Winemaker Notes
The Andrea Oberto winery has humble origins. Everything began in 1959 when the Oberto family bought a farmhouse in La Morra. At that time, the farmers couldn’t survive with just one crop, therefore, they earned a living growing peaches and grapes and raising cows. Everybody had to contribute to the upkeep of the family so the children took part in the family business from when they were teenagers. However, when the farmer’s children became adults, they often had to leave home in order to look for a job elsewhere because there wasn’t enough work for everyone in the family business. This is the reason why Andrea, a second generation family member, at a certain point in his life, decided to leave La Morra to start working for a big company as a truck driver. In 1978 Andrea’s father died unexpectedly. He inherited the family land and began managing the farm. He decided to leave his job in the big company and dedicate the rest of his life to the vineyards he had worked in for so many years. Over the years, the demand for high quality wine increased and this encouraged many farmers like Andrea to focus solely on growing grapes. By devoting all of his time and energy in order to realize his dream, Andrea transformed a small farm into a wine company with sixteen hectares as well as a wine production of 100,000 bottles of prestigious wine which is currently sold all over the world.
An historic village situated right in between the famous regions of Barolo and Barbaresco, Alba is also the name for the larger wine region surrounding the village.
In a sense, “Alba” is a catch-all phrase, and includes the declassified Nebbiolo wines made in Barolo and Barbaresco, as well as the Nebbiolo grown just outside of these regions’ borders. In fact, Nebbiolo d’Alba is a softer, less tannic and more fruit-forward wine ready to drink within just a couple years of bottling. It is a great place to start if you want to begin to understand the grape. Likewise, the even broader category of Langhe Nebbiolo offers approachable and value-driven options as well.
Barbera, planted alongside Nebbiolo in the surrounding hills, and referred to as Barbera d’Alba, takes on a more powerful and concentrated personality compared to its counterparts in Asti.
Dolcetto is ubiquitous here and, known as Dolcetto d'Alba, can be found casually served alongside antipasti on the tables of Alba’s cafes and wine bars.
Not surprisingly, given its location, Alba is recognized as one of Italy’s premiere culinary destinations and is the home of the fall truffle fair, which attracts visitors from worldwide every year.
An easy drinking red with soft fruity flavors—but catchy tannins, Dolcetto is often enjoyed in its native Piedmont on a casual weekday night, or for apertivo (the canonical Piedmontese pre-dinner appetizer hour). Somm Secret—In most of Piedmont, easy-ripening Dolcetto is relegated to the secondary sites—the best of which are reserved for the king variety: Nebbiolo. However, in the Dogliani zone it is the star of the show, and makes a more serious style of Dolcetto, many of which can improve with cellar time.