Interview with Kerin O'Keefe

[Bob_Hughes]

And Ken, when you say that no one would write a book on Nebbiolo for you and I, it’s funny, but I have often thought that you would be a pretty good individual to tackle such a task.

You have a clear passion for the area, are a pretty good photographer, and as an academic I assume you are reading topical books all the time, so your life experience would have provided you with an excellent background for tackling a project like this.

If you do, I will gladly buy a copy

[Oliver_McCrum]

@Bob Hughes

Have to admit that I’m not a fan. As Oliver knows, we had a previous discussion on the Barolo book in another thread that got somewhat heated (as threads here sometimes do ).

But in the interests of “fair & balanced” reporting, I did actually purchase the book to give it a look-see. I guess on the positive side one could say that there is currently a dearth of decent books on Piemonte, so she helps to fill that void. And it is nice that she gives some lesser known and/or “new” (at least in terms of new to the U.S. export market) producers some exposure, so for folks that might be looking to try “under the radar” producers, I guess there is also some value here. And I’d also say that in the overall scheme of things, she is fairly balanced/evenhanded. For example, while she indicates right up front that she favors traditionally made wines, I think she had a pretty nice write-up on Scavino, so she’s open-minded enough to appreciate a modernist style.

But at least from my perspective, if you already have a serious interest in the area and actively collect Barolo & Barbaresco, to me it’s hard to build the case that anything she writes about is somehow revelatory or genuinely new information, and without rehashing the prior thread, I found some of her producer commentary/ratings comical. Without naming the producer, I can literally recall thinking “you have got to be kidding me” regarding one particular write-up, and this wasn’t a situation where we might have a normal disagreement on, for example, the age old argument of modernists versus traditionalists.

Bob,

I respect the experience and thoughtfulness of the experienced drinkers on this board, and (in the case of Barolo) am in awe of the depth of wines tasted. That doesn’t mean we’re going to agree on everything, we are talking about a matter of taste, after all.

I’m not sure what kind of revelations are possible in wine, though, other than calling out the outright falsifiers (as happened with ‘Brunellogate’). I would love to see that, myself, but there still isn’t a way of chemically ascertaining the varietal makeup of a wine with any degree of certainty, as far as I know.

[Ken_V]

@Bob Hughes

And Ken, when you say that no one would write a book on Nebbiolo for you and I, it’s funny, but I have often thought that you would be a pretty good individual to tackle such a task.

You have a clear passion for the area, are a pretty good photographer, and as an academic I assume you are reading topical books all the time, so your life experience would have provided you with an excellent background for tackling a project like this.

If you do, I will gladly buy a copy

Great! I might even be able to earn subway fare from that.

[Oliver_McCrum]

I’ll buy a copy too, you can travel round trip.

[TomHill]

@Oliver McCrum

Bob,
I’m not sure what kind of revelations are possible in wine, though, other than calling out the outright falsifiers (as happened with ‘Brunellogate’). I would love to see that, myself, but there still isn’t a way of chemically ascertaining the varietal makeup of a wine with any degree of certainty, as far as I know.

Oliver,
My understanding is the anthocyanins in Nebbiolo are very weird and one of them (Malvidin?) is totally absent. And that it is an easy test for Malvidin
to indicate that some other variety has been blended in.
Tom

[John_Morris]

If Tom joins as co-author, you can use lots of slashes in your tasting notes, which I’m sure would boost sales.

[TomHill]

@John Morris

If Tom joins as co-author, you can use lots of slashes in your tasting notes, which I’m sure would boost sales.

Well, John…last week I happened to be cleaning up my key-board and I bet you’d never
guess which key was the most soiled/grungy. Yup!!!
Tom

[Oliver_McCrum]

@TomHill

@Oliver McCrum

Bob,
I’m not sure what kind of revelations are possible in wine, though, other than calling out the outright falsifiers (as happened with ‘Brunellogate’). I would love to see that, myself, but there still isn’t a way of chemically ascertaining the varietal makeup of a wine with any degree of certainty, as far as I know.

Oliver,
My understanding is the anthocyanins in Nebbiolo are very weird and one of them (Malvidin?) is totally absent. And that it is an easy test for Malvidin
to indicate that some other variety has been blended in.
Tom

All right then. What should the first 3 wineries tested be?

Just kidding.

[Ian_Sutton]

@TomHill

@John Morris

If Tom joins as co-author, you can use lots of slashes in your tasting notes, which I’m sure would boost sales.

Well, John…last week I happened to be cleaning up my key-board and I bet you’d never
guess which key was the most soiled/grungy. Yup!!!
Tom

Ah, so that’s why you’re known as ‘Slasher’

[Arv_R]

What books do people suggest for learning more about Italy?

I read the Wine Atlas of Piedmont (?) before. Very expensive, but fortunately my library had it.

I might have that title wrong though.

[Winsbur_Grantham]

Just finished Kerin’s Barolo and Barbaresco excellent book.
I find some of the criticism here very entertaining and mostly unsubstantiated. While I agree that Vietti might have deserved to be profiled for historical reasons (although pre-Luca wines were among the very best but then quality tanked in my view), I am fine with the other exclusions (Marchesi di Gresy, Voerzio, Clerico, Spinetta, Chiara Boschis, Borgogno, etc). She has been accused of being biased towards the traditionalists, but she profiles and likes Gaja, Paolo Scavino, Elio Altare, Sandrone, Germano Ettore and others.
Then we have Kerin not knowing Guido Porro Lazzairasco (not true, he is very positively profiled), that Santo Stefano was never replanted (I saw the new vines with my eyes 3 years ago), or having not enough experience on older vintages as if you need to be 80 year old to write a book on Barolo. Somebody with a lot of experience on older vintages like Nicolas Belfrage gave a rave review of her book in The World of Fine Wine: Kerin O'Keefe’s Journalist Portfolio | Muck Rack

[Ken_V]

@Winsbur Grantham

Just finished Kerin’s Barolo and Barbaresco excellent book.
I find some of the criticism here very entertaining and mostly unsubstantiated. While I agree that Vietti might have deserved to be profiled for historical reasons (although pre-Luca wines were among the very best but then quality tanked in my view), I am fine with the other exclusions (Marchesi di Gresy, Voerzio, Clerico, Spinetta, Chiara Boschis, Borgogno, etc). She has been accused of being biased towards the traditionalists, but she profiles and likes Gaja, Paolo Scavino, Elio Altare, Sandrone, Germano Ettore and others.
Then we have Kerin not knowing Guido Porro Lazzairasco (not true, he is very positively profiled), that Santo Stefano was never replanted (I saw the new vines with my eyes 3 years ago), or having not enough experience on older vintages as if you need to be 80 year old to write a book on Barolo. Somebody with a lot of experience on older vintages like Nicolas Belfrage gave a rave review of her book in The World of Fine Wine.

I agree with everything you wrote except that you should try the newer vintages of Vietti. Luca readily admits that he was a little full of himself when he started making the wines, but he has reverted to a lot of the methods of his father and is now making great wines.

[zack_harris]

@John Morris

@Gary York

So the fact that a lot of people are buying a mediocre book about one of the greatest wine regions on the earth is OK with you? Good to know. Do you also apply that same logic to wines?

Why are you always so sour, Gary?

Gary’s view is the preeminent one here; you either agree or you’re wrong. Maybe he just needs a hug.

[Winsbur_Grantham]

@Ken V

@Winsbur Grantham

Just finished Kerin’s Barolo and Barbaresco excellent book.
I find some of the criticism here very entertaining and mostly unsubstantiated. While I agree that Vietti might have deserved to be profiled for historical reasons (although pre-Luca wines were among the very best but then quality tanked in my view), I am fine with the other exclusions (Marchesi di Gresy, Voerzio, Clerico, Spinetta, Chiara Boschis, Borgogno, etc). She has been accused of being biased towards the traditionalists, but she profiles and likes Gaja, Paolo Scavino, Elio Altare, Sandrone, Germano Ettore and others.
Then we have Kerin not knowing Guido Porro Lazzairasco (not true, he is very positively profiled), that Santo Stefano was never replanted (I saw the new vines with my eyes 3 years ago), or having not enough experience on older vintages as if you need to be 80 year old to write a book on Barolo. Somebody with a lot of experience on older vintages like Nicolas Belfrage gave a rave review of her book in The World of Fine Wine.

I agree with everything you wrote except that you should try the newer vintages of Vietti. Luca readily admits that he was a little full of himself when he started making the wines, but he has reverted to a lot of the methods of his father and is now making great wines.

I will follow your suggestion and try his recent vintages.
When did Luca start admitting his faults? When did he revert back to more traditional winemaking?
I met him a few years back and in our brief conversation he basically told me that he was making the wines that the market wanted and that times had changed since his father’s days.

[David_Paris]

@Winsbur Grantham

When did Luca start admitting his faults? When did he revert back to more traditional winemaking?
I met him a few years back and in our brief conversation he basically told me that he was making the wines that the market wanted and that times had changed since his father’s days.

Check out the wonderful Video on Galloni’s website from La Festa del Barolo 2015 where Luca answers this very question… how he transformed back into a traditional producer, “Then after many years you realized, Oh shit… I’m stupid… I’m really stupid!” It’s the first video Vinous | Explore All Things Wine. Hmm… trying that link though I realize you may need a subscription to the website!

Last year I met Luca and had a visit at the winery and got to try all the 2010 Barolos… yes, they are quite good these days, and I definitely generally only drink traditional Barolo.

[Bob_Hughes]

I especially thought her praise of the fine wines produced by Gigi Rosso in the Arione vineyard really hit the mark. But now that Winsbur has set me straight on the previous error of my ways, I’m sure I’ll get a lot more out of her book on my 2nd pass through

At least my previous mispostings weren’t a total waste - I apparently did entertain Winsbur, in a misguided sort of way.

[Berry_Crawford]

@David Paris

Check out the wonderful Video on Galloni’s website from La Festa del Barolo 2015 where Luca answers this very question… how he transformed back into a traditional producer, “Then after many years you realized, Oh shit… I’m stupid… I’m really stupid!” It’s the first video Vinous | Explore All Things Wine. Hmm… trying that link though I realize you may need a subscription to the website!
.

That was an awesome video. Thanks for linking to it.

[Ken_V]

@Berry Crawford

@David Paris

Check out the wonderful Video on Galloni’s website from La Festa del Barolo 2015 where Luca answers this very question… how he transformed back into a traditional producer, “Then after many years you realized, Oh shit… I’m stupid… I’m really stupid!” It’s the first video Vinous | Explore All Things Wine. Hmm… trying that link though I realize you may need a subscription to the website!
.

That was an awesome video. Thanks for linking to it.

It was a great moment that came at the end of the late morning 2010 Barolo tasting.

[Sanjay_Nandurkar]

That was a good video of Lucca. But does anyone know based on their tasting of Vietti when did Lucca revert to a more traditional unforced style?

[Dav_d_Parta_n]

Interesting, Kerin O’Keefe’s book morphs into Luca’s winemaking. We visited Vietti in June and I only have good results to report. No spoofilation detected. Only pure wines reflecting their terroir. Kind and generous folks also. My favorite of the day was the Barbaresco, but the Arneis and the single vyd Barolos 2011 are magnificent. We had the 96 and 98?? Barbera Scarrone VV with lunch and they did not suck.