Ceretto at Identità London

Enrico Crippa is tied to the Ceretto family just like the Langhe are tied to the wines of this winery, a few steps from Alba, a place famous for its white truffle but even more so for King Nebbiolo. The Piedmontese concept of the Ceretto winery is enclosed in ten one-syllable words in dialect «bun pi bun fa bun, mei pi mei fa mei» that is to say good plus good gives good, but the best plus the best gives the best: so here’s their philosophy summed up.

This motto is put into practice by Bruno Ceretto, an inspiring man, and by his brother Marcello, an old style wine producer and the creator of great wines. They had the vocation to buy the best land in the Langhe in order to do the best job as Barolo producers, they carefully studied the lines of vines in order to obtain red wines, from Nebbiolo grapes which, luckily, as it only grows here, are the most sublime representation of the most authentic "terroir".

The Barolo Brothers, this is how the Ceretto brothers were called by the most authoritative international wine magazines, declared and still confirm that they «don’t look for what is impossible but try to follow dreams that can be fulfilled». The evolution passes through Bruno and Marcello’s children: Bruno’s children Roberta and Federico, and Marcello’s heirs Lisa and Alessandro. Each one of them has a specific role: Federico promotes their wines around the world, Alessandro is at work with biodynamic agricultural experimentation and wine production, Lisa takes care of the accounting while Roberta is in charge of the public relations, with a thick pattern of international relations, even within the arts, creating important cultural synergies.

There’s a strong family harmony, just like in their wines and in the dishes created by Enrico Crippa for the temporary restaurant at Harrods. The wines to be tasted during the month of January at Stelle di Stelle are: Barbaresco Docg 2011 Ceretto with Agnolotti del Plin with three roasts. An elegant wine with a great structure, the perfect pairing with this first course.

While Barolo Brunate docg 2008 will be paired with the Braised fassona with Barolo with stone-milled polenta. This is another interesting interpretation of Nebbiolo, which perfectly highlights the territory, where the vines grow on a more sandy soil than in the other cases, thus giving the chance to taste this wine even now that it is young.

Finally, with the dessert: Moscato d’Asti Docg 2014 from Vignaioli di Santo Stefano Belbo is paired with a Hazelnut cake made with Alba "Relanghe" hazelnuts with cold zabaglione and Moscato wine, a classic dessert when you think about the sweet wine par excellence and the hazelnuts, scents and flavours that are full of memories, hinting at Pavese in the poetical label. Pairings, flavours and aromas that are not to be missed.