A Look At The Elvio Cogno Winemakers

Of the many hundreds of great winemakers in Italy, there are few who have had such an enormous impact on the modern industry as the Barolo producers. There are many different variants of this great Italian red wine, which makes it one of the most versatile and enjoyable drinks to experiment with when you are searching for a new favourite vintage, but it is the Barolo wars that perhaps best defines the wines in the modern day.

The wars erupted as a result of the international market’s tendencies to prefer softer and fruitier wines than the traditional Barolo, which lead to many producers choosing to alter the way that they make the drink. This sparked controversy amongst traditionalists, who believed that the history of the wine was being disrespected every time a producer tampered with the accepted traditions, which in turn led to a split between the old and the new when it came to production of the wine.

The war raged on through the 1970s and 80s, however, recent advancements in winemaking technologies has allowed producers to bridge the gap between the old and the new somewhat, in a rather ironic twist.

Today, the newer variants of Barolo happily sit side-by-side with the more traditional variants, offering Italian wine lovers even more choice when it comes to picking from one of the greatest red wines ever produced in the country.

The Elvio Cogno Winemaker

Barolo is traditionally produced in the Piedmont region and it could be argued that the wine is the main resource for the people there. It is certainly amongst the most famous products to be exported from Piedmont and its popularity plays a large part in determining the state of the local economy in the region.

Amongst the many winemakers and families to produce the Barolo drink in the area, the Elvio Cogno winemakers are continuing to develop an extremely high reputation that has ensured they remain respected by many.

The family’s wines are produced in vineyards that were built in the old granaries of farmland, in an effort to truly capture the magnificence of the land on which the grapes are grown. It is this land that helps the family produce Barolos of such immense quality that they have come to be respected by many in a fairly short period of time.

Started by Elvio Cogno himself, who the family affectionately call ‘The Maestro’, the wines produced there tell the history of the family itself and their stay in the region. It is this pride in both family and home that the Cogno wines aim to reflect at all times, and many would argue that it is the reason why the wines have become as popular as they have both on a domestic and international level. Simply put, there are no wines that taste quite like those produced by the Elvio Cogno family.

The family also have an enormous respect for their crop, which results in a wine that is created with great respect for their customers. They will not yield a crop too early and will select only the best of the best grapes from all of their vines, in an effort to ensure that the quality they have become known for is maintained at all times. This dedication to an organic relationship between winemakers and their land is to be respected, as it shows that the family cares more about creating a quality product than they do about mass producing Barolo and other wines in an effort to capitalise on their domestic or international popularity.

Today Valto Fissore and Nadia Cogno aim to continue the great work that Elvio Cogno started, tending to the land and ensuring that the crop that is produced is of a high enough quality to be used in their wines. They want nothing but the absolute best from their land, which is a principle that has been passed down through the family, which means you can practically guarantee that the drinks produced by the Cogno family will be of the highest possible quality.

Simply put, it is a combination of the new ideas that they are able to bring to the table and the traditional qualities of the drinks that the family produces. This meshing of the old with the new is something that has come to define Barolo in recent years, even if the transition has been somewhat tumultuous, leading to the creation of some truly fine wines.

Elvio Cogno simply aims to make great wines that are capable of cheering the soul of anybody who consumes them, evoking the emotions and qualities of the region in which they are made and giving the drinker a little taste of somewhere new. You truly cannot go wrong with a good Barolo made by the Cogno family.

Cogno Barolo Bricco Pernice 2009

Of the many great wines produced by Elvio Cogno, there are perhaps few that have the immense depth and quality of their Barolo Bricco Pernice. The 2009 vintage, in particular, has been praised by many different wine experts and is considered one of the great wines of the modern day, making it the ideal choice for somebody who is just getting started in the world of Barolo and wants to make sure they grab a quality wine at a suitable price.

It is an absolutely sumptuous wine and is marked by aromas of leather, underbrush, ripe berries and grilled herbs, making it a wonderfully varied wine that can be enjoyed before it ever passes your lips. Once it does, the many different flavours will astound you, with notes of cherry, tobacco, sage and white peppers all being noticeable. It makes for a quite wonderful wine that is most certainly recommended the next time that you have friends over for a dinner party and you want to impress them with something that is a little bit different. It truly demonstrates the family’s dedication to their craft and to the production of great wines that can be enjoyed by as many people as possible while also ably demonstrating the craft that goes into their production.