The Lambregts family adventures: Wine in 4 countries

Piet went on his traditional yearly trip with his friends from Utrecht, under the excuse of the wine and dine society 'Het Derde Glas'. This time an ambitious program was put together, with stops in four countries.

They left early Wednesday morning from Utrecht with a rented minibus, and drove to the famous German wine region along the Moselle river, for a late morning visit to Sybille Kuntz in Lieser. They are selling traditional white wines, in stylish long and narrow bottles. After a purchase ‘with the handbrake on’ the trip continued to the Alsace, in France, where an appointment with the Kamm family in Dambach-la-Ville was scheduled. After several phone calls the father finally turned up, for a tasting of mediocre wines. The promising ‘vin nature’ (no use of any additions during the vinification process) turned out to be somewhat disappointing, with the conclusion that additives are not so bad after all. Due to the delays the logistics of the arrival in Martigny, Switzerland had to be changed en route by phone, and after some corrective driving a late dinner was enjoyed at restaurant Belvedere, high above the city. The upside was that the anticipated evening walk (300 m height difference in 2 km!) was done by car. The food was good, but the wines were a huge disappointment, strengthening the pre-trip decision to skip any visit to a Swiss winery.

The first tasting at Sybille Kuntz

On Thursday morning they crossed the Grand St. Bernard pass through snow-covered mountains, and descended into Italy for a visit with Ottin, in Aosta. This is a beautiful valley, which looks like Switzerland, but with much better wines. Owner Elio Ottin took his time to showcase his products, and after a large purchase the trip continued towards Alba. An impressive lunch was enjoyed at Marcelin, in Monta, with Michelin-star quality food and presentation (and it has been noted for future trips!). Here a common theme of the trip started: excellent English was spoken by our hostess; this was repeated at all subsequent visits. Something the French winemakers can only dream of! Around the corner the two sons of winery Chiesa, a small family business in the Roero region, received the troops with Italian hospitality as they tried to supplement their wines with more food. Roero is one of the Piemontese appelations, at a level just below the more famous Barolo and Barbaresco wines. As the Chiesa brothers were talkative, and there was a lot of discussion, last minute adjustments had to be made to the program. After a few calls Adriano, just outside of Alba, was willing to stay open in the early evening. Here a combination of Barbaresco wines and hazelnuts was for sale, the latter also supplied to the enormous Ferrero Rocher factory in Alba. In the evening dinner was arranged at Larossa, a promising restaurant with a Michelin star. This turned out to be a huge disappointment, with pretentious food, and likewise waiters. The rockbottom lowlight of the evening was a risotto with an edible gold leaf cover, something they will still remember 25 years from now!

Arrival at Chiesa

The Barbaresco vineyards are explained at Adriano

The next day started with a Barolo morning, in Verduno, firstly enjoying the views from the hilltop, and secondly enjoying the wines from Fratelli Alessandria. The next stop at G.D. Vajra was a lot more commercial, with a proper hostess, a tour and a tasting room with a view. In the end both houses sold nice Barolo’s, and that is the most important! Lunch was ‘valeur sur’ on the terrace of Schiavenza, in Serralunga, with a view of the hills, covered in sticks with leafless vines. The trip continued along winding roads to Ca del Baio, in Barbaresco, which was visited 5 years earlier as well. Business had definitely improved, as a Ukrainian-Canadian group was leaving, and a huge Swiss delegation just arrived. There was no holding back, all the wines were opened and sampled, and a large purchase was made. Next stop was at Borgo Maragliano, in Loazzolo, a remote village to the southeast of Alba. The bus, now loaded with many bottles, had to work hard along narrow, steep roads. They were received by Sylvia, the lady of the house, who kept on stating how bad things are in Italy (bureaucracy), and how good in north-western Europe (Leeuwarden, of all places, and the Champagne, obviously). To attract more visitors they were building a massive viewing platform / tasting room, just outside the UNESCO World Heritage area of the Piemontese vineyard hills. They produce sparkling wines only, mainly using the Metodo Classico (same as Champagne, but not allowed to call it that way). Sylvia was extremely hospitable and talkative, and managed to convince Het Derde Glas, notorious Champagne lovers, to buy a significant number of bottles. Although the distance back to Alba is only 10 km ‘as the crow flies’, it was a long, winding and tiring one hour drive back. Dinner was held at Caffe Umberto, an Enecoteca (wineshop) and restaurant, which was a lot better than the previous night (and with a very, very extensive winelist!).

View over the vineyards from Verduno

Tasting Barolo wines at Fratelli Alessandria

Choice at G.D. Vajra

Barolo is a beautiful region, even in cloudy weather

View from Borgo Maragliano

True Italian hospitality at Borgo Maragliano

After two days in Italy a long drive back was made on the Saturday, with essential stops at Theulot Juillot in Mercurey, Burgundy, who were also visited in 2017 (value for money white and reds), and two more in the south-eastern Champagne region. The first house was Barfontarc, a cooperation in the village of Baroville (with farmers in Fontaine and Arconville also contributing grapes, so guess where the name is coming from). They had an extensive gamma for tasting, and a marketing influence on their bottles: good for the eye, and a bit pricey. On the other side of the spectrum was Laval, a small Champagne producer in the village of Bligny. No fancy bottles, and very cheap. Close by, at hotel Val Moret, the trip ended, and it was decided to carry out the most important session straight away: the sorting. The van was emptied, and in an organised fashion the nearly 600 bottles were distributed from producers to piles of boxes for each expedition member. This took around 2 hours, and a lot of carrying and lifting. Once the van was reloaded a final dinner was enjoyed; tired but satisfied. The next morning, they drove smoothly back to Utrecht, where Piet left his bottles with one of his friends. And the success of the trip will be concluded in the months to come: ‘the proof of the pudding is in the drinking’!