And he digs deeper with historical harvest records of such celebrated producers as Cavallotto (from the 1931 vintage) or Giuseppe Rinaldi (from the 1975 vintage). He includes an exhaustive cru by cru record of harvest dates from 2007 to 2017. Whether providing the first English translation of Lutati’s pathbreaking 1929 On the Delimitation of Wine Zones-or describing in detail the temperatures, rainfall and harvest dates of each vintage since 2000-Alessandro leaves few stones unturned. II is a stunningly complete investigation of how both human and environmental influences have shaped Barolo over the past century. Once again, we’re reminded what a treasure Alessandro is and why, over the past five years, he has become a wine icon, despite never having made a bottle of wine.īarolo MGA Vol. II a treasure trove of information for anyone seeking a greater understanding of The King of Wines.Įach topic is covered in extraordinary detail, as we’ve come to expect from Barolo’s greatest contemporary scholar. And he covers many other subjects as well-some of which have either rarely or never been written about before-making Barolo MGA Vol. Masnaghetti also discusses how changes in climate, yields, clones and viticultural practices have affected the harvest periods of the nebbiolo grapes and crus. The essential companion to the first volume, Barolo MGA Vol II is a fascinating exploration of how Barolo’s area under vine has transformed, both the entire region and particular crus. II: Vintages, Recent History, Rarities and Much More-covering the evolution of the Barolo region from the early 20th century until today. Text is in both Italian and English.Īlessandro’s energy, curiosity and passion for Barolo is fathomless, and his tireless research has now yielded a second book on the subject- Barolo MGA Vol. In addition, a glossary demystifies over 750 place names, brand names and historic zones.

And that includes owners of the 1 st edition.īarolo MGA includes more than 200 3-D images of the region's vineyards in-depth analyses of the individual communes 170 fact sheets on each cru and a directory (with contact information) of growers and producers. Representing an incredible 11 years of work, it demands a place in the library of anyone who loves Barolo. The 2nd edition of Barolo MGA, The Barolo Great Vineyard Encyclopedia is the result of a quarter century of study, unlocking the mysteries of why Barolo's soil produces such profound wines. According to Alessandro, who may know more about Barolo’s vineyards than anyone alive, such a division explains very little about why individual crus can have such distinctive character.Īnd so, working for years with three highly regarded earth scientists, he’s managed the first “complete description of the complex geology of the Barolo production zone.” Even if you own the first edition, you’ll want the second for this chapter alone. He has long rejected the popular notion that Barolo can be understood by dividing the zone into two parts based on soil. And its most compelling feature is a lavishly illustrated chapter on the region's geology. The Deepest Look Yet at Barolo’s Soils & GeologyĪlessandro's newest edition will continue to advance the world's knowledge of Barolo. Production figures are current as of the 2017 harvest. And not only have all the maps been updated for 2019, so have the listings of wines and wineries. But in the meantime, Alessandro was hard at work on revised edition, which he released in 2019.Įven bigger and better than the original, it is a whopping 464 pages in length (56 more than the 1st edition). And we were sold sold out for nearly two years, turning down literally hundreds of further requests for copies. We sold nearly 1,000 copies in just the first year of publication. As a compendium of what we know of the vineyards, growers and wines, it has become the go-to book for those of us with a passion for Barolo.

II: Vintages, Recent History, Rarities and Much More (published early 2018).īut the original Barolo MGA, The Barolo Great Vineyard Encyclopedia was arguably Alessandro’s greatest accomplishment, and the work that has done so much to elevate the world’s understanding of Barolo. He followed with two more landmark works: Barbaresco MGA, The Barbaresco Great Vineyard Encyclopedia (published 2016) and Barolo MGA Vol. This now-classic book brought us out of the dark ages in terms of our knowledge and understanding of this greatest of Italian wines. Alessandro Masnaghetti revolutionized our knowledge of Barolo with Barolo MGA, The Barolo Great Vineyard Encyclopedia.

Vintage wine maps