475: Giacomo Oddero Remembers the People Who Believed in Barolo

I'll Drink to That! Wine Talk

Levi Dalton

Sonoma, Levi Dalton, Australia, Napa Valley, Austria, Author, Piemonte, Tuscany, Winemaker, Germany, Loire Valley, Food, Portugal, Hobbies, Champagne, Spain, White Wine, Bordeaux, Red Wine, Vineyard, Journalist, Personal Journals, Arts, Leisure, Society & Culture, Feedpodcast, Restaurant, Grape, Burgundy, Terroir, Interview, Sicilia, Conversation, Sommelier, Wine, Wine Business

4.8 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 5 November 2019

⏱️ 62 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Giacomo Oddero and his family operate Poderi e Cantine Oddero, in the La Morra area of the Barolo appellation in Piemonte, Italy.

Giacomo, who was born in the mid-1920s, remembers the difficulties encountered in the Barolo region in the aftermath of World War II, as well as the specific changes that helped set the Barolo area on a path to prosperity. He recalls the challenges posed by families leaving the area in lean times, and the cooperation that was necessary to make region wide changes in wine production standards. Giacomo specifically mentions the process of codifying the Barolo appellation rules, encouraging growers in the area to register their grape production, and the move to make less wine of a higher quality. He also discusses the family purchases of vineyards like Brunate, Rionda, and Rocche di Castiglione, and the differences he finds between single vineyard Barolo and a blended Barolo classico. Giacomo talks about why he chose to stay in the Piemonte during hard times, and the decisions that he and his brother Luigi undertook when the two worked together, when their winery was known as Fratelli Oddero. Giacomo also mentions several other prominent names in the Barolo region, such as Renato Ratti and Battista Rinaldi. Finally, he explains what a public initiative undertaken during his tenure as mayor ultimately entailed for the region. Those who want to understand the culture and history of the Piemonte region will find this interview to be a treasure trove of information.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	And the The interview you're about to hear is with Giacomo Odero, who was born in the mid-1920s and who witnessed the transformation of the Barolo area in the aftermath of World
0:25.8	War II up and through to the current day.
0:30.0	Jocomo's interview is translated by Isabella O'dero, who is Jocomo's granddaughter, and is well. One of the aspects that Giacomo O'Daro mentions in the upcoming interview is the influence of the Italian wine critic Luigi Varinelli on the push for single vineyard labeling of broilow.
0:53.4	And although crew names like Canooby were found on very ancient bottles of broilow,
0:58.8	it was only in the second half of the 20th century that labeling broilow as a single vineyard wine became a commonplace in the wider zone.
1:08.0	In episode 417 of all drink to that, I spoke to Alessandro Masnagetti and he used to work for Luigi Verenelli.
1:15.8	And what I asked Alessandro was to tell me about Verenelli's influence on the
1:20.9	development in the 20th century of Single Vineyard Barolo.
1:25.0	Here's what Alessandro Mastin Getty had to say in that interview.
1:30.0	This is for sure that on earlyelli was really, really hard about this.
1:36.1	For him, the veneer was the most important thing. I have never discussed with him about this but I think because he's
1:50.0	so in this evolution so in this put in the name of the vineyard on the label a way for
2:00.1	the small producer to be more respected or to have the respect that they didn't have in the past.
2:11.0	And for Luigi was very important. This was a way for him to say, come on people, you need to be respected.
2:21.0	There is many producers of that were born in the 50s can tell you that in the 70s when everybody went to the
2:31.8	Fiat Industries in Torino to make living and they were
2:37.2	remaining in the ill side and they went to the Discotheque on Saturday no girl wanted to dance with them.
2:46.4	Because they were working not in the field,
2:50.0	but they were working in the vineyards.
2:52.0	And oh my God god you're not you're not a good choice and
2:57.7	now things are different unfortunately and maybe cause of Luigi Veronelli choice.
3:04.0	I'll drink to that where we get behind the scenes of the beverage business.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Levi Dalton, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Levi Dalton and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.