At Home with Marchese Malaspina · Part 4 of 4

The untouched cellar and the tasting with Currado

In the untouched part of the cellar stand bottles nobody has been in a hurry with. Afterwards two tables await: one under the brick vaults with Currado, and one in the courtyard after the vineyards.

Old cellar with dusty bottles on stone shelves and three small wooden casks — The untouched part of the wine cellar.

The bottles set aside

In the low, vaulted rooms bottles stand close together on the shelves, covered in dust. Small wooden barrels rest beside them, and handwritten numbers can be seen on the shelf edges.

Row of bottles covered in dust and cobwebs on a stone shelf beneath a rough stone vault — Dusty bottles in the untouched part.

The questions come by themselves. When were the bottles placed here? Which vintages remain? What did they choose to keep, and why? The dust gives no answers, only a clear message that nobody has been in a hurry. At a time when most things are meant to go fast, that is almost refreshing.

Narrow, dimly lit cellar passage with a vaulted stone ceiling and a small niche with bottles at the far end — The narrow cellar passage.

After the maps and documents of the archive, this is the same history in another material: not paper, but glass.

At the table with Currado

At the tasting with Currado a large wooden table awaits with cured meats, cheese and bread. Thin slices are spread out on a long serving board, the plates are set and there is pale wine in the glasses. Behind the table the brick vaults continue, with the mural and the rows of bottles.

Serving board with cured meats and focaccia on a long wooden table in front of the mural and the illuminated bottle counter — The laid table.

After the tour there is plenty to talk about, and now the wines come to the table together with Currado. Only here, after town, abbey, archive and cellar, does the wine take the lead role. It has had plenty of opening acts.

This is where a producer visit makes the biggest difference for us at Vinarkivet. The wine is tasted with the food in front of you and the person behind it across the table. The conversation can move freely between the wine, the family and Bobbio.

After the vineyards: a table in the courtyard

Before we sat down for the day, Currado took us out to the vineyards. The fields lie on slopes around old stone houses, with the hills beyond the rows of vines. Here the map in the archive gains real dimensions: slope, aspect and distance.

Old stone house with a tiled roof surrounded by vines, greenery and hills under a clear blue sky — A stone house among the vines on the slope.

Afterwards we went out into the courtyard. The table was laid under the parasols, with glasses, a wine cooler and a platter of cheese, bread and salami. Figs and cured ham were brought out. There are places where history lies neatly sorted in museums. Here it joined us for lunch.

Long laid table with porcelain, wine glasses, bottles and snacks against a rustic natural stone wall — The lunch table laid in the courtyard.

Board with cheese, bread and salami on a dark wooden table, flanked by a glass of white wine and a wine cooler — Cheese, bread and salami on the table.

Smiling woman holding out a board with figs and cured ham in front of a stone house façade — Figs and cured ham were carried out.

Woman in a rust-coloured shirt standing at the lunch table, gesturing, while a young man behind her drinks red wine, in front of a stone wall — Francesca, the hostess, talking at the table.

Adults gathered around a laid table under parasols in a stone courtyard, with pasta, cheese, wine glasses and bottles — The company gathered around the lunch table.

A table to return to

The town and the abbey, the archive and the map of 1772, Federico's way through the cellar and the dusty bottles in the untouched part. At the table with Currado it all comes together.

Wine glass engraved with Marchese Malaspina, the coat of arms and dal 1772, in front of a serving board with cured meats — A glass of wine in front of the serving board.

That is what you take home: one table under the brick vaults and another in the shade of the courtyard, food to share and a host who invited us into his family's history. And a certain suspicion that the next bottle from Bobbio will carry more than grapes.

The bottles set aside

At the table with Currado

After the vineyards: a table in the courtyard

A table to return to

Curious about Bobbio and Marchese Malaspina?