Tasting Barolos with Two 30-Year Veterans of Piedmont
First-generation winemaker Luciano Sandrone and Elio Grasso and son Gianluca are at the top of their craft
Posted: Dec 2, 2011 1:45pm ET
On my third day of visits in Barolo, I saw Luciano Sandrone and Elio Grasso. Luciano Sandrone started is estate from scratch and Grasso, though his father and grandfather grew grapes and other crops, switched from a career in finance to work his family's land.
Sandrone came from a family of carpenters in La Morra. Rather than join the family business, he learned to make wine, first at the traditional Giacomo Borgogno, then at Marchesi di Barolo, where he became the cellar master. Sandrone purchased 2.5 acres in Cannubi Boschis in 1970, releasing his first Barolo from the 1978 vintage.
Elio Grasso began bottling under his own label in 1980. His grandfather bought vineyards in Ginestra in 1920, selling grapes and a little wine in barrel, a practice continued by Grasso's father until his death in 1979. His son Gianluca has been making the wines since 1995.
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