L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2017 www.italoamericano.org 6 NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS MANUELA CARACCIOLO F riendship, entrepreneur- ship, courage along with some good ideas and the desire to transform them into reality. These are the elements o f a s t o r y t h a t h a s f o u r Piedmontese wine growers as protagonists: since 2009, Elio Altare, a Langhe's winemaker, Giovanni Gallina and Marco G e m e l l o , o f t h e E m p o r i o Enologico Albese, and Bra MD Corrado Nyffenegger, aka the Barolo Boys, have been working hard to bring a new lease of life to the many unknown hamlets populating their land's hills and valleys. Their aim has been to r e c r e a t e a n e w c o m m u n i t y formed by local cooperatives and plenty of young people who found employment in the hospi- tality, tourism and agricultural sectors. These valleys, as many oth- e r s i n t h e C u n e o p r o v i n c e , underwent severe depopulation when Turin and its factories b e c a m e t h e d e s t i n a t i o n o f a tumultuous rural exodus that c a u s e d t h e d e a t h o f s e v e r a l small villages. S i n c e t h e b e g i n n i n g , t h e Barolo Boys showed not only an interest in developing new local micro economies, offering thus the opportunity to young people to get stable employment, but also in giving tourists the oppor- tunity to experience first hand local history and art, all the w h i l e e n j o y i n g t h e r i c h Piedmontese wine and food tra- dition. First among many rediscov- e r i e s , t h a t o f C a s t e l m a g n o cheese, undiscussed king of the Piedmontese table: Barolo Boys supported the restoration of a large stable, to be transformed i n t o a c h e e s e a g i n g f a c i l i t y . C a s t e l m a g n o p r o d u c t i o n i s already in the hands of young cheesemaker Ilaria, currently w o r k i n g i n a d a i r y f a r m i n Valliera. Here she produces the Unico di Valliera, made with f r e s h a l p i n e m i l k f r o m Campofei, where cows spend their Summer grazing in the many fields surrounding the vil- lage. "We're successful - says Ezio Altare - because we believe in family run businesses, where the older generations can transmit to the younger all the experience a n d k n o w - h o w a c q u i r e d throughout the years, passing on to them a precious inheritance. At the same time, we support and encourage new enterprises that find the courage, when nec- essary, also to break with past and its tradition. Through the production and diffusion of their typical products, we managed to give back to these once forgot- ten locations their identity, all the while preserving their her- itage and traditions." T h e B a r o l o B o y s p r o p o s e work groups to local ambitious young producers, eager to enter the market with their wines and cheeses, but also to create a rev- olutionary movement able to i n t r o d u c e a n e w w a y t o d o things. Rediscovering with young entrepreneurs T h e V a l G r a n a h a s b e e n experiencing the same wave of i n n o v a t i o n t h a t , i n t h e p a s t , helped small winemakers in the Langhe and Cinque Terre fight against those areas' depopula- tion. The first step taken was the renovation of the electrical sys- tem and, of course, that of the roads leading to the valley, to make it better accessible and to allow more and more people to rediscover its historical and nat- ural beauty. The association has- n't solely focused on making the land usable for viticulture, but also on the creation of a local network made of cultures, farm- ing and hospitality structures, concentrating on the area's own traditions, including the produc- t i o n o f C a s t e l m a g n o c h e e s e . Indeed, once upon a time, when Winters were spent under meters of snow, Castelmagno used to be a main source of livelihood. Today, Castelmagno is not only home to new dairy farms, but also to a large organic orchard, mainly used by the local agrit- urismo's restaurant. It is also where Elisa Fantino, a member of the association running a similar agriturismo in Valliera, has moved, taking up one of the many refurbished chalets in the village. Here, all old homes still have a cellar that the wisdom of the alpine people had once trans- formed in perfect places to pre- serve food. These "crutin" or "infernot," are today again used, for the same reason. Another notable initiative has been the realization of a local dairy farm producing more than 8 0 0 w h e e l s o f C a s t e l m a g n o every year. The growth surrounding the rediscovery and the support of t h e s e a r e a s a l s o g a v e a n e w lease of life to the hospitality sector. Cinzia Daniele took up the management of the Pace di Pradleves hotel, which used to be run by her own ancestors. In the nearby hamlet of Magno Brardo, entirely destroyed by fire a century ago, the hotel- restaurant Leon d'Oro, run by 35 years old Simona Ghio from P r a d l e v e s , o f f e r s a u t h e n t i c local food and a pleasant place to stay. Higher up in the mountains, i n V a l l i e r a d i C a s t e l m a g n o , Elisa Fantino, 30, "barolista" from Monforte d'Alba, brought new life to the hamlet thanks to her and her 9 colleagues's work, who reopened the Des Martin, a mountain retreat with about 40 beds. Here, the crew offers deli- cious food, including home- made gnocchi al Castelmagno, the cheese itself produced local- ly in the dairy farm where Elisa w o r k s , a l o n g w i t h a c h e e s e maker and two margari. The farm counts 50 cows, whose milk guarantees the production of 800 wheels of Castelmagno, sold directly to private cus- tomers including restaurants, both in Italy and abroad. T h e n e w a p a r t m e n t s i n Valliera, result of the renovation and refurbishment of old chalets and barns, offer the most breath- taking of views. Below, what used to be small stables turned i n t o " s a f e s " t o l e t p r e c i o u s Castelmagno mature. The farm opens up to the public for guided tours of the cheese making rooms and the cellars, offering also the chance to try local food in one of the area's restaurants. Recently, a smaller dairy farm has been opened, with two more chalets supporting Valliera's agrituris- m o w i t h t h e i r p r o d u c e . T h e agriturismo counts 3 bedrooms and 30 seatings in its restaurant, where all is made with local organic produce, the bread is baked in a stone oven and the cheese, Castelmagno and goat cheese, is made in loco. "Beauty and local culture had kept these places alive for c e n t u r i e s - s a y s C o r r a d o Nyffeneger. We all hope the people visiting today are able to understand them and respect them. We're not after élite visi- tors, but cultured visitors who also appreciate how difficult and hard the work we've all been doing is." C i n q u e T e r r e a n d t h e i r hidden treasures The Barolo Boys also fell in love with Cinque Terre. It hap- pened by chance in 2002, when they traveled there for work. There, they worked to restore some land to viticulture, then giving it to young farmers to tend. After some time and much work, the small patch of land turned into a fully cultivated panoramic terrace looking unto the sea, where traditional wine production is today as it used to b e o n e h u n d r e d y e a r s a g o . These wines are intense and full bodied, filled with the sea's own saltiness and with the passion a n d c r e a t i v i t y o f t h e p e o p l e making them. In these lands, rebirth is syn- onym with one word, "sharing - as Altare tells us -,being a team is our success. The fundamental question to ask is 'what emotion do you expect from this prod- u c t ? ' O n c e y o u f o u n d t h e answer, you have to learn how to create it so that others in the future will be able to do it, too. O b v i o u s l y , i t i s e s s e n t i a l t o communicate and to make sure people know about what you do. But most of all, you have to s h a r e y o u r d r e a m s w i t h t h e younger generations, help them believe in something for their future." And the history of what we cultivate and create, is not only that of what we eat, but also that of what we learn and pass on to the next generation, as it always happened in the best tradition of the farming world. Elio Altare, one of the Barolo Boys Discovering traditional borghi, with their wine and cheese traditions: the new mission of Barolo Boys

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