Adress: Frazione Annunziata, Cascina Nuova, 51 12064 La Morra Cuneo
Country: Italy
internet: http://www.elioaltare.com
Wine district: Piemonte
wines
" I'm a farmer, I know the hard work from the past times. I was here when farmers would plough the vineyards with an ox and I did it myself until I was twenty. This way I learned to respect work and the land"
Grandpa Giuseppe came to la Morra in 1948, the family Altare was originally from the town of Dogliani, even if old documents and wills, translated by a close relative archpriest, spoke about some Jewish descent from Palestine.
Giuseppe bought the farm in La Morra, the estate covered 5 hectares, a few nebbiolo, barbera and dolcetto vineyards, and some peach, hazelnut and apple trees, but those were times when orchards gave higher yield and more profit than vineyards.
They were not easy times, given the economic crisis that lasted for years, Elio, along with other friends, decided to learn about winemaking beyond the borders of Piemonte and try to grab some of the success that those regions were enjoying. Their first trip to Burgundy, in January 1976, was a revelation, and when Elio got back home he knew there were major changes to be made, first of all his "mind frame", but also in the farming, winemaking and trading, so he began experimenting with methods outside of the traditional ones in Piemonte.
He wasn't afraid: he grabbed a chainsaw, as if it was a sword, and first he cut down the fruit trees in the orchard, then in the cellar he chopped up the big old wooden tanks into fire wood, this way he made room for his first brand new barrique.
His father Giovanni didn't understand him, his son's radical decisions were too far from his way of thinking, the old man was not able to accept what he thought was an offence against common sense and tradition, and he sought comfort in silence, he died in 1985 and disinherited Elio.
Elio stood firm then and still today. Firmly he decided to his change direction and to give a different interpretation to the family's wine, favouring elegance, finesse, and balance, following a strict regime in the vineyards, adopting new vinification and aging techniques in the cellar, Elio still stubbornly chases his dream today.
The farm is still today family managed, under Elio's supervision, we work on 10 hectares with an average production of 60.000 bottles. .
