Portland
Oregon and Barbaresco Italy – They are closer than
you think
by Donna
Macdonald
When my partner John Rizzo and I moved from Portland OR to
Northern Italy the hardest part of the decision was saying
goodbye. What we have since figured out is that we will be
seeing far more of our neighbors and friends than we ever
expected. It seems that Oregon and the area we moved to in
the Piemonte Region are closer than I ever
realized.
Six thousand miles, a nine-hour time difference and a
language divide seem like an insurmountable separation, yet
for the last fifteen years the two regions have developed
an unusually strong bond. Thanks in part to the diligence,
hard work and charisma of an unassuming man by the name of
Aldo Vacca.
Aldo works at the winery Produttori del Barbaresco that was
founded in 1958 as a cooperative of growers dedicated to
growing the best grapes and making only top quality
Barbaresco. The members of the cooperative are families who
have been growing grapes on this land for centuries. Aldo
took over the position of Director from his father and
local legend Celestino Vacca. It was a time when the
American wine market was taking off but everybody loved
Tuscan wines. Very few people even knew where Piemonte was
on a map.
“Piemonte
was a hard sell when I first started working in America, it
took people like Peter Degarmo at Pastaworks to sell the
wines from this region, and Matt Kramer to write about
them. Today I would say that I have someone visiting from
Oregon at least once a month. Even in the winter.”
Aldo says with a quiet smile, “It’s not like
Barbaresco on the tour bus map. The travelers who come here
seem to like to immerse themselves in the culture but they
also enjoy the food and wine.”
Peter Degarmo of Pastaworks remembers a time when he could
stock every Italian wine available on the market, which is
no longer true today.
“I don't recall when Produttori's wines were
first available to us, but I think Don Oman visited
Barbaresco in 1989 or 1990. Pat and I first went to
Barbaresco in 1991.” Don Oman was at the time
partners in Pastaworks and has since gone on to start Casa
Bruno the wine importer. “Aldo Vacca and the
Produttori have defined the market in Portland. Aldo is
an incredible diplomat. He is genuine, knowledgeable,
sincere and very hard working.” Degarmo says
The wines from this region are delicious, interesting and
complex wines, but when they are consumed with food,
especially food from this region, the whole meal is
elevated to a culinary ecstasy. Aldo commented that if
people came to this region once, they often kept coming
back year after year.
That’s what happened to us. We traveled here just for
one day before a photo shoot in Umbria with Cathy Whims and
David West five years ago and now we are living here!
Located close to the sea and surrounded on three sides by
mountains the Piemonte sits in a microclimate that is
perfect for food, wine and majestic beauty. The Piemonte is
known for their
hazelnuts, mushrooms, fertile growing land for fruit and
vegetables not to mention the calcium and clay soil in the
hills that make incredible wine. The restaurants of the
region proudly identify the sources for their superior
local products. Hmmm… Sound familiar?
The next time you pass the 45th
Parallel sign north of Salem, imagine yourself driving
along the Autostrada just outside of the city of Torino,
the location of the 2006 winter Olympics, with the Cottian
Alps in the distance to the West and the Maritime Alps to
the South. This spot is also halfway between the equator
and the North Pole.
The Langhe is a stretch of hills that runs from the town of
Asti towards the sea. The hills of the Langhe are the food
and wine sweet spot of the entire region which has made it
a mecca for travelers in search of a vacation without
typical tourist fare and tour bus traffic that has made
other regions of Italy less attractive. The heart of the
Langhe for many visitors from the Northwest is the village
of Barbaresco and the nearby towns of Alba and Bra. Alba is
famous for their white truffles and they are Sister City
with Medford Oregon. In the time I have lived here I have
met a few winemakers who traveled to Medford during their
summer vacations when they were in school. Bra is the
village where the headquarters of Slow Food is, and where
the organization got its start.
Slow Food is the International organization that started
with a mission to offset the influences of fast food on a
culture and has grown into a highly respected organization
spreading the word about the necessity to protect local
sources of food across the globe. The 2006 Terra Madre
gathering in Torino attracted more than 6,000 people from
150 countries. Slow Food Founder Carlo Petrini acknowledged
Portland as the first Slow Food convivium in the U.S.
in 1991 and Portland continues to be one of the largest
groups in the country.
Oregon sent more than 40 delegates to Terra Madre including
food producers, chefs and educators. My waistline can
attest to the fact that several of them made the trek to
our village for a visit and a meal. What I am uncertain of
is if they came to visit us, or for the truffles and
Barbaresco… Let’s just say it was all of the
above.
When deciding to move to Italy, the Piemonte was not an
obvious choice for us. We had spent a great deal of time in
Tuscany and Umbria and John’s heritage is Sicilian,
Tuscan and Roman. I lobbied hard for the city of Perugia,
which will always be very close to my heart but every time
John took a bike ride along the top of the Langhe ridge
with Aldo Vacca and the boys from Barbaresco, Perugia kept
getting further and further away. We now live in the
village of Neive, about a mile away from Barbaresco.
Last October the population count of the region increased
by one when photographer John Anthony Rizzo, (Giovanni
Antonio Rizzo in Italian), claimed his Italian citizenship.
When he asked if there would be a swearing in ceremony, the
official replied, “We only do that for the
foreigners. You are already Italian.”
Rizzo
is originally from Boston, Massachusetts, and for more than
15 years he called Portland Oregon his home. John is a
nationally known photographer who came to Portland in 1989
and in one short year he opened a photography studio and
art gallery in a 10,000 square foot space on the 6th floor
of what was the Artisan Center building. At the time the
Pearl District was considered to be the bad side of town
and we had to escort uneasy art directors to and from their
cars, or they wouldn't venture north across NW Burnside for
a photo shoot. While he still maintains some clients in the
Northwest the move to Italy has kept him pretty busy.
When I first met Aldo Vacca in addition to his actual job
of being the Director of the winery Produttori del
Barbaresco, he was also the President of the Enoteca
Regionale del Barbaresco as well as the Vice-Mayor of the
village.
Aldo couldn’t pass up the temptation of having a
photographer in the next village so in celebration of
twentieth anniversary of the Enoteca Regionale del
Barbaresco Aldo commissioned John to photograph a book
titled Barbaresco Terroir. His idea had always been to tell
the story of the region with photographs to show people
just what a majestic and ruggedly beautiful place
Barbaresco is.
Barbaresco Terroir was a labor of love for all concerned.
It tells the story of the people who live here and the
history of the region. It conveys what a unique place this
is where the perfect balance of the soil, grape, climate
and people all come together to make the perfect Barbaresco
Terroir!
The book is written in both English and Italian with a
forward written by Portland’s own Piemontephile and
wine columnist Matt Kramer. For full disclosure, I helped
with the English translations, but trust me on this –
it was not difficult work and there was more than one
bottle of wine consumed in the process. Barbaresco of
course!
SIDE BARS
The book Barbaresco Terroir is for sale in Italy and only a
handful of wine shops across the United States, there is
only a limited number available in Portland and will be for
sale on Sunday February 24 when Aldo Vacca and Francesco
Gigliotti will be sampling cheese and wine from the
Piemonte at Pastaworks on Hawthorne.
THE WINE FACTS
For you wine-heads - here is the skinny - the wine called
Barbaresco is made with the grape Nebbiolo (so is its
nearby neighbor Barolo), and it must be grown in a very
specific zone surrounding the village of Barbaresco. The
wine must be aged for at least two years in wood and one
year in bottle. Barbaresco is a D.O.C.G. The
D.O.C.
part means it is an acknowledged unique grape varietial.
The
G
part means there are restrictions on the number of bottles
that can be produced with the Barbaresco name on it.
Barbaresco isn’t the only delicious wine from this
area, Barbera, Nebbiolo or Dolcetto are other options from
this part of the Piemonte.
OTHER BONDS
Osteria Alba – Kurt Spat worked at the famous
restaurant La Ciau del Tornavento in Treiso and his menu is
a true slice of Piemonte cuisine.
Vacca Wine – John Paul Cameron of Cameron Winery
obtained some Nebbiolo grape vines from Aldo Vacca and
started growing some Nebbiolo in Oregon. He was so grateful
that he calls the wine Vacca.
Osteria lalibera – recently written up in Travel
& Leisure owner Marco Forneris has close friends all
over Oregon but in particular the folks at the restaurant
Nostrana who have sent clients and friends to this
restaurant and the region for years.