425: Cherasco Barolo Survives Today Solely Because of Marchese Umberto Fracassi Ratti Mentone

I'll Drink to That! Wine Talk

Levi Dalton

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4.8 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 17 August 2017

⏱️ 26 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Marchese Umberto Fracassi Ratti Mentone is the sole producer of a Barolo from the Cherasco sub-zone of Italy's Piemonte region. His family has owned vineyard land in the Cherasco area for centuries, and the Marchese, who is now over 80 years old, tends to the family parcel at the edge of the Barolo zone.

This is a rare encounter with the Marchese, who rarely grants interviews. The conversation ranges across decades and even centuries of history in the Piemonte, covering the Roman period, the reign of the Savoy Dukes, World War II, and the great growth of Barolo production in the last few decades.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	I'll drink to that where we get behind the scenes of the beverage business.
0:05.1	I'm Levy Dalton.
0:06.1	I'm Erin Scala and here's our show today. Markese Marquesne Umberto Fracasi Rati Manton on the show today.
0:28.3	Hello sir, how are you?
0:29.6	Piede.
0:30.6	So you're based in Carrasco in the Pimante. Yes, it's a town just on the hills of Lamora and between the two rivers, Tanaro and Stura.
0:45.0	And how long has your family lived in Karrasco?
0:48.0	Since the foundation of the city, 13th century.
0:52.0	And in that time, there have been vineyards in the zone? Yes I
0:56.4	believe so because Roman grow vineyards because it was a way to keep the people
1:02.3	on the territory so they have to look after the vineyards so they could not leave it.
1:07.4	It was founded on Roman ruins. It was a fortress. The good thing of this place that was a lot of
1:19.2	water and it was a very good system of cleaning the roads and the streets.
1:25.0	And it's a matter of fact that the pest was not in kerosko,
1:30.0	because I believe it was a sort of agenic and cleanness in those days they ever they used to put everything on the roads
1:38.4	So there was no plague here no play no and then there was kerosko was sometimes with the Savoya family and most of the time was with Mantova. So they had less taxes.
1:57.0	So I believe many people used to stay here because it was more not so expensive. And so we have important families used to build
2:07.6	their house in here because it was fortress. And also we have a synagogue, still now, and was very important, yes.
2:18.0	And as a matter of fact, the famous sausages of Para was made in kerosco with only real meat.
2:27.0	It was a city that had a big past but no future, unfortunately. But the climate is okay and it's an agriculture town. It's a
2:38.9	pleasure to live. And you grew up here. Yes, when I was a child, yes.
2:44.0	And during the war.
	...

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