L'Italo-Americano

www.italoamericano.org 32 L'Italo-Americano Italy's wine cooperatives: finding value and principle I n the world of Italian wine, cooperatively structured wi- neries or "co-ops" – collecti- vely owned organizations pro- ducing wine – haven't always been associated with the highest le- vels of quality. But don't be misled by that so- metimes accurate, though not always true, observation. There are indeed solid exceptions. In fact, some of Italy's co-ops are not only sources of high quality wine, but sources of real value, too. Year after year, Produttori del Barbaresco have made their name by proudly maintaining the highest of quality standards and practices. Produttori del Barbaresco is suc- cessor to the original Cantine So- ciali founded in 1893 by Domizio Cavazza, headmaster of the Royal Enological School of Alba. During the 1930s, the 9 vineyard owner members who came together to make wine only from the Nebbiolo grape, were forced to close the coo- perative in the face of fascist eco- nomic politics. When in 1958 a local priest recognized that growers would fare better by sharing resour- ces, a "version 2.0" of the co-op was re-founded as Produttori del Barbaresco with a membership of 19 growers. Today, the cooperative has expanded to include 50 families working 100 hectares of Nebbiolo vineyards in the Barbaresco DOCG zone, each family in control of its own land. Each vintage, Produttori del Barbaresco produce Barbaresco sourced from different Nebbiolo vineyards, a Nebbiolo Langhe for earlier drinking and, in appropriate vintages, single-vineyard wines from 9 different Nebbiolo crus. An- nual production is somewhere in the area of 500,000 bottles. The La Kiuva cooperative, founded in 1975, is based in Arnad in Valle d'Aosta and has a reputa- tion of producing wines of excep- tionally high quality. La Kiuva has encouraged members to restore and replant semi-abandoned vineyards, an effort capable not only of in- creasing the range of wines produ- ced, but also of improving conti- nuity of native wine grape varieties. An exciting initiative around selec- tion of local vineyard yeasts is un- derway to further distinguish and characterize La Kiuva's wines. The cooperative includes approximately 60 growers working 25 or so hec- tares of vineyards located at consi- derable altitude between 380 – 500 meters. Well-draining higher ele- vation sites are used for the more aromatic white grape varieties, while lower altitudes are reserved for those used in red wines. La Kiu- va's red wines are predominately made from Nebbiolo, known lo- cally as Picotendro, with smaller percentages of other allowable lo- cal varieties like Gros Vien, Fumin, Cornalin, and Neyret. La Kiuva also produces white wines with the likes of Petite Arvine, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris and Muller-Thurgau. Yearly production is between 70,000-90,000 bottles. Members of the Schreckbichl Colterenzio co-op in Italy's South Tyrol might think of themselves, if only just a little, as rebels and pioneers. In true rebel fashion, the original 28 founding winegrowers in 1926 established the winery in a move to gain independence from wine merchants. At a time when the word of the day, quality-wise, was ordinary, Colterenzio wine- makers too were pioneers, intro- ducing quality standards such as low yields (for better grapes) in their pursuit of uncompromising quality benchmarks. A production philosophy focused on quality pro- vided members a platform and an ever-improving knowledge base to experiment with grape varieties and wines. Today, 300 member fa- milies work to power Colterenzio operations and remain committed to supplying top quality grapes to the co-op's modern receiving sta- tion. Shreckbichl Colterenzio makes a range of red and white wi- nes from the likes of Pinot Nero, Lagrein, Vernatsch (Schiava), Pi- not Bianco, Sauvignon Blanc, Pfef- ferer (Moscato Giallo), and Muller Thurgau, to name a few. The cooperative model has some very attractive social princi- ples, engendering a method of working that values community, equality, self-help/responsibility, team work, and democracy, along with opportunity for idea exchange and knowledge transfer. The diffi- culty of working rugged terrain, one might imagine, likely proves especially good motivation for em- bracing the cooperative model work ethic and principles: one doe- sn't need to go it alone, i.e., a to- gether we're better mentality pre- sides - and has no doubt improved the quality of the wines. Likely the only thing standing between you and a fine bottle of wine from one of Italy's leading cooperative wineries is getting past the marketing pitch aimed at ha- ving you believe that only small production artisan wineries can make good wine. Again, an obser- vation that is sometimes accurate, though not always true. Tasting Note La Kiuva Arnad Montjovet Valle d'Aosta Rosso Made from minimum 70% Nebbiolo and smaller percentages of other allowable red grapes Gros Vien, Neyret, Cornalin and Fumin, the wine offers bright cherry-red fruit with an attractively moody underside, impressions of roses, saddle leather and spice. Smooth in the mouth with fine, grippy tan- nins, bracing acidity, hints of citrus peel and almond on the finish. Dif- ferent from Barbaresco or Barolo in that it is lighter, fresher, yet pre- serving the hauntingly beautiful tone of Nebbiolo. WINE NEWS TRENDS PROFILES JOEL MACK THURSDAY, APRIL 5, 2018 Produttori del Barbaresco hove made their name by never compromising on quality. Photo Credit, Produtto- ri del Barbaresco, winery Wine producing cooperatives are not to be underestimated (Ph: Produttori del Barbaresco)

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