The wines of Renato Ratti encompass a perfect combination of the ancient traditions of The Langhe and the more recent accomplishments of the modern era. Renato was born in Piedmont and his family has deep... Read More
The wines of Renato Ratti encompass a perfect combination of the ancient traditions of The Langhe and the more recent accomplishments of the modern era. Renato was born in Piedmont and his family has deep roots in the area, but they were not wine producers. After he graduated from the university in Alba with a degree in oenology he went to Brazil to work for the Cinzano spirits company in Sao Paulo.
Upon returning to Piedmont in 1965 he purchased his first vineyard in Barolo and over the next few years he and his nephew Massimo Martinelli developed the winemaking techniques that helped to modernize the production of Barolo. These include controlling the temperature during fermentation and reducing the amount of time the juice is macerated on the skins.
However they continued to use large, mostly neutral oak barrels for the aging process and at the same time Renato was key in helping to identify the distinct terroirs and microclimates that delineate all the different vineyard crus in Barolo. When Renato died sadly and unexpectedly in 1988 his son Pietro took over and continued the traditions his father had begun.
Indeed, during the ‘90’s when the infamous “modern vs. traditional” Barolo wars were happening, Pietro continued to make their wines like Renato, right down the middle of the stylistic preferences. This continues to this day and is now perfectly in line with the prevailing attitude in Barolo of respecting tradition without losing sight of innovation.
Both Renato and Pietro have been tireless promoters of the Langhe region and its winemaking history. They helped to establish the Albeisa Consorzio to promote the traditional bottle shape as a standard. They created the first maps of the MGA, or cru vineyard parcels in the Langhe. Pietro was until recently the president of the Langhe Wine Consorzio. The contributions to the success of Barolo and Piedmontese wines on the global scale is immense.
