoria just outside Monforte d’Alba, not far from Barolo. While cradling a glass of wine in my hand, I mull over the day’s events.

Clearly, producers here are keenly aware of tradition when drinking wines, and they want the tastes and aromas to invoke the areas where the wines were made. They are fiercely attached to family and eagerly push their children—sons and daughters alike—to keep the legacy alive. In fact, women have always had an important, if backstage, role in the running of Italy (think strong mamas), a fact Italian men are keenly aware of.

It’s no different this evening at dinner, either.

The restaurant owner, a woman of substantial girth and a local wine producer herself, looks disapprovingly at my dinner date’s restraint in attacking the heaping portions of eggy tajarin and meaty agnolotti, wonderful pasta dishes typical of Piedmont. She prefers, instead, the way I belt down second helpings of each.

Then disaster strikes: I falter on my last mouthful of agnolotti (I swear I didn’t mean to), and not being able to manage a single mouthful more, I give her the impression of considering leaving some of the vintage Barbaresco remaining in my glass. Of course, the matron thinks nothing of grabbing the glass and putting it directly in my mouth. Now, I’ve always felt that eating in the Piedmontese countryside is one of life’s defining moments, but I’ll admit that not everyone would enjoy getting wine shoved down their throats, as good as Barolo may be. Yet, she does this in such a congenial, “mother knows best” manner that I don’t give it a second thought; besides, my mother still treats me that way, so I’m used to it.

At last, I walk—or, waddle—out of the trattoria into the cool night air shaking my head.

The women of Barolo. Girl power, indeed.

TASTING NOTES

The new generation of female winemakers is producing some of the best Barolo and Barbaresco wines in history. (Barbaresco is made with the same grape as Barolo, in an area a few miles away.) Barolo and Barbaresco are best at least eight years after the vintage date—and some peak up to twelve to fifteen years after bottling. Bene‘s wine writer Ian D’Agata discusses his favorites.

1. Silvia and Elena Altare of Elio Altare
Wine: Barolo Arborina 2001
Still going strong after twenty-five years, this wine was one of the original “new wave” Barolos. Soft and silky, it often is viewed as a paradigm of traditionalism.

2. Chiara Boschis of E. Pira & Figli
Wine: Barolo Dedicato a Chiara 2002
From Chiara Boschis comes a big Barolo that is not shy in its tannins nor in its powerful grip on the palate. One of the best wines of this difficult vintage, it is full of grace, yet has a luscious character.

3. Elena and Cristina Brovia of Fratelli Brovia
Wine: Barolo Villero 2001
Villero gives fruitier, somewhat more open wines than other famous vineyards of Castiglione Falletto, and this Barolo is an absolute charmer, brimming with ripe red cherries and hints of tobacco.

4. Livia Fontana of Cascina Fontana
Wine: Barolo 2001
A fairly traditional Barolo, with more compact fruit and tighter-grained tannins that need a little bottle age to resolve; in fact, this was released a year later than other Barolo wines. When it’s ready, it will make you swoon.

5. Gaia Gaja of Gaja
Wine: Barbaresco 2003
Charming in conversation, Gaia sparkles on a range of topics just as her wine sparkles in any glass, revealing telltale balsamic-smoky cherry aromas, suave tannins and ripe cherry flavors.

6. Bruna Giacosa of Bruno Giacosa
Wine: Barbaresco Rabaja Riserva 2001
Is Bruno Giacosa the greatest winemaker in Italy? I think so. Daughter Bruna has quite an act to follow, but she is up to the task. This spectacular Barbaresco has wonderful purity of fruit, a velvety texture and outrageously ripe cherry fruit.

7. Maria Teresa Mascarello of Bartolo Mascarello
Wine: Barolo 2001
Maria Teresa has fashioned one of the very best wines of the vintage, a masterpiece of rose petal aromas and silky red cherry fruit.

8. Martina Minuto of Moccagatta
Wine: Barbaresco Bric Balin 2003
Though only twenty-two, Martina sounds surprisingly maternal when she talks about this wine; she and its vineyard were born in the same year. She has played in it, worked in it and watched as it grew up with her. Not surprisingly, this wine is her favorite of the three Barbaresco they produce: soft, luscious and long.

9. Cristina Oddero of Fratelli Oddero
Wine: Barolo Vigna Rionda 2001
One of the greatest Barolo vineyards, Vigna Rionda never misses a beat, and this wine is the latest addition to the stellar list. The quiet Cristina flashes a wondrous smile when I tell her I’m enchanted with all their nebbiolo wines. And this Barolo reflects her personality: initially reserved, then breaking out in a burst of energy, with luscious fruit and suave tannins.

10. Tiziana Parusso of Marco Parusso
Wine: Barolo Mariondino Vecchie Vigne 1999
Not just one of the best Barolos, but one of the best wines, period, released in Italy in 2006. From a small plot of very old vines, this magical wine features the unique floral and yellow peach aromas that are typical of this estate (and uncommon in Barolos from other wineries); it also has incredible concentration and palate-staining length.

11. Cristina Pelissero of Giorgio Pelissero
Wine: Barbaresco Vanotu 2003
Cristina’s bubbly personality and love of the arts make it easy to talk about art and modern society; but with this pure, rich wine and its lusciously chewy concentration in front of you, you’ll find yourself hard-pressed to concentrate on the important issues being discussed.

12. Paola Rinaldi of Francesco Rinaldi
Wine: Barolo Cannubbio 2001
Some party poopers act as if the best things in life are hazardous to your health: Don’t eat this, don’t drink that, cholesterol—please! This wine is so intense and deep that it inebriates on its aromas alone. Both the wine and Paola share a complex, multilayered personality, which they slowly reveal in your company.

13. Marta Rinaldi of Giuseppe Rinaldi
Wine: Barolo Brunate – Le Coste 2001
From the Brunate Le Coste vineyards, known for lighter and more immediately charming wines, here’s one that’s so good you’ll be willing to boil the cork and inhale the fumes after you’ve finished the bottle. These wines have a huge cult following in Italy and abroad, and twenty-one-year-old Marta is eager to add her touch.

14. Paola Rocca of Albino Rocca
Wine: Barbaresco Bric Ronchi 2003
When talking to soft-spoken Paola, you get the sense that she has a strong inner personality that is waiting to break out. She finds a mirror image in this wine: In the glass it has a patient demeanor and starts much the same way on the palate, then it absolutely explodes with red cherry, plum and tarry flavors.

15. Luisa Rocca of Bruno Rocca
Wine: Barbaresco Coparossa 2003
Rose petal and Morello cherry aromas soar from the glass. “You picked this one to serve him?” asks her father Bruno, a note of incredulity in his voice seeing that Luisa has brought out the Barbaresco Coparossa (the Rabajà bottling is considered the more important of the two they make). “Yes,” she shrugs, lifting her pretty shoulders almost imperceptibly. “I like this one.” Dad 0, Daughter 1.

16. Sara Vezza and Josetta Saffirio of Josetta Saffirio
Wine: Barolo 2001
One look at their tiny cellar proves that this really is the kingdom of the elves—which are depicted on every wine label of the estate. Multi-talented Sara is learning the ropes from her father—a famous Barolo winemaker—and her mother, who was one of the first female Barolo winemakers to attain tremendous success. This irresistible wine shows how well Sara is learning.

17. Barbara Sandrone of Luciano Sandrone
Wine: Barolo Cannubi Boschis 2001
First, their too-cute-for-words dog nudges my leg the whole time I’m there. Then Barbara’s young son comes into the tasting room, sits on his mother’s lap and politely takes over the conversation. Welcome to a typical Italian household! Only this household also happens to be one of the best wine producers on earth. The wine has astonishing depth of fruit and unparalleled elegance, and it reverberates with the simple charm of the Sandrone family.

18. Enrica and Elisa Scavino of Paolo Scavino
Wine: Barolo Bric del Fiasc 2001
Sisters Enrica and Elisa make a wonderful team, and it’s a joy to listen to their cheerful banter. This wine comes from the family’s most important vineyard, and it’s a great one: clean, pure and crammed with wonderful raspberry and strawberry fruit, but still light and silky on the palate. It’s a far cry from the modern, internationally styled behemoths that have all the subtlety of a woodpecker.

19. Tiziana Settimo of Aurelio Settimo
Wine: Barolo Rocche 2002
This wine from the Rocche vineyard is as easygoing as Tiziana herself—but both have an underlying energy that makes every sip, and conversation, immensely pleasing. Anyone this talented and able to produce a Barolo that reminds you of the great things the nebbiolo grape can deliver, deserves your encouragement. Buy all you can.