Sara Vezza

  • An itinerary for the summer: from Montelupo Albese to Monforte d’Alba

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    After the itinerary I proposed to you in June, here is another route to visit our territory and discover new locations. In July I thought of a tour of Alta and Bassa Langa, where history, art and culture blend with vineyards and postcard views. Yes, the Langhe are all this!

    From Montelupo Albese to Rodello

    You can start from Montelupo Albese, a small village situated above the mountains and placed on a hill. Its name seems to derive from the wolves that, according to an ancient legend, lived in this height. The country is characterized by the beauty of its landscape. Located about 600 meters. above sea level allows you to enjoy enchanting views: from the western alpine arc where Monviso stands out to the green hills that surround it. Going up further you can visit another picturesque village called Rodello. It stands on the crest of a hill, is characterized by healthy air and here we find a generous and refreshing view. The church of the Immaculate Conception is now home to the Museum of Contemporary Sacred Art “Dedalo Montali”. A museum of modern and religious art that is unique in the local and national scene. If in addition to loving the breathtaking views you are passionate about art I suggest you do not miss the opportunity to visit Rodello.

    Sinio and Roddino

    Descending towards the Talloria Valley we meet Sinio. Small village perched on the green hills. Formerly called Sineum today is a rural and tourist center. It stretches over the hills of the Bassa Langa and is surrounded by vineyards and hazel groves. I point out that the pro loco in the summer season organizes night walks and on August 14th there is the “Notte delle Masche” party not to be missed if you’re around! The village is transformed into a magical village.
    Continuing our journey we arrive at Roddino, between Alta and Bassa langa, where the ancient salt route used to pass. Immediately striking the eye is the wide expanse of vineyards of Dolcetto and Nebbiolo that surround the village and make it a place of absolute charm from which it is worth passing.

    Monforte d’Alba

    The route ends in Monforte d’Alba, the area where our company is based. We are located in the Langa del Barolo. As we saw in the June itinerary Monforte is a small pearl of history in the heart of this territory. The town square, thanks to its particular shape, during the summer turns into an auditorium which is home to cultural events. In particular, I would like to point out that there are numerous music concerts during the months of July and August . If you happen to be in the area during one of these I suggest you do not miss the chance! A unique setting in the world that becomes even more magical in the summer months, creating a unique atmosphere linked to the landscape.

    Visit our cellar

    A few kilometers from Monforte you can find our cellar, where you can enjoy a sweet break. It will be wonderful to welcome you in the barrels where we slowly refine our wines and talk with you about the beauties you have visited during your journey, giving you new ideas for your trip.
    The visit to our cellar will be a complete sensory experience, tasting our wines accompanied by tasty platters of local meats and cheeses. It will be an opportunity to combine the beauty of the landscape with the pleasure of tasting, an ideal union of all that this beautiful area can offer our visitors. So you can keep a vivid memory of your experience.

    For more information you can write to info@josettasaffirio.com or directly click on the button below.

     

    Book your visit

  • An itinerary for the summer: from Sale San Giovanni to Monforte d’Alba

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    Summer is coming! Despite the rains, abundant precipitations in May, the beautiful season is finally here. The Langhe are a marvellous territory rich in landscapes, food and wine and historical-cultural beauties. These characteristics make it pleasant to visit at any time of the year.
    In particular, summer allows you to fully enjoy all the local beauties accompanied by a pleasant climate that will make your visit unforgettable. For this reason I thought of some itineraries that I will recommend here in my blog throughout the summer to discover villages and seductive landscapes to make your visit in our territory unforgettable.

    Sale San Giovanni

    The first step of our route is Sale San Giovanni, located on a hilly area about 600 meters above sea level. The village is famous for being the “Provence of the Langhe”! Yes, the small centre of the Alta Langa is famous for its splendid expanses of lavender. If you want to take a tour, here you find a map with all the plantations that can be visited. I recommend a visit just in June because in this month you will witness the flowering of the plants and you can enjoy a unique naturalistic spectacle. Also from 22 to 24 June 2018 Sale San Giovanni hosts “Not only Herbs” an exhibition dedicated to medicinal plants and aromatic herbs that animates the country of events and guided tours. Here you can find the program of the event..

    Murazzano

    Going up from Sale San Giovanni we are in Murazzano, about 700 meters above sea level. The town is famous for its medieval tower, 33 meters high, which dominates the town. For those who wish it can be visited. I recommend a visit because from its top you can enjoy a truly incredible panorama. From the tower you can also see the land that has recently become property of our company to develop an ambitious (long-term) project on bubbles and whites. It is a unique body of 16 hectares, really impressed!
    Not far from Murazzano there is the Safari Park of the Langhe. Along a 5 km trail, which can be run across by car, you will be able to see many species of live animals (there are about 350) guests of the park. If you get hungry at the end of the path, take a trip to the Trattoria da Lele, where you can find a familiar atmosphere to taste the authentic flavors of the Langhe.

    Dogliani

    After Murazzano, going down, we find Dogliani. Little center of the Bassa Langa famous all over the world for its Dolcetto, it is absolutely worth a visit. Today the country is characterized by the presence of two distinct historical centers. On one side there is the castle and on the other one the village. I suggest you to take a walk along the streets of Dogliani you can admire the clock tower and, among the most interesting buildings, there are the Sanctuary of the Madonna delle Grazie and the Church of the Immaculate. Do not miss the “Dolcetto Wine Shop of Dogliani” located in the medieval basements of the Town Hall and group the best of local production of Dolcetto di Dogliani Winery I recommend not leaving Dogliani before having tasted a good glass of Dolcetto and admiring the view from the wonderful “Piazza del Belvedere”.

    Monforte D’alba

    After visiting Dogliani I suggest you take the road to San Luigi to reach Monforte. It is a road located on the crest of the hill that allows you to enjoy a priceless view. Last stop of this itinerary is Monforte d’Alba, territory where our company is based. We are located in the Langa del Barolo. The medieval structure of the old town that develops around the castle is characterized by very narrow streets and features that invite you to a short walk. The noble palace of the Marquises Scarampi of Cairo has been built from the ancient castle. We also find the mighty Romanesque tower that is what remains of the ancient medieval church, demolished at the beginning of the 900. The unique feature of the central square of the village is its amphitheater shape. Precisely because of this configuration it has been transformed into a summer auditorium named after the Polish pianist Horszowski who inaugurated it in 1986. During the summer season, it hosts numerous events from music concerts to theatrical performances and film screenings. In the evening you will be submerged in the soft light of a timeless stage.
    Then you go down to the village taking the underpass to the right of the square, a characteristic tunnel for a popular legend that, according to tradition, would be animated by ghosts, moans and moans. The souls of the Càtari that populated the hill many years ago. Precisely the castle of Monforte, built in the Middle Ages, was a center for preaching the heresy càtara. The fortress was taken and burned around 1208 by the Archbishop of Milan.

    Visit our Cellar

    Also our company is located in Monforte, one of the 11 Municipalities that produce Barolo. We have been winemakers for five generations and with great passion we produce wine, with attention to quality and profound respect for the land we grow. In a few minutes you can reach us and visit our company. We will be happy to welcome you and tell you about the history of our winery, guiding you through the curiosities of our production, from the harvest to the labelling phase. It will be a great pleasure to have you with us on the farm and to walk among the barrels, among which the wine is silently matured. Immersed in the nature that surrounds us you will taste our wines accompanied by tasty platters of local meats and cheeses. It will be an opportunity to talk about the places you have visited and suggest new destinations in our wonderful land of Langa.
    For more information and for reserving your spot you can write at info@josettasaffirio.com or directly click on the button below.

     

    Book your visit

     

  • Why we have chosen the path of sustainable production and organic production

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    Why we have chosen the path of sustainable production and organic production

    The road to sustainability is a direction that we have chosen to adopt in the company for over 10 years, not only for practices related to winemaking processes, from the field to the winery, but also in all the initiatives to which I participate or promote in person.

    A choice that was born from two main principles:

    • The very strong connection with the territory:
      • we are pieces of a puzzle, it is fundamental to understand this. We are not the authors of a wine, but actors of nature: we help plants to grow, like children and we are in contact with something alive: the Earth, the wine and all that surrounds them. Wine is a vital force: rich in micro-organisms without which it could not evolve. This is why we have chosen to orient ourselves towards sustainability based on a strong sense of responsibility towards the earth and the coming generations.
    • Sustainability has to start from within:
      • we can not use it like a dress to make ourselves more beautiful: there must be a soul, a heart that beats, we must believe in it even if sometimes it is about making choices that apparently seem anti-economic in the logic of an immediate profit.

    Today, Josetta Saffirio is proudly a certified organic CCPB company, whose sustainable processes are approved by Ecoprowine.

    In a period in which the demand and consumption of healthy and natural food, obtained with a low environmental impact, grows every day, I reinforce an important choice that I made many years ago with the aim of respecting our territory.

    “We have been growing vineyards in Monforte d’Alba for over two centuries and five generations, trying to express the territory through our wines. Harvest after harvest, we sink our roots in this land of Langa”

    What it means to produce wine in a sustainable way

    I believe that producing wine means treating the vineyards with respect for the land and the responsibility to leave to our children the precious heritage I received from my parents: a unique and generous territory that produces wines of exquisite elegance and exceptional longevity, famous all over the world.
    The vineyard and its work must not be an element detached from the landscape, an instrument for exploiting the land but, on the contrary, something through which to start a virtuous process of enrichment of the territory itself. The plant symbol par excellence for those who produce wine, the vineyard, becomes the main vehicle of care of the territory on which it is located. This change of vision allows us to produce better wines and at the same time do good to our environment. The challenge is this: the production of high quality wines must be linked to sustainable processes in the field and in the cellar.

    How I put this in practice

    Starting from these assumptions, I decided to put this concepts into everyday activities. Our wine comes from a care of vineyards that does not include chemicals. Any type of product that may have a negative impact on our land has been banned. We only use organic fertilizers that, unlike the first ones, allow to enrich the soil and to nourish our grapes in a “natural” way. Also in our vineyards we use grassing, letting the grass grow to combat soil erosion and make the vineyard more liveable and passable. We use special prototypes of tractors that, with their reduced weight, contribute to not press excessively on the ground, avoiding its crush.

    Fieldwork is just one aspect of my business, which is why I have supported a sustainable renewal process that involves the entire company.

    • In 2006 we started designing the new winery, a structure designed to be integrated into the rural landscape and reduce heat exchange, isolating the perimeter with natural cork. The building has been designed to optimize work and resources. On the ground floor we find the whole part concerning the first processing of the grapes: from the harvest to the fermentations. At that point the wine for fall is transferred underground, where it will silently age in the barrels.
    • In 2009 we designed and created the Biopark and every year we increase the area of managed forest and this allows us, on one hand to protect the local flora and fauna, on the other to reduce our carbon impact.
    • In 2010 we inaugurated the new photovoltaic system that allows us to reduce CO2 emissions by 13,000 kg every year.
    • We use 90% recycled glass for our bottles, shorter corks and a thinner cardboard for packaging.

    Not only in the company: my sustainable initiatives

    In order to promote and raise awareness for the environment, the company organizes social and educational activities that also involve children, to promote the idea that the land is an asset and as such it deserves respect and attention. We focus very much on these activities that aim to raise awareness of the new generations on the beauty of nature.

    For the IED students of Turin I created a contest on the theme of sustainability starting from the waste materials of our cellar. This is how the ReWineD project was born: converting what is no longer useful for our production purposes into new functional design objects for other industries or fields.

    Another important initiative undertaken is that of Adopt a Row, that allows all those who wish to be responsible for their own row to see it grow day by day. A way to involve wine lovers in the care of the territory as well

    Now it is on you

    One thing that I often say to all those who visit our cellars is that sustainability processes require the intervention of the final consumer as well! Yes, you! Every time you buy a wine, try to read the label and understand if the wine you are drinking is good for the environment. Sipping an ethical and sustainable product gives a double satisfaction and allows you to contribute to a virtuous wine culture. The future of our planet also passes from here.

  • Wine tasting: four steps to approach a wine-glass and have a good tasting experience

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    Wine tasting: four steps to approach a wine-glass and have a good
    tasting experience

    I happen very often during the various events involving my winery to meet
    and chat with several people who ask me for advice on how to taste the best
    wines. Many feel that for a more complete wine product enjoyment it is
    necessary to attend a sommelier course. So I thought of writing this article to
    give you some tips on how to best approach a wine-glass and enjoy a good
    wine. The process goes through four steps.

    It is not necessary to be professional tasters.

    Before I begin I would like to make an introduction. Decide to attend a
    sommelier course is definitely a good idea that will allow you to have a tasting
    experience more complete if you are not a professional taster. Wine is a
    pleasure for everyone, any person who has really interest and passion can
    come close to this drink and appreciate it satisfactorily.
    Let us now see what are the four steps to come close to a wine-glass in the
    right way.

    1. Pour wine and examine it

    Tasting a wine is an experience for all the senses. When you open a bottle
    pour its content into a glass and take a few minutes to observe it. Bring the
    wine-glass at eye level and tray to see the different nuances. Generally the
    White wines have shades ranging from greenish to amber, the Red ones
    instead have shades ranging from grenade purple to darker shades.
    Observing the color of wine allows you to understand if we are going to taste
    a new wine or an aged one. Generally the whites and the young reds have
    lighter shades while the aged ones go towards darker colors.

    2. Swirl the glass

    Swirling the glass you will notice “tears of wine’’ that reveal the viscosity of
    the wine and the alcohol content. Wine is more structured and has high
    alcohol content when more tears of wine appear.

    3. Smell wine

    After visual examination is time to smell. Smell the wine you are going to
    taste. Breath in slowly and deeply in order to taste the bouquet. Generally is
    necessary to make a second swirl and smell for a second olfactory
    experience. This is a very important moment for assessing perfume, intensity,
    persistence and quality. At this stage you can already understand a lot of the
    wine you are going to taste. Always try to notice the different shades to get a
    full and olfactory impression.

    4 Taste

    After having observed the wine with sight and smell you are ready to taste it.
    Take a drop of wine and keep it in your mouth to let papillae and palate to
    savour it fully. You will enjoy flavor, tone and intensity. Each wine has its own
    story that unfolds upon contact with your palate. At this point you will ask me
    “ ok, but at this point how do I know if a wine is really good”. The answer is
    not simple. Every taste is very subjective and each of us tends to have
    different preferences. Remember though that a good wine always leave an
    impression of harmony and balance between its components satisfying the
    palate. After you have swallowed, judge the persistence of flavor and the
    aftertaste that leaves These are some important steps to get close to a
    complete gourmet experience. If you want to appreciate every wine you will
    drink try to sharpen your senses and to grasp all aspects of your glass. What
    at first seems perhaps difficult will become a pleasant habit and a new way to
    approach the wine. One last piece of advice I can give is to do a lot of
    practice, have the opportunity to taste different wines is undoubtedly the
    best way to appreciate more and more flavour and different shades educating
    our senses to greater receptivity.

    Do you want to do a bit of experience?

    Well! Come to Josetta Saffirio Open on Saturday April 21st when the winery
    will be opened to our followers for free tours. Take the opportunity to taste all
    our best products.

  • ReWineD. My idea for IED students

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    ReWineD. My idea for IED students

    ReWineD: a new life for cellar stuff

    In wine-making process have always been used many different packagings such as glass bottles, of course, barrels, cork tops, big and small wood boxes. Manytimes I asked myself “How can I reuse all this stuff?”.I was sure there was a way to give a new life to all these unused things, and to make the production of my wine more virtuous, let’s say more sustainable. I wanted myself to lead a project focused on recycling, strongly connected to another very important matter: environmental sustainability. I have always look at my job of wine-maker as a part of a wider framework; it is not only about my farm but also about take care and respect of our territory. I love to say:

    “Being a farmer is about feeling the hard responsabilty to the land we have inherited from our fathers and that we will give to our children.”

    Why I have chosen IED

    I decide to involve in my project the designers-to-be that now are studying at IED School, in Turin. Who can give me the right answer, if not them? And so the ReWineD! Recycled Wine Design project was officially born. The project is about giving a new life to unused stuff lying in our cellar, transforming objects that are no more useful in our production process into new objects useful in other fields. In cooperation with IED I have funded a scholarship to reward the best idea. The project is addressed to 9 students at the 2nd academic year of IED Product Design course. Professor Giorgio Ceste will lead them. The winner will be chosen by a jury composed of designers, architects and journalists expert of the matter.

    I strongly wanted this project

    I had this idea in my heart for a long time, and I am very proud of it. In 2004 I have converted my farm to organic standards and I am really interested in whatever action can be usefull to achieve a higher level of sustainability, both in my wine-making process and in the recycling of our equipments. There is another fact that makes me really satisfied. A new cooperation network has risen on the territory from this project, for example Italia Bellissima has become partner of ReWineD. Italia Bellissima is a project created by Architect Andrea Capellino, from Asti, and it is a network of Italian architects and craftsmen working in interior design and in the construction sector. Why is it so important? The growing of ReWineD project gives the evidence of a new awareness about these subjects and it shows how sustainability can become a driver for the development of vituous networks.

    The Winner

    This project is my challenge to young designers. And I am preatty curious about the winner, about which will be the most beautiful and functional project made from my cellar stuff. Transforming the raw idea into this well-defined project means a lot to me: it is not so important who will be the winner, the most important thing has been starting a process able to involve big partners and that can bring beneficial effects.
    Do you want to know who will win the call? Follow me on my blog and you will see it! The award ceremony will take place on 4th May at my Winery!

  • At Dinner, in Winery with the Wine Producer

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    At Dinner, in Winery with the Wine Producer

    Friday February 23rd, 6 p.m.
    Azienda Agricola Josetta Saffirio
    Località Castelletto, 39 – 12065 Monforte d’Alba (CN)

    A dinner and a unique experience

    On Friday February 23rd at the Josetta Saffirio Winey will take place a special dinner led by the chef Matteo Morra to whom my special thanks for the tasty menu, that purposes to exalt our 2014’s Barolo, Vintage 2012 and 2014’s Barolo DOCG.
    From the very beginning my desire was to give a unique moment to our guests.
    An encounter between our winery and the Chef’s tastes not only appetizing but a complete tasting experience. Adding the winery discovery and our wines to a highly elaborate menu able to exalt its matching, is what we would like to give to participants.

    The evening’s programme

    Before dinner I will guide you to wineries. There you could watch where and how Josetta Saffirio’s wines born. It will be a pleasure to receive you in the heart of the winery and tell you our history, walking through caskes where our wine silently ripens.
    Then, at the end of the visit, there will be an appetizer directly in barrique wine cellar, in the magic peace and atmosphere where wines become better, sealing an ideal matching between winery and food.
    At the end of the appetizer it will start dinner with a selection of dishes specially invented and created by the Chef.

    The evening’s menu

    Appetizer in barrique wine cellar:

    • Frog-fish, black cabbage and potatoes mousse
    • Veal with tuna sauce
    • Sausage and ricotta cheese “capunet”
    • Russian Salad
    • Toma cheese, celery and hazelnuts

    In matching Nebbiolo d’Alba Spumante Brut Rosé 2015

    At Table:

    • Blue buffalo mozzarella risotto, chestnuts and Marsala reduction
    • Langa’s crust pork and topinambur cream
    • Cheese selection
    • Annurca apples TarteTatin and vanilla sauce

    Wines:

    Info and booking

    If you are curious or begin having drool, you must know that the dinner has a limited number of seats. To participate visit our web site or click here.

    For more informations about the event, contact us by phone or mail:

    • + 39 0173 787278
    • info@josettasaffirio.com

  • Work in the countryside, 4 children and a husband: how I survive

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    It does not seem true!
    I came to the end of the day and I still have time to tell everything that happened to me. Whatever it is, you maybe think.

    Yep. It’s exactly what I thought this morning when I woke up: another day being a mom, a wife, a winegrower, a worker, a chef … whatever!

    I woke up and went to the kitchen. It was soon, very soon. It was late dawn. I prepared the coffee and looked out of the window. What peace, I thought, what tranquility. I saw the rows, I remembered the dedication of my mom Josetta, the enthusiasm in seeing growing every single grape of grapes. The chirping of the birds, the first rays of the sun, that colored flower that was not there yesterday and today is just blossoming.

    How beautiful this silence. I enjoyed it, I admit it: this morning I enjoyed the total absence of noises that could divert my attention from the beauty of nature that surrounds us. Just the calm before the storm.

    Then, at some point in the distance, here is the first thunder: I hear the noise of a door that opens, the children’s room. Here we are. 3-2-1 … mooooooooom!

     

    That’s how it started shooting the big carousel of my day. Whatever, right?!

    Today we thought of making a super picnic. Spend time with my husband and my children, see our family who grows cheerfully in nature, think that I’m building something for them just like my grandfather before, and my mom then, did with me. No, I would not have anything else.

     

    And when you learn to understand this and learn to enjoy the affections, the values of life, such as respect and trust in the family as at work, you realize that everything has a different flavor and scent. Or maybe for the first time you realize how many things you did not even see before, they give you a charge and a power never seen..but only if took in the right way.

    For example, this morning I prepared breakfast for the little ones. One of them overthrew the cup of milk and chocolate on him.

    You can deal with cases such as these in so many different ways: getting angry because your son did not pay attention. Getting nervous because you think you have to clean up the disaster.

    Or, and it’s the way I chose, you still smile at your little one who looks mortified, and you know that your conciliatory smile is enough to make it burst into a loud laugh and you and the others with you. And the sound of laughter attracts the attention of your coming husband and gives you a kiss of good morning.

     

    And the day begins, as we dress and are ready to bring the kids around looking for herbs, through the traces left by the animals that live the nature as we do, as they like to do to us. How it is absolutely right to be. See them running, be careful not to steer the mushrooms, show them the ladybirds, go looking for clowns on this sunny and hot day of the beautiful things we are surrounded.

     

    I will not tell in what conditions we went back home after a full day out! But even in this case, among the games, among the noisy cheers of cheerfulness, we made a bath full of foam and soap bubbles.

    And then, tired and destroyed, we put the kids to sleep, not before telling them the story of the gnome and his best friend, a little bird.

     

     

    And now here I am again. The quiet sound of their breaths of peaceful sleep give me all the joy and strength of this world. I know I’m doing the right thing.

    Now I turn off the light and I fall asleep happy as they are.

    Click.