Lodali

The Lodali Winery takes its name with the very charming and affable third-generation owner Walter Lodali, who has been running the winery since 2005 alongside his mother, known affectionately as “Mamma Rita” to all she encounters. The winery is responsible for meticulously crafted Langhe wines, made to reflect their unique terroir and honor the hard work and dedication of the previous generations as it paves the way for future ones.

THE HISTORY

Lodali, considered a historic winery in the Le Langhe, was first founded in 1939 by grandfather Giovanni Lodali, who began making his own wine to serve in his local restaurant. Later, he built a home and large cellar on his property to begin bottling and selling the wine, which was well received by the Osteria diners. After earning a degree in enology, his son Lorenzo (Walter’s father) and his very charismatic wife Rita joined the team, commercializing their first Barbaresco and Barolo Selections in 1958. After Lorenzo passed away, Rita took over concentrating her efforts on creating wines full of typicity and Langhe charm. The current owner Walter followed in his father’s footsteps, graduating from his alma mater and taking over the reins from his mother who stayed on board to lend a hand. As his first order of business, Walter added his personal touch to the wines by perfecting every stage of the winemaking process and renovating the cellars, breathing new life into the winery.

Walter also introduced a top-tier line, named for his father, Lorens, Lorenzo in the local dialect, which highlights the winery’s philosophy of minimal intervention and allowing the grapes and terroir to truly shine.

THE TERROIR

The Rocca 7 Fratelli vineyards sit atop a sandstone formation and the unique soils are calcareous, particularly white, and full of stones. The climate is getting warmer every vintage, but what makes this area so special is the very important day/night temperature swings, especially in September and October, which are critical to the aromatic profile of Nebbiolo grapes. The vineyards where the Lorens line is produced reach up to 60 years old and are very steep, thus planted vertical to the hill, making its manual cultivation extremely difficult though possible.

Their Barolo vineyard is located in Roddi, one of the 11 comuni of Barolo. The vineyards see very different soils, such as silt and sand, and are located on the last hill before you reach the Alba territory, where it is not possible to make Barolo.

All of the Lodali vineyards are cultivated sustainably with no introduction of synthetic materials.