The Vaira family has turned out a magnificent set of Barolos at both their own winery and at Baudana...As always, the Barolos are all about finesse and nuance, very much like an artist’s pencil etchings, where all the lines are totally delineated. At Baudana, the wines are naturally more muscular, but that is Serralunga, after all. Most importantly, the Vairas have developed a personal style that melds classicism with a level of approachability that makes these wines so alluring, even upon release.\n\nTradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire.” -Gustav Mahler\n\nLuigi and Fiorina Baudana are the namesakes of the localitA Baudana, the hamlet just north of Serralunga d’Alba, and of the historical cru that lays on the western slope of the hill. The beginning of their family history is lost in time and Luigi never precisely knew whether his ancestors gave their name to the place or took their name from it. It was thanks to Fiorina’s love and encouragement that the two decided to stop selling their family’s grapes to cooperatives and to start producing their own estate wines.\n\nThe Baudanas and the Vairas (of G.D. Vajra fame) met in 2008, at a time Luigi and Fiorina were considering retirement. It was a very secretive first meeting across the Tanaro river on a silent Monday night. Many more discrete encounters followed throughout the summer while walking vineyards and barrel-tasting together. The sympathy and human bond that was established over those many hours led the Vaira family to suggest they could become the ‘guardians’ of Luigi and Fiorina’s history rather than just taking over their land. This is why the old cellar is still operating today, to vinify and age the Baudana Barolos. The Baudana name lives on through each bottle.
