We like to welcome our 100th member to the One Liter Club

Andrew Dobbing, who lives half the time in London and the other in Oslo, came to visit La Spinetta in 2005. Andrew loves Barolo Campe and sent us an e-mail on October 15^th, that he would like to become a member of the Club. We are proud to welcome Andrew as La Spinetta’s One liter Club member 100!

A word from Giorgio

Many of you have probably already heard me speak about the importance of the work in the vineyards. Vineyard work is the essential ingredient for making great wine. I believe, that the vineyards are more important than the winemaker, something that unfortunately lately has not been acknowledged. At times of recession, where most industries are suffering and people are insecure about their wealth, future income and consumer behavior, it is even more important that the wine world stops with celebrating winemakers as they were movie stars. Wine is not about movies and not about actors who call themselves winemakers. Great wine is about great fruit that comes from great exposure, old vine vineyards and farmers who take care of their plants and the yields.

In today’s economy it is essential that great wines are really great. If somebody today spends 100,00 Euro, 50,00 Euro or even 20,00 Euro on a bottle of wine bought at a local wine shop, the wine has to be excellent and give pure pleasure from the first sip to the last drop in the bottle. The pleasure when drinking it should be something that one will remember. It should not matter whether this wine will be opened today or in five years. Great wines are great from the day they are put in the bottle and for many years to come.

I, however, think great wines should not function as investments. The only motivation to buy a great bottle of wine should be to drink it and to enjoy it, today or whenever one desires.

Interview: speaking with Carlo Petrini, President and Founder of Slow Food

What made you start the Slow Food movement in 1986? What was your primary goal?   I felt the “need” to fight against the growing globalization that eliminated agriculture diversity, the traditional way of eating and socializing while sharing a meal. My aim was to maintain real taste and tradition. By rediscovering true taste we learned how to better understand our environment and to appreciate again local foods and traditions, which provide ample recipes, that are based on local inexpensive ingredients. Going back to local foods we go against a mass consumption and production, that literally is consuming and destroying our earth, including ourselves.

Do you think, that even today communication and information are very important tools?

I absolutely agree. One just has to have a look, what somebody like Silvio Berlusconi was able to achieve. Communication and information are fundamental tools, that combined with today’s technology allow an even grander spread. These modern communication tools do carry risks, but at the same time an advantage. Today’s communication can offer to a project like Terra Madre great possibilities. The members of Terra Madre, some of the farmers, are located in the smallest corners of the world, today can communicate with the rest of the world and make sure that they are being heard, which finally increases their political influence.

How much in your opinion do people know about the food, that they eat every day? And in what way can the Slow Food movement help to improve their knowledge?

People still know little, because there is a certain tendency in the food industry to disguise information. But from my observation, the urge of wanting to know what one eats is increasing. The Slow Food movement certainly contributed to this development. At the end there is only one way, to really know what you eat, and that is to buy local produce and food from local farmers. These people are your best guarantee.

Unfortunately in today’s wine world the following is becoming more and more common:

Mass production in the vineyards, use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers

Reduction of manual work and increase in the use of machinery (e.g. use of harvest machines)

The use of wood chips for aging instead of using barrique or other wood barrels, manipulations of the most and the finished wine by adding chemical substance or using concentrators, use of artificial flavors, etc.

What do you think about this situation and what can we do to go against it?

None of the above methods I can agree to. To make good quality wines one has to work as much as possible in a traditional way, yet taking advantage of modern technology that can help to prevent human errors.

No to mass production in the vineyards, as any mass production can only be achieved by using chemical fertilizers. Manual work and the use of machines have to have balance. A grape harvest should be done by hand. Naturally the producers that make wine on an industrial level have to use harvest machines in order to keep their costs as low as possible, but this has nothing to do with the quality wine making that small producers aim for, by maintaining the traditions and the culture of their land.

In the cellar as well as in the vineyard one should not take any shortcuts. All the manipulations mentioned above shouldn’t be done. Barriques and wood barrels should never be replaced by wood chips, no matter how “natural” the wood chips might be.

The use of modern technology in the cellar should be done with respect to traditions. The wines have to always express the terroir that the grapes came from.

What to do: working seriously without manipulating the production, being true to your own philosophy without telling “stories” about how the wine is being made. Who decides to make wine industrially has to say so and the same goes to the producers who make wine with a small traditional production. Reduce your production in difficult vintages and don’t manipulate the production to make up for lower yields. If one works in a traditional way, one has to have respect.

Do you think it is necessary to increase the information the consumer can obtain from a wine label? At the moment, most labels just tell you about the sulfite and alcohol content. The labels could state much more information, which is already common practice for most food items. Do you think it is necessary to pass new laws?

Certainly labels should be easy to read. Therefore they have to state the essential information clearly. I would not put a lot of information on the label, however there have to be laws that the producers follow 100%. If the law says that a Barolo has to be 100% Nebbiolo, no one should add 15% Merlot in order to make the wine more appealing to an international taste. There is always the possibility to call such a wine Langhe Rosso. I am completely against adding tannins and flavors as well as using wood chips, etc. It would be much easier, if the law were to make sure, that there was no space for such manipulation. The consumer then would not have to face complicated and misleading labels.

We can all imagine that somebody like Carlo Petrini is a very busy man. But if one evening Carlo is alone at home and would like to open a bottle of wine for himself, which wine were he to open?

A bottle of Barolo without hesitation.

Bernard Claude from Trinidad just finished his studies at the University of Gastronomic Science in Pollenzo, Italy. He will be answering our questions in the next newsletter.

Cooking Piemontese with Giovanna Rivetti

Insalata Russa Giovanna Rivetti was born in 1947. She is our "vineyard manager" and our "in house chef". She learned the work in the vineyard from her father and the work in the kitchen from her mother. Both parents taught Giovanna skills, which, still today, are great assets to La Spinetta. In each newsletter Giovanna shares one of her secret recipes with us. Today she is teaching us how to make an antipastio called "Insalata Russa". (Russian Salad – which, despite the misleading name, has a very long tradition in Piedmont).

You will need the following ingredients (portion to serve 6): 200gr potatoes (2-3 ), 100 gr carrots, 100 gr peas, 200 gr tuna fish canned, 2 hard boiled eggs, juice of half a lemon, 100 gr mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons of olive oil and salt and pepper

This is another very simple recipe. “I love Insalata Russa, because it is easily made, very inexpensive and absolutely stunningly delicious and refreshing”, says Giovanna. All vegetables need to be cut in little cubes (0,5 cm) then boiled  separately in water according to cooking time of each vegetable. Please don’t overcook the vegetables. One can also steam them, even better for maintaining the vitamins. After cooking, dry vegetables on a clean kitchen towel. The eggs need to be cooked for 7 minutes. Giovanna uses the eggs from her very own chicken, but if you are reading this recipe, while sitting in your NYC penthouse apartment, this option might be obsolete.

Mix the vegetables, the tuna fish and the boiled eggs, that you also need to cut into cubes and add the lemon juice as well as 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper.

Traditionally Piedmont never had any fresh fish. The Piemontese traded wine and hazelnuts for olive oil, canned tuna, anchovies, and stock fish. The traditional Insalata Russa is therefore made with tuna from the can. Giovanna suggest though, that if you love fresh tuna, you can also grill the fresh fish, cut it in smaller pieces and exchange it for his brother in the can.

Finally add the mayonnaise and leave everything in the refrigerator for a minimum of 6 hours before serving. Another recipe, where Giovanna makes us wait a long time for our food.

Buon apetito!