Producer Information
Cappellano is an Italian winery in Piedmont making high-quality Barolo wines in the Serralunga d’Alba commune. The Cappellano family was influential in Serralunga d’Alba, as well as in the greater Piedmont wine industry, and now the largest square in the parish carries their name: Piazza Cappellano. Previously called Dott. G. Cappellano, or Dr. Giuseppe Cappellano, the estate was founded in 1870 with an initial 60 hectares (150 acres) of land. It gained prominence in 1889, having featured at a Paris wine exhibition in a time when French producers were threatened by the spread of phylloxera. In the early 1900s, Cappellano was well known for Barolo Chinato – the fortified wine made from Nebbiolo and infused with quinine bark and spices. Things deteriorated after World War II, however, and vineyards were sold off to other Piedmont producers. In the 1970s, Teobaldo Cappellano began to reestablish the family name. He focused on a much smaller scale and bought four hectares (10 acres) of land with prominent parcels of vineyards in Gabutti. Teobaldo gained infamy in the early 1980s when he banned journalists from his cellar unless they agreed to review his wines without scores. He implemented traditional practices including the use of indigenous yeasts and aging in the traditional, large-format oak casks, or botti, rather than smaller French barrique. Teobaldo was also president of Italy’s Vini Veri (“true wine”) association. Cappellano’s Barolos now command high prices and are highly collectible, as production is extremely limited. The company makes several other wines as well as its famous Barolos from Serralunga d’Alba, including a Barolo Chinato. The single-vineyard wines from the Gabutti vineyard are named Otin Fiorin, after the man who had tended the parcel (they were previously labeled under the Gabutti name until the designation was expanded to include sites Teobaldo considered inferior). Cappellano also makes wines from Barbera and Dolcetto.
