By Tom Mullen | Posted December 4, 2017
Before the economic crisis of 2008, just having the word ‘Barolo’ on a label was enough to ensure solid sales for this tannic red wine from northwest Italy. Produced in a small and hilly region, this low production and highly demanded wine could, with little effort, command a reasonably high price—often $60 or more—per bottle. The scarcity, quality and history of Barolo wine have led to its nickname as ‘the king of wine, and the wine of kings.’
Today, having the word Barolo on a label is no longer enough to guarantee sales. Although still popular and sought after, the market dynamics for this wine have evolved, and producers require constant vigilance in order to maintain sales.
“The difference from 10 years ago? Now it’s not enough to be a Barolo producer or to have the Barolo name on the label,” explained Giuseppe Capuano, marketing manager of Vias Imports in New York City and representative of Damilano wines in the U.S. “You have to promote the winery by traveling all over the world— to the U.S., France, England, China, South America and Hong Kong to sell your wine. You have to keep the quality at a high standard and find a way to keep the price reasonable within the market. Prices cannot be astronomical because the competition is pretty tough all over the world. It’s difficult. There’s real competition.”
Made completely from the Nebbiolo grape and aged for at least three years, Barolo is produced on a chunk of beautiful highland territory in northwestern Italy known as the Piedmont. Roughly the size of the state of Vermont and half the size of Costa Rica, the region includes hilltop castles, gorgeous valleys, white truffles, amazing cheeses and sumptuous hazelnut spreads. Piedmont produces not only semi-exclusive Barolo, but other renowned red wines, such as Barbaresco, Barbera and Dolcetto, as well as refreshing whites such as Moscato and Arneis.
Although it ranks 7th in terms of quantity of wine production within the 20 wine regions of Italy, the Piedmont is second, after Veneto, in terms of overall quality of wines exported. ‘Quality,’ here derives from the combination of the two upper tiers of wine classification in Italy: the higher ranked Denominazione d’Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG) as well as Denominazione d’Origine Controllata (DOC). Combined, these two refer to wines collectively classified as Denominazione d’Origine Protetta (DOP).
The 74 DOCG and 334 DOC wine denominations within Italy create a total of 408 DOPs. Of the highest tier—DOCG, 23%—almost a quarter of all denominated regions producing such wines are within the Piedmont. The only other region that comes close to this is Veneto, which includes 19% of all of Italy’s DOCG denominations.
In other words, this mountainous region shines for adherence to quality.
As from any vines, the character of the underlying soils help determine the character of the wine. If you split Piedmont in half by making a northeast to southwest slash, the eastern portion, the Serralunga Valley, includes Helvetian soils that generally produce more tannic wines, while the western Central Valley is coated with what are known as Tortonian soils, producing softer tannins. The village of Barolo sits near this dividing line, though squarely to the west.
Damilano is a significant producer of Barolo and other Piedmont wines. It controls 25 acres (10 hectares) of vines on the renowned ‘Cannubi’ hill. Planted on sandy soils, these generally generate elegant vintages.
“Cannubi vines are the cru of Barolo,” said Guido Damilano—owner and winemaker. He explained that the name of this southeast-facing ridge, which is positioned north of tiny Barolo village, was first written on labels in the year 1752. His family owns five acres [two hectares] of Cannubi vines, and in 2008 began leasing another 20 acres [eight hectares].
“Damilano is one of the flagship wineries of Barolo,” he stated. “It’s been a family company for four generations.” His family has been producing wines since 1935. His brothers are also now involved with two other industries within and near the city of Torino—motion pictures and bottled water.
The company exports wine throughout Europe and Asia, as well as to South Africa and to the airline company of Burkina Faso. They have successfully and deeply penetrated the American market—selling 40% of their wine to every U.S. state except three: Mississippi, North Dakota and South Dakota.
“American consumers are looking to drink wines made from indigenous grapes,” said Capuano. “They love Barolo because it’s distinct. It has character and is made 100% from Nebbiolo grapes. American consumers do their homework, and are knowledgeable about wine. Consumers appreciate finding a wine characterized by a specific terroir. The American market loves unique wines.”
And China?
“They sometimes buy Barolo,” Damilano added. “But only the best, most expensive wine. Cannubi, for example. China is a small market, but it may be the future.”
Regardless of their international toehold, he also recognizes they must stay vigilant. The winery works with Capuano, who explained the freshest challenges to marketing Barolo.
“You have to travel the world,” Capuano stated. “It’s not cheap. Land is more expensive. Glass is more expensive. Cork is more expensive. Staff, HR, equipment are all more expensive than before. But due to the fact that there is more competition, due to this world having changed since the economic crisis of 2008, it’s not easy to increase the price. Before? It didn’t matter. You could increase the price and still sell the wine. Now, when you increase the price, you have to spend a lot of time explaining why. Damilano has a strong position, but has to do a lot of work to promote its wine as well as to maintain the same levels of quality and service.”
Part of their strategy was to produce an ‘entry level Barolo’ for Americans—combining grapes from different parcels of Nebbiolo to produce a wine that is elegant, yet lacks the stiffer tannins of a more classic wine from the region. This wine is a blend of grapes from five regions, hence the Italian name ‘five vines’—Lecinquevigne.
“It meets consumers’ tastes as an introduction to Barolo. The other single vineyard Barolos need more time to age, and probably are not so great to drink right away,” Capuano added.
Part of Damilano’s focus on ‘service’ includes packaging—cases are delivered in handmade white wooden boxes—as well as promoting the Barolo region. One strategy to aid this was their opening of the Michelin star Massimo Camia Restaurant at the winery. Visitors can sample wines while also tasting gnocchi and vongole, or poached eggs with porcini mushrooms and white truffles.
Their vintages are generally well crafted and balanced. The 2016 Langhe Arneis white wine provides a round, full and voluptuous mouthful with a rich taste of grapefruit, melons and butterscotch. Their 2016 Barbera d’Astiis a tribute to often-unheralded Barbera grapes. This wine has aromas of cocoa and nutmeg, while in the mouth is soft, smokey, mildly tannic and tastes of blueberries and a hint of beef. This is a crispy and acidic light red, beautiful to have with pork or even fish.
Mentioned above, their Barolo Lecinquevigne is a blend of Nebbiolo from five vineyards, with all vines between three and five decades old. On the nose this wine has aromas of caraway seeds, cloves, cinnamon, cedar, pepper and even a hint of paprika. In the mouth it’s full and complex—a swirl of blackberries and toast. It has a balanced heft, an authoritarian cassis taste that pairs well with red meat or roast duck.
Made from grapes from a single region, their 2012 Barolo Cerequio is unusually approachable. The color of brick, it has cherries, raspberries, licorice and anise on the nose, and shortbread and charcoal in the mouth. This is a smooth, elegant and rounded wine with backbone, as though a combination of Pinot Noir and Sciacarello grapes. This one has 94 point grandeur; an Italian dream.
The local people of Barolo have a strong, resilient character that keeps them resistant to change. Unlike wine châteaux in Bordeaux which, once successful, begin to feel pressure from corporations eager to purchase their vines and facilities, that challenge is generally absent from the region around Barolo; locals are simply not interested in selling. Although producers in Tuscany further east and south have experimented with using non-indigenous grapes to produce what are known as ‘super Tuscan’ wines, that mode did not catch on as strongly in the Piedmont.
“We see a lot of wineries that used to be ‘super Piedmont’ are coming back to produce wine with indigenous grapes. Sassicaia wine from Tuscany is a world apart,” Capuano stated in praise. “Wineries in Tuscany followed this fashion and planted a lot of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah. In the Piedmont it began the same, but because the Piedmontese people are very stubborn, you don’t find a lot of super Piedmont wines.”
“There are more consumers drinking wine,” Capuano continued. “The younger prefer easy drinking wine like Lambrusco or Montepulciano d’Abruzzo. But with age, even after one or two years, they are ready to move onto important wines—like Barolo.”
No doubt some younger drinkers will not even recall that economic crisis of 2008.
Tom Mullen is a Forbes contributor and the author of The Winemakers’ Cooking Companion. Follow him on Twitter or Instagram or at the Vino Voices blog.
