A few weeks ago, I was invited to present Barolo at a conference in Milano.

When I met with the company organizing the event, I proposed several ideas centered around my favorite grape,  Nebbiolo. But one theme resonated most with them: Past, Present, and Future.

Why Barolo matters?

When we talk about Barolo we are talking about a world famous micro region.  

The Barolo region is made up of 11 villages surrounding the town Barolo itself.  

In total, the entire appellation covers just 2,000 hectares and produces around 15 million bottles of wine per year.

To put that into perspective, Barolo is about 20 times smaller than Burgundy, yet it produces some of the most sought-after wines in the world—from a single grape: Nebbiolo.

 

Do you know why the grape is called Nebbiolo? 

There are two main theories.

The first comes from the word “nebbia,” meaning fog, because Nebbiolo is harvested late in the season, often among the autumn fogs that settle over the Langhe hills.

The second theory links the name to nobility.

As early as 1606, Giovan Battista Croce, the goldsmith to the House of Savoy, wrote about Nebbiolo as a noble grape—already recognized for its quality and prestige centuries ago.

And it was thanks to Giulia Colbert Falletti, the Marchesa di Barolo, together with Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour, that Barolo became the wine served at the Savoy royal table. It was the wine offered to honored guests who had traveled far, and the wine raised in celebration when Italy was finally unified in 1861.

It was a toast, with Barolo!

PAST - The Birth of Barolo as a Noble Wine  

Giulietta Colbert was a French Noblewoman who married Tancredi Falletti, the Marchis of Barolo. Tancredi was one of the wealthiest landowners in the area and owned much of the land surrounding Barolo. 

Giulia is one of the most important figures in Barolo’s history because she helped transform Barolo from a sweet, rustic wine into a dry, structured, age-worthy wine. She did this with the help of a close friend, Louis Oudart, a French enologist, who assisted in improving cellar practices and fermentation techniques.

Thanks to Giulia’s strong ties to the Savoy court and her belief in the potential of Nebbiolo, Barolo gained the attention of King Vittorio Emanuele II, becoming a wine associated with nobility, prestige, and celebration.

 

The wine I chose to represent the past: Frattelli Alessandria Barolo Monvigliero 

Frattelli Alessandria, a small family run winery in the historic center of the village of Verduno.  

This family has been producing wine for generations and are still earning awards for their wines to this day. 

This is Barolo as it was meant to be: expressive, patient, and deeply tied to place.

 

The wine comes from a single vineyard, or Menzione Geografica Aggiuntiva (MGA), called Monvigliero.

Monvigliero is one of the most historic and elegant crus in Barolo. In recent years, locals have truly rediscovered its potential, and many families are now trying to invest in even the smallest parcels of this vineyard.

What makes Monvigliero special is its chalk-rich soil, which gives the wines a level of freshness, elegance, and aromatic complexity that you don’t easily find elsewhere in Barolo. These wines are refined rather than powerful—beautifully balanced and surprisingly graceful.

 

Why I chose this wine : ROYAL RECGNITION

By the late 1800s, Barolo had firmly established itself as the wine of the Savoy court. The royal family didn’t just drink Barolo—they actively recognized and rewarded producers who showed consistency and excellence.

Fratelli Alessandria, based in Verduno, were among the historic families whose Barolo was officially recognized by the House of Savoy. They received a diploma acknowledging:

• The quality of their Barolo
• Its suitability for aristocratic and royal tables

This tells us something important: long before critics, scores, or marketing, this wine was already considered worthy of a king’s table.

 

PRESENT – The Barolo Boys and a Region in Revolution

This is a story I love to tell—because it happened in my lifetime.

In the 1980s and 1990s, a small group of young winemakers appeared in Barolo. At the time, they were just a group of friends & students who had gone to enology school together in Alba. A trip together to promote their wines in the USA would later call them the Barolo Boys.

They were tired.

Tired of the old mindset.

Tired of being poor.

Tired of harsh tannins and wines that needed 20 years before anyone could enjoy them.

And tired of nobody talking about Barolo outside of Italy.

They wanted change, and they were going to try everything they could make that happen. 

What followed truly shook the region. Land was lost. Families split apart. Some people were even written out of their family wills. All because they dared to challenge tradition in one of the most conservative wine regions in the world.

To understand how radical this was, you need to understand the time.

Back then, being a farmer in the Langhe often meant being poor. It wasn’t a glamorous life. It was hard, uncertain, and relentless. There was a very real alternative just down the road. The Ferrero factory, offering stable jobs, regular paychecks, and the possibility of a comfortable, simple life. A life where you could afford a home, a family, maybe even a little security.

For many young people, leaving the fields made sense.

But not for this group.

They believed that Barolo, the place they called home, had something special. Something magical. They just felt it hadn’t been fully understood yet.

What made them different was that they talked to each other, they worked together. They did something that was never done before in the area, they shared ideas, they tasted together, and they experimented together, as a team not a separate wineries/families. 

And most importantly, they traveled.  They went to Burgundy, to Bordeaux, even as far as California or Argentina, working alongside some of the most innovative producers in the world. And when they came back home, they didn’t come home empty handed, they brought back ideas and knowledge.

They didn’t change the grape. They didn’t change the land.

They changed how Barolo was made.

How did they do it?

They shortened macerations to soften tannins.

They worked with riper fruit (green harvest).

They aimed for wines that were approachable earlier, without losing their soul.

And yes, along their side, Robert Parker was playing a major role. At that time, his palate shaped the global wine market. He loved rich, expressive, fruit-driven wines and the Barolo Boys understood that if Barolo wanted to survive internationally, it needed to speak a language the world understood.

And it worked.

In 1996, something historic happened.

The first Barolo ever to receive 100 points from Robert Parker was released: Barolo Cannubi 1996.

And it was made by Chiara Boschis.

Wait—did I just name a woman?

Yes. And that brings us perfectly to our second wine.

  

Why I choose this wine to represent the present: Chiara Boschis Barolo Via Nuova

Chiara Boschis was the only woman among the Barolo Boys. Today, she’s often called the Queen of Barolo, and she truly paved the way for women in the world of fine wine.

She grew up in her family’s winery in the center of Barolo called Borgogno, one of the most historic and traditional wineries in Barolo. She worked alongside her brothers, but she knew something very early on: the winery would pass to them and not to her. If she wanted to build something of her own, she would have to do it herself.

So she made a bold move.

When a neighboring winery came up for sale, she created a plan. With the support and trust of her father, she bought the property. She kept the historic name E. Pira, to honor its legacy, and added her own name, Chiara Boschis to announce her new ownership to the label.

She was young, charismatic, determined, and incredibly talented. And despite the resistance she faced, she earned her place among the greats.

The wine we’re tasting now, Chiara Boschis Barolo Via Nuova, represents everything the modern movement stood for: respect for tradition, openness to innovation, and the courage to believe that Barolo could evolve without losing its identity. 

 

FUTURE – A New Generation

While tradition still runs deep in Barolo, a new generation of winemakers is stepping onto the scene.

They are coming not only from Barolo, but from all over Italy and the world, choosing to invest here. They arrive with new ideas, but also with patience and respect. Their goal isn’t to revolutionize Barolo—it’s to build a better, safer future for it.

So what does that actually mean?

Today, Barolo is almost a mono-culture, a beautiful and quite impressive landscape made almost entirely of vineyards. The birds that once migrated through these hills no longer stop here, because there are fewer resources for them. After World War II, harsh chemical treatments were introduced to make farming easier: to fight disease, weeds, and insects quickly and efficiently.

But these young producers have studied, traveled, and seen the long-term effects of those choices.

They are now working to reintroduce biodiversity into Barolo. Many farm organically or biodynamically. They plant cover crops, encourage insects and wildlife, and focus on rebuilding the health of the soil. The goal is simple but powerful:

To leave this land healthier for the next generation than they found it.

 

Facing Climate Change Head-On

What makes this generation different is that they are starting their careers already facing climate change.

They are dealing with:

• Earlier harvests
• Heat stress
• New vine diseases we don’t yet fully understand

Instead, they are experimenting with natural treatments, observation, and long-term thinking. This requires humility—and patience.

 

Rethinking Great Vineyards

Today, it is considered a privilege to invest in lesser-known vineyards. Sites that were once overlooked.

Cooler exposures, higher altitude, and more wind were once seen as disadvantages.

Today, they are often the key to freshness and balance.

What was once considered inferior now holds greater potential in a warming climate.

Collaboration Over Competition

Because Barolo is an extremely expensive region, many of these new producers are choosing to work together.

They share:

• Winery space
• Equipment
• Labor during harvest
• Knowledge and experience
• Event promotion

This spirit of collaboration is creating a healthier work culture and a stronger region overall.

Closing Thought

The future of Barolo is not about changing Nebbiolo.

It’s about understanding it better—

listening more closely to the land,

respecting its limits,

and allowing it to continue telling its story for generations to come.

 

Why I chose this wine to represent the Future of Barolo : Gheddo Barolo

Gheddo is the story of two friends Giovanni & Mattia, from Milan who, like many of us, felt the city life was too fast, too disconnected. Both studied subjects completely unrelated to wine, but they shared a dream: to work with the land, to make something real, and to follow their curiosity.

The countryside of the Langhe called them, and they answered. They quit their jobs, packed their lives into boxes, and moved to this historic wine region. They were able to find a shared winery space with some of the other new kids on the block, learning, experimenting, and building a community.

Today, Gheddo farms 3 hectares of vineyards, working organically and with biodynamic principles. They cultivate the traditional grapes of the Langhe—Nebbiolo, Dolcetto, and others—with one goal in mind: to make wines that are pure, exciting, and expressive of both the people making them and the land they grow on.

Gheddo is a perfect example of the new generation we’ve been talking about—young, curious, respectful of tradition, but unafraid to explore new ideas.

 

Something beautiful about this region, and why I love to live here. 

Barolo is more than just a wine. It is a time capsule, a story written over centuries by the people who cared enough to shape it. From Giulietta Colbert, who introduced Barolo to the royal tables of the Savoy, to Fratelli Alessandria, whose wines were recognized as fit for kings, to the Barolo Boys who challenged tradition and brought the region to the world stage, Barolo has always been about people with vision, courage, and patience.

And today, it continues to evolve. Young producers like Gheddo, Philine Isabel, LaLu, Delinquent and many others from all over the world are bringing new ideas, respect for the land, and bold energy. They remind us that Barolo is not frozen in time. It’s alive, it’s vibrant, and its future is in the hands of those who care deeply for the land and the grape.

What I love most about Barolo is this: it teaches us about patience, respect, and vision. It shows us that greatness is not created overnight, and that the most extraordinary things happen when tradition and innovation work together.

So when you taste these wines, remember this: you are tasting centuries of dedication, struggles, triumphs, and dreams. And like the people of Barolo, you too can cherish the past, embrace the present, and imagine a brighter, harmonius future.