Conterno Cuts Through the Social Noise

In the commune of Monforte d'Alba in the southeastern sector of the Barolo zone, the Poderi Aldo Conterno winery has the appearance of a fortress, one apart from its immediate surroundings.

Intentional or not, this manifestation is quite appropriate, given this producer's sublime offerings of Barolo, as many critics rate this estate as one of the top 10 Barolo firms; for me, this is among the top five in terms of Barolo brilliance and consistency, especially when it comes to defining each site's specific terroir.

Aldo Conterno founded the winery in 1969, carrying on the work of his grandfather Giovanni who produced the family's first Barolo riserva in the 1920s. Aldo passed away in 2012; today his three sons, Franco, Stefano and Giacomo manage the winery, continuing the outstanding work of their father and past generations.

While Chardonnay and Barbera are crafted here, it is Barolo that has placed the winery in the limelight; there are three single vineyard offerings from the estate's holdings in the Bussia MGA, namely Colonello, Cicala and Romirasco, that represent the backbone of the company, while a fourth Barolo, Gran Bussia, a blend of these three sites, is produced only in the finest vintages; this has become one of the most legendary Barolos since its initial release from the 1970 vintage.

For the past three years, I have enjoyed the great pleasure of tasting the new release offerings of these proprietary Barolos with Giacomo Conterno at the winery (not to be confused with the Giacomo Conterno winery, also in Monforte d'Alba; Roberto Conterno, current proprietor of that winery is a cousin of Giacomo at Poderi Aldo Conterno).

What has made these tastings with Giacomo so enthralling was not just the opportunity to taste the year's new versions of Barolo, but just as important, to listen to him describe these wines. He goes beyond the usual facts about the growing season, soil components and cellar techniques, as he describes the soul, for lack of a better term, of each wine. He details the ambiance he feels with these Barolos in a way that far exceeds any summary I have heard from any other Barolo producer – or really any producer in all of Italy.

As for the newly released offerings of 2021 Barolo, Conterno has this to say. "What I love from 2021 is a vintage that might be among the best vintages of the last 20 years, is the amount of density, the fruit, full mid-palate, the quality of the tannins. So think 2021 is a great opportunity to tell people why Barolo lives for many years … this is a real classic vintage, one that will create a great opportunity for Barolo lovers to enjoy these wines over the next 20 years."

The wines, I'm happy to report are truly outstanding, not only for their aging potential, elegance and typicity, but also for their honesty, as they truly represent their origins; they are crystal-clear examples of what great Barolos are all about. Or as Conterno once told me: "Barolo should be complex, but never complicated."

Social shout-outs

Now while Conterno loves to talk about his family's wines and Barolo in general, he doesn't spend his days with his head in the clouds; having three teenage sons has a great deal to do with that. They've made sure his feet are on the ground, and that means learning a lot about the real world out there, including social media, a subject he has particularly strong opinions about.

"Today, more and more, the way people write about wine on social media, they ask people to just talk about fireworks, but never go deep into a subject. So this is, in my opinion, a completely different way to describe wine. Maybe I'm a little too old (he is 51), but I prefer to come back to say, a deeper comment and less fireworks."

Continuing, Conterno doubts on the value of social media. "With social media, they have created what I call the same situation when you are in a bar and you look for a perfect match. The main important thing is the noise; everybody looks for their comment. So it's the kind of mood that's close to a bar instead of culture. But this is the reality.

"An influencer or content creator is just an actual way to describe a salesman. Because the influencer is first, promoting himself, and then and then … nothing new."

Regarding noise and sizzle, Conterno has this comparison. "The problem is if you prefer Broadway or Hollywood; they are two different things. If you go to the theater, you have to pay more attention. Social media now, in my opinion, has to find a new mood to reach people because wine at this time is living a passage in terms of the economy, which is not that healthy; maybe it's a little better in the US."

Conterno has firm beliefs on what wine producers – especially new ones – need to do to become successful in the long run. "The policies of wine must be reconsidered because in the last 10-15 years there are a huge number of new wineries on the market, and all of the wineries of course, look to produce quality. But you also have to deliver a clear message of your terroir, otherwise the wine is just correct, which is not enough.

"I think that in the next two or three years, a lot of wineries may well have to find their own strategy in terms of wine making, in terms of the way they want to deal with their market, but more importantly, the way they want to deal with their terroir. They have to be focused on the things they can spread, and I think it will be more and more important to work on these subjects in the future. Otherwise, with social media, you get fireworks, but social is also an angry beast that you always have to feed, and sometimes you don't have enough good food, so you feed it any kind. And this creates confusion."

Consistent quality of wine is important for Conterno, but he notes that sadly, excellence is not necessarily part of the equation today when it comes to writing about the wine industry on social media. "Social made a big mess in terms of qualifying the writer. Social gives an opportunity to any person to be considered a writer, but it's a completely different thing.

"When you just work to create a situation to move the market, but always needing to inject – it's like a drug you need. So quality means, first you have to wait, and second, you have to understand sometimes that you don't have to get it all in 10 or 15 words. But people don't want to spend that much time on an article, and again this is another problem.

"We have lost patience in asking people to work. In the media business now, editors want things right away, and they give you a limit [on getting your work done on time]."

"People also lost this idea of comparing; they just want to talk about what's happening now. But now is just a moment. We have to organize our culture based on some historical tastes on comparisons. But people seem to be not interested in this, they just want to think about today and maybe tomorrow; what happened yesterday is old."

Regarding young people and their interest in social media, Conterno does note the attention they give to these platforms, whether as creators or readers. "But the world works in an opposite way. In America, in Europe, and in China and Japan, there are a lot more older people than younger people; the real world is opposite of what they say now. So I think we have to take into proper consideration all the categories.

"But today, it's all saturated and concentrated among one generation. Yes, it's true this will be the future, but we have to organize this generation among the other generations.:

At the end of my meeting with Conterno, I asked him if he had read any poorly written or badly organized articles about his family's wines. He said he had not, but added, "Honestly, I do not remember a specific case, but most of the time it is the comments of the followers that create confusion. This is what happens in a bar – they are all coaches!"