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Barolo ( bə-ROH-loh, US also bar-OH-loh, Italian: [baˈrɔːlo]; Piedmontese: bareul [baˈrøl]) is a red denominazione di origine controllata e garantita (DOCG) wine produced in the northern Italian region of Piedmont. It is made from the nebbiolo grape and is often described as one of Italy's greatest wines. The zone of production extends into the communes of Barolo, Castiglione Falletto, Serralunga d'Alba and parts of the communes of Cherasco, Diano d'Alba, Grinzane Cavour, La Morra, Monforte d'Alba, Novello, Roddi, Verduno, all in the province of Cuneo, south-west of Alba. Although production codes have always stipulated that vineyards must be located on hillsides, the most recent revision of the production code released in 2010 goes further, categorically excluding valley floors, humid and flat areas, areas without sufficient sunlight, and areas with full-on northern exposures. Barolo is often described as having the aromas of tar and roses, and the wines are noted for their ability to age and usually take on a rust red tinge as they mature. Barolo needs to be aged for at least 36 months after the harvest before release, of which at least 18 months must be in wood. When subjected to aging of at least five years before release, the wine can be labeled as Riserva. In the past, Barolo wines tended to be rich in tannin. It can take more than 10 years for the wine to soften and become ready for drinking. Fermenting wine sits on the grape skins for at least three weeks, extracting huge amounts of tannins, and is then aged in large, wooden casks for years. In order to appeal to more modern international tastes, those that prefer fruitier, earlier-drinking wine styles, several producers began to cut fermentation times to a maximum of ten days and age the wine in new French oak barriques (small barrels). "Traditionalists" have argued that the wines produced in this way are not recognizable as Barolo and taste more of new oak than of wine. The controversies between traditionalists and modernists have been called the "Barolo wars". History Until recently it was believed that up to the mid-19th century, Barolo was a sweet wine. This was attributed to the fact that the nebbiolo grape ripens late in October, meaning that temperatures would be steadily dropping by harvest. By November and December, temperatures in the Piedmont region would be cold enough to halt fermentation, leaving a significant amount of residual sugar in the wine. Another popular idea was that in the mid-19th century, Camillo Benso, Conte di Cavour, the mayor of Grinzane Cavour, invited the French enologist Louis Oudart to the Barolo region to improve the winemaking techniques of the local producers. Using techniques focusing on improving the hygiene of the cellar, Oudart was able to ferment the nebbiolo must completely dry, making the first modern Barolo. This new, "dry" red wine soon became a favourite among the nobility of Turin and the ruling House of Savoy, giving rise to the popular description of Barolo as "the wine of kings, the king of wines". The idea that Barolo was once a sweet wine and that it took a French oenologist to turn it into a dry wine has been recently challenged, based on new research, by Kerin O'Keefe. According to this revision of Barolo's history, Paolo Francesco Staglieno was responsible for the modern dry version. He was the author of a winemaking manual, Istruzione intorno al miglior metodo di fare e conservare i vini in Piemonte, published in 1835. It was Staglieno who was called upon by Camillo Benso, Conte di Cavour, who appointed him to the position of oenologist at his Grinzane estate between 1836 and 1841. Staglieno's task was to produce quality wines geared towards ageing and stable enough to be exported. Staglieno fermented the wines dry, something that at the time was referred to as "the Staglieno method". Oudart was a grape and wine merchant, not an oenologist, who in the early 1800s moved to Genoa and set up a winery, Maison Oudard et Bruché. By the time Oudart turned up in Alba, King Carlo Alberto and Cavour were already following Staglieno's guidelines and both were producing dry wines. This revised version of the history of Barolo was positively accepted by other experts. By the mid-20th century, wine production in the Barolo zone was dominated by large negociants who purchased grapes and wines from across the zone and blended them into a house style. In the 1960s, individual proprietors began estate bottling and producing single vineyard wines from their holdings. By the 1980s, a wide range of single-vineyard bottlings was available, which led to a discussion among the region's producers about the prospect of developing a Cru classification for the area's vineyards. The cataloguing of Barolo's vineyards has a long history dating back to the work of Lorenzo Fantini in the late 19th century and Renato Ratti and Luigi Veronelli in the late 20th century, but as of 2009 there is still no official classification within the region. However, in 1980 the region as a whole was elevated to DOCG status. Along with Barbaresco and Brunello di Montalcino, Barolo was one of the first Italian wine regions to attain this designation. The Barolo wars In the 1970s and 1980s, trends in the worldwide market favoured fruitier, less tannic wines that could be consumed at a younger age. A group of Barolo producers, led by the house of Ceretto, Paolo Cordero di Montezemolo, Elio Altare, and Renato Ratti, started making more modern, international styles of Barolos by using shorter periods for maceration (days as opposed to weeks) and fermentation (usually 48–72 hours or at most 8–10 days), less time ageing in new small oak barrels and an extended period of bottle ageing prior to release. By using modern technology, including specialized tanks that allow the wine to be pumped out from underneath the cap of skins and then pumped over, they found ways to maximize colour extraction and minimize harsh tannins. Prior to this "modernist" movement, nebbiolo was often harvested slightly unripe and at high yields, which left the grapes with harsh green tannins that had not had time to fully polymerize. To maximize colour extraction, producers subjected the wine to extended periods of maceration, taking up to several weeks, and then several years ageing in large oak casks to soften the wine. Through the long slow process of oxidation, the perception of tannins lessened (such as occurs when decanting wine), but the fruit would also fade and become oxidized. The decline in fruit would no longer be able to balance the remaining harsh tannins, leaving a bitter, astringent wine with withered fruit. To counter this change, some producers would blend in other grape varieties such as Arneis and Barbera to add colour, fruit or softness to the wine. Advances in viticulture have helped to bridge the gap between modern and traditional producers. Better canopy management and yield control have led to riper gra.... Discover the Alessandro Masnaghetti popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Alessandro Masnaghetti books.