Nebbiolo from this tiny vineyard (less than 2 acres) in the Ribbon Ridge AVA is lovingly farmed by famed cider apple grower, Alan Foster. His parcel generally yields just a few barrels of wine but oh what fabulous wine!

 

In 2004 at the first Terra Madre event in Torino, Italy, Alan was attending because he had one of the most iconic cider apple orchards in the Western US. But for those who are familiar with the economics of making cider, it is generally a losing proposition. When I heard him telling his British cider friends that he was planning on ripping out part of his orchard, I approached him and asked if I could make a recommendation of what to replace it with. He replied in the affirmative and soon we were driving down to the Barolo village of Monteforte. This was late October and as soon as we set foot in one of vineyards (still waiting to be picked) Alan commented that the soil underfoot felt just like his soil after a rain. That was the “voila” moment that I needed. 

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After a meal of polenta covered with fresh shavings of truffles (tartuffi) in Alba accompanied by several glasses of the local Barolo, Alan was ready to sign on to become a grape grower. What he might not have noted was that it was late October and the nebbiolo was still hanging on the vines!  

The following year he started planting cuttings taken from Clos Electrique on his amazing site high on Ribbon Ridge (and, yes, that can be taken two ways). His fruit, which is always intense with loads of structure, typically ripens at the same time as the nebbiolo grown at Clos Electrique, but I think what he grows is superior to the Dundee Hills counterpart.