LODALI

Piedmont, Italy

Third generation winemaker Walter Lodali makes his small-production wines from the family vineyards in Langhe, Piedmont. The Lodali story begins with Walter’s father, Giovanni, the son of a contadino (peasant farmer), who, in the 1930’s began to make wine for the customers at his small trattoria in Treiso. After the war, Giovanni built a house with a large wine cellar, creating the roots and hopes for the Lodali family wines.  In 1955, Giovanni’s son, Lorenzo, graduated from the oenological school in Alba and brought his expertise to the family wine business. In 1958 Lorenzo, along with his wife Rita, produced Lodali’s first vineyard selection - Barbaresco and Barolo.

In 1982, after Lorenzo’s untimely death, Rita quit her job as a hairdresser to manage the estate and raise her young son, Walter.  Having come of age in this hard-working wine family, Walter, in due time, also graduated from the oenological school in Alba and took over the family winemaking operations in 1998.   Under his direction, and with renewed vigour, they continued improving the terrain of their vineyards, renewed the equipment in the cellars, and perfected his winemaking and production techniques.

Lodali wines have gathered acclaim, and in 2017 were recognized in the Decanter World Wine Awards with Platinum, Gold and Bronze medals for their top of the range Lorens labels, named in honour of Walter’s father.

www.lodali.it

Region & Vineyard Notes

Vineyard & Region

Piedmont is among the world’s very finest wine regions. It is the home of more DOCG wines than any other Italian region, and is most famous for its superb Barolo and Barberesco, both made from the Nebbiolo grape. The Alps form a prominent backdrop here, bordering the region to the North and West. It’s a hilly region that’s renowned for its fog, which aides in the ripening of the Nebbiolo grape (the Piedmontese word nebbia means "fog").

Although the winemaking regions of the Piedmont and Bordeaux are very close in latitude, only the summertime temperatures are similar: the Piedmont wine region has a colder, continental winter climate, and significantly lower rainfall due to the rain shadow effect of the Alps. Vineyards are typically planted on hillsides altitudes between 490–1150 ft (150-400 metre). The warmer south facing slopes are mainly used for Nebbiolo or Barbera while the cooler sites are planted with Dolcetto or Moscato.

Langhe, which is the plural form of the Italian word for ‘hills’ (langa), covers a fairly large area of rolling vineyard country around the town of Alba. The history of winemaking in this region is extensive, dating back centuries and is rich in its variety of indigenous grapes. Famous for its wines, cheeses and truffles - particularly the white truffle of Alba, it has been said that in Langhe - ‘Everything revolves around wine’. On the 22nd of June 2014, Langhe was inscribed on UNESCO World Heritage list.