Roberto Bava is part of the family that owns Bava Cocconato, a winery situated in Piedmont that has been growing grapes since the 1600’s and opened its winery in 1911 after centuries of growing and selling their grapes. Roberto is one of three brothers (the other two being Giulio and Paolo) who now manage the estate and I was fortunate enough to have lunch with him last week in Sevva whilst we tried some of his wines and I learned more about the man himself and his wines.
Now, first things first, anyone with the title “Fun
Manager” on his business card needs to live up to that reputation and Roberto
does just that! He and his daughter Francesca are on a mission around the world
in celebration of the 140th anniversary of Phileas Fogg’s ‘Around
the World in 80 days’, only they are doing it in 30! Why? “Well, because you
can these days”, says Roberto.
The winery is a boutique one, if labeling it thus
is acceptable, as they only have a total of 13 people working on the winery
which includes the family too. They farm 100 hectares of land of which 40 are
used for ‘green farming’ and are a very environmentally conscious family and
estate. They are completely solar powered which is not common in Italy these
days and have introduced a mandatory 480g bottle for all their wines in a bid
to reduce their carbon footprint.
They also have an unconventional relationship
with their wines too as they play music to them while they are resting in the cellar.
This explains the labels on the bottles with the most striking being the Barolo
which brandishes a double bass on its label. Roberto tells me it’s usually more
Jazz-like music they play to the wine and over time, the cellar-jams have
attracted over 100 people in audience listening to up to 20 musicians playing
at one time. Of the 18,000 producers of Barolo, Bava Cocconato are the only
ones with musical instruments on their labels making them instantly recognizable.
When I questioned Roberto about the fame that
comes with owning and managing a winery that’s as well known and respected as
Bava he tells me. “We are not famous! But maybe one day if we sign a bottle it
may be worth something on e-bay when I die”!
We tucked into lunch whilst being aided by
Roberto’s Gavi di Gavi 2011 which was fresh, elegant and crisp and a nice accompaniment
to the caramleised onion tart I was scoffing. “Gavi di Gavi is not meant to age”,
Roberto says during the appetizers. “It should be drunk young, when it’s at its
best”. The sweet onion flavours matched really nicely with the crisp acidity of
the wine showing just how well Roberto’s wines are when paired with the right
dish.
“Piedmont is not boring”, says Roberto. “It has
a range of flavours which we call ‘tutti gusti’”. We tuck into his Bava Libera
Barbera d’Asti 2009 which has the perfect authentic taste of Barbera and is a
nice ‘palate cleanser’ before the main course! A very elegant and approachable
wine it is too, if I may say so! Roberto explains that the Barbera is an
example of “the best wines from the right grapes with the goal of creating
pleasure”.
Roberto’s Barolo Castiglione Falletto Scarrone
2006 is beautiful (I say Roberto’s but actually his brother Giulio is the
winemaker!) and it’s dangerously easy to drink and a wine that will, if
consumed at lunch time, certainly lead to another bottle and a complete lack of
motivation to go back to work! Roberto tells me that at Bava they are “passionate
about doing Barolo properly” and with this wine it seems like they are true to
their word.
The winery has and still supplies the Vatican
with wine Roberto tells me as we open a bottle of his Moscato to go with
dessert. They supply the Vatican with this Moscato which is how the conversation
came about, but also they supply the Barolo, Barbera and others to the holy
city, a place where Roberto was on business the day the last Pope resigned. I
guess Pope Francis will, albeit being an Argentine, be tucking into a bottle of
Bava Cocconato to celebrate Easter this year!
The Moscato is perfect with hints of
elderflower and honey on both the nose and palate and is just the perfect way
to finish off a meal – I think I am going to be writing a lot over the summer
about Moscato as it’s really the perfect drink! It’s low levels of alcohol means
it can be enjoyed at any time of the day without the worry of getting too tipsy
and the sweet, fruity flavours are a pleasure to anyone’s palate.
In all, the lunch and the wines were excellent
and it was great to sit down and chat with Roberto and Francesca who, I am sure
by now are dining on another continent! The Barolo is really an excellent wine
and I can highly recommend it to anyone who likes classy, elegant Barolo. The
wines are supplied in Hong Kong by Castello del Vino in Wan Chai and you can
find them at Ground Floor, 12 Anton Street, Wan Chai or give them a call on (+852)
2866 0587 or email them at info@castellodelvino.com.hk
No comments:
Post a Comment