The Best moments of the 302nd Chapter of the Selection of the Great Wines of Alba

On Saturday 17 September in the Castle of Grinzane Cavour, the Order resumed its activity with the first Chapter of the season, the 302nd dedicated to the Selection of the Great Wines of Alba. As guest of honor the professor and Knight Attilio Scienza, eminent researcher and President of the National Wine Committee, who gave a passionate talk entitled: “What taste will the wine of the future have? How climate change will change the places of production and the composition of grapes “.

“Viticulture – explained Professor Scienza – comes from a truly secular tradition of adaptation to the climate. We can say that all of our agriculture is the result of a battle against the climate and man has always adapted, by changing varieties, practices and tastes. Today we are facing another battle, but I do not share certain catastrophic tones, because we can count on more sophisticated tools that go well beyond the simple relocation of vineyards. Our winegrowers know very well that they have to plant the widest vines, that they have to use rootstocks that are more tolerant to drought, they know that they have to make sure that the foliage protects the bunches more to avoid excess irradiation, they know how to fertilize and so on. Furthermore, thanks to increasingly precise predictive models, we are able to predict the climate and not suffer it, implementing highly targeted countermeasures ”.

“An authoritative lesson” on a very current topic, which deserves the fullest attention of our Territory and of all of us” underlined the Grand Master Tomaso Zanoletti. – “Professor Scienza, full professor of Viticulture at the University of Milan, president of the National Wine Committee, scientific director of Vinitaly International Academy, Honorary Knight of our Order, is one of the most authoritative scholars on the subject at an international level and has helped us understand what the effects will be for viticulture and the tools to be used for face these changes “.

In the second part of the Chapter, Knight Mauro Carosso, newly elected President of the Italian Sommelier Association of Piedmont, as well as President of the Order’s Tasting Commission, presented the 47th Selection of Grandi Vini dell’Albese, which has been honoring excellent bottles since 1975 with the institutional and numbered label of the Order, which you can find for sale only at the Enoteca del Castello di Grinzane and on the website: ecommerce.castellogrinzane.com.

This year, 93 winning wines were presented by 65 wineries that were awarded during the Chapter.

The Grand Master says again: “The increasing number of wineries that adhere to the Selection and the high quality of the wines presented give great satisfaction to the Order and, once again, confirm the farsightedness of the promoters who in 1975 started with growing success the initiative dedicated to the producers of Langhe, Roero and Monferrato ”.

In addition to Carosso, the tasting commission includes the sommeliers Giancarlo Germano, Rosalba Rolando, Andrea Dani, Ugo Venturino and J.C. Viens.

The 302nd Chapter was also an opportunity for the Investitures of 13 new Knights and to appoint as Honorary Knight Nicola Parisi, Quaestor of Cuneo.

The meeting, which began with the show of the Flag Wavers and Musicians of Alba, ended with an aperitif and dinner by Chef Marc Lanteri, of the Al Castello restaurant, where the participants were able to taste, in combination with the dishes, wines of the new Selection.