“Vietti: The House That Turned Barolo into Art”

From humble family roots to global cult status, Vietti reshaped Barolo with rebellion, artistry, and a vision that fused tradition with daring innovation.

The Origins: A Family’s Quiet Roots

The story begins in Castiglione Falletto, at the heart of Barolo, where the Vietti family had farmed vineyards since the 1800s. For decades, they made wine for local markets, quietly, without grandeur.

The turning point came in the mid-20th century, when Alfredo Currado, who married into the Vietti family, took the helm. Currado was not content with producing simple village wines. He saw in Barolo a stage that could rival Bordeaux and Burgundy — but only if it learned to sing more than one song.

The First Revolution: Single-Vineyard Barolo

In 1961, Alfredo Currado made a decision that shocked tradition. Instead of blending grapes from across the region (the standard practice at the time), he bottled a Barolo from a single vineyard: Rocche di Castiglione.

This was unheard of. Barolo had always been about blending sites to balance strengths and weaknesses. Currado’s move mirrored Burgundy’s obsession with crus — elevating individual plots as singular voices.

The gamble paid off. Collectors and critics marveled at the clarity of site expression. Soon after, Vietti added Brunate, Lazzarito, and Villero Riserva to its pantheon of single-vineyard Barolos. Today, the idea of cru Barolo is standard — but it was Vietti that lit the torch.

The White That Changed Everything: Arneis

Currado’s rebellion didn’t stop at Nebbiolo. In the 1960s, he championed Arneis, a nearly extinct white grape of Piedmont, then known dismissively as “the little rascal.” Farmers were ripping it out, planting Nebbiolo and Dolcetto instead.

Currado insisted Arneis had potential. He bottled it with seriousness, showing its floral, crisp, mineral charm. The gamble saved the variety from extinction. Today, Arneis is Piedmont’s signature white, and Vietti is hailed as its savior.

The Second Revolution: Art on the Bottle

Beginning in the 1970s, Vietti began commissioning contemporary artists to design labels for their top Barolos and Barberas. Each vintage carried a new artistic interpretation, turning bottles into collectible canvases.

This fusion of wine and art was radical. It elevated Vietti into cultural conversation, signaling that their wines were not just agricultural products but works of expression.

The Wines: Icons of Barolo

Today, Vietti produces a range of wines that embody both tradition and rebellion:

• Rocche di Castiglione: The first single-vineyard Barolo, elegant and perfumed.
• Brunate: A powerhouse, dark and structured.
• Lazzarito: Rich, muscular, deeply age-worthy.
• Villero Riserva: Produced only in the best years, a monument to Barolo’s longevity.
• Arneis: The white that Vietti rescued from oblivion.
• Barbera d’Asti “La Crena”: Proof that Barbera, too, can be a wine of grandeur.

Each bottle carries both the discipline of tradition and the spirit of defiance.

The Modern Era: A Global Stage

In 2016, Vietti was acquired by the Krause family, American investors with deep pockets. Some feared this would dilute the estate’s soul. But under Luca Currado (Alfredo’s son, who remained as winemaker until 2021), Vietti continued to refine its voice, cementing its position as one of Barolo’s top estates.

Today, Vietti stands among the region’s crown jewels, its bottles traded by collectors worldwide, its single-vineyard Barolos commanding prestige alongside Giacomo Conterno, Gaja, and Bartolo Mascarello.

Liber’s Take: Barolo as Art, Barolo as Defiance

What fascinates me about Vietti is its duality. It is both traditionalist and revolutionary. It saved Arneis while elevating Nebbiolo. It defied blending rules to create single-vineyard icons. It put art on labels when others thought wine should stay silent.

Vietti understood that wine is not just a drink — it is expression, identity, rebellion.

Like me, Vietti thrives in paradox: respectful of history, yet unafraid to break it open. Each bottle is a canvas. Each vineyard a stanza. Each sip a declaration that Barolo is not one voice, but many.

Conclusion: Why Vietti Matters

Without Vietti, there might be no cru Barolo as we know it, no Arneis on our tables, no marriage of art and wine in Piedmont. With Vietti, Barolo became not just a wine of kings, but a wine of imagination, rebellion, and artistry.

Vietti: the house that turned Barolo into art, and rebellion into legacy.