1986 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo delle Brunate Riserva Speciale
Sometimes the best things are born from total spontaneity. One lazy summer Sunday Marzia and I find ourselves with a free afternoon, so we call Beppe Rinaldi and ask if he has time to see us. It turns out the ladies of the house are away for the weekend, so Rinaldi has plenty of time, not to mention a little more freedom that normal, something he gleefully points out on more than one occasion.
Giuseppe Rinaldi in his cellar discussing the history of " src="https://allgrapes.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads%2F1425317220919-B+Rinaldi+video+shot.png">
Giuseppe Rinaldi in his cellar discussing the history of Brunate
Rinaldi receives us in his office. Papers are stacked on top
of papers. I sense a resemblance to my own desk. The bookshelves are packed
with books on the history of the Langhe and Barolo, most of them sadly out of
print. Rinaldi isn’t just a staunch defender of tradition with his wines, he
also knows more about the history of the Langhe and Barolo than just about
anyone else I have ever met. “Would you like some water?” asks Rinaldi. “Watch
out, in Barolo the drinking water has 2% alcohol,” he says, with the gruff, wicked laugh visitors to this reference-point estate have become accustomed to over the years.
One of Beppe Rinaldi’s many vintage motorcycles
A tour of the upstairs living quarters, including the room where Rinaldi himself was born, brings back memories of my grandparents’ home in Sicily. The smell of the antique furniture is exactly the same. It is amazing to think how much the world has changed in just one or two generations. An assortment of rare vintage motorcycles, all in various states of repair, crowds the workshop. Rinaldi’s passion for motorcycles is the stuff of legend. A few years ago, on his one and only trip to New York, Rinaldi apparently chose to see the city from the vantage point of a Vespa. That must have been interesting.
