Wisdom From An Italian Winemaker

Earlier this week I had the opportunity to go to an Italian wine tasting event featuring Georgio Rivetti who is the head winemaker for La Spinetta and Contratto. He is a big deal as evidenced by some of his press:

“One of Italy’s most fashionable winemakers/proprietors, Giorgio Rivetti displays
a masterful touch whether he is making Barbera, Moscato d’Asti, or his
proprietary red wine Pin.”  – Robert Parker, Jr.

“In a little less than a decade, Giorgio Rivetti, owner and winemaker of La Spinetta in Barbaresco, has become one of the leading forces in Piedmont. Rivetti is first and foremost a winemaker—one of the best and most innovative winemakers in Piedmont today.” — The Wine Spectator

But for such a high end guy, he had some down to earth advice that I wanted to share with you. And hey, since his eldest child is 33 and his youngest is 3 so he must know a thing or two about living the good life.  So here are his pearls of wisdom:
– ” The key to wine making is farming. The best winemakers are the best farmers.”
– “Don’t buy wines from big producers because they cant control everything” (i.e.: the farming, the harvesting etc.)
– “Choose wines that use grapes that are indigenous to the regions they are grown in and try to match local foods with local wines” (for ex: do buy a nebbiolo from Italy, but not one from Washington state)
– “Do not buy wines just because they are highly rated. Please try them first” Amen brother….
– “Don’t buy investment wines. If you must, buy for one day investments only, buy wine and drink it. People have private cellars full of wine that they will never drink, so what’s the point?”
– “The good thing about Italian wines is that they are never boring. They are completely different by grape, region and producer”
–  And finally, my personal favorite “It’s is always a good time for great bubbles”

I was so excited by his wisdom, wines and prices that I walked away with a case of wine (guess what we will be featuring at the February Wine Tribe tasting?). Thanks to Kyle and the gang at Esquin for hosting such a great event.

Ciao!