Levi Dalton
Levi Dalton
Recently, I assisted with a Cappellano Barolo dinner that stretched from 1935 to 2011, with bottles from most of the decades in between. In preparation for that dinner, I put together a timeline of the Cappellano family, cobbled together from various sources. I wanted to attempt some understanding of the context for each wine. A lot of this is conjecture, unconfirmed by the Cappellano family, and there are some definite gaps. I consider it a work in progress. Perhaps still of some interest to you, if you follow these wines. There are significant differences between the eras in the way that the wines taste, so I find understanding the timeline helpful. I have provided an indication of my source for the information on most lines, which can be helpful if you are trying to trace back where what is written here was asserted. Please understand that some of this information may not be complete or fully correct. It is as close as I have ascertained as of this moment.
As Augusto Cappellano said: “Every generation, including myself, has made a small revolution from the other."
Filippo Cappellano, father of Giovanni and Giuseppe:
Runs winery from 1870-1886.
A notary.
Founded the winery at age 48. (Cappellano website)
Had 180 giornate of vineyards in Serralunga, or 60 hectares. (Ken Vastola)
He was selling wine in bottle. (Kerin O’Keefe)
Died in 1886. (Via del Vino, Ken Vastola)
Giovanni Cappellano, brother of Giuseppe and the elder son of Filippo:
Runs winery from 1886-1912.
Took over the winery when Filippo died. Giovanni was 19 at that time. (Via del Vino)
Restructured the cellars in Alba. Then moved the cellars to Serralunga. (A Wine Atlas of the Langhe, Kerin O’Keefe)
Opened hotels in Alba and Serralunga. (Ken Vastola and various other sources)
Won a bronze medal for the wine in 1889 in Paris.
Went to Tunisia in 1912 to look for drought resistant rootstock. Died shortly after returning to Italy in the same year. (The Mystique of Barolo, Via del Vino)
From September, 1911 through October, 1912, the Italo-Turkish War was being fought in what is now coastal Libya, which neighbors Tunisia. That war entered a stalemate in December, 1911. “Turkish officers and men, weapons, ammunition, and all kinds of supplies were constantly sent across the Egyptian and Tunisian frontiers, notwithstanding their neutrality.” And there was a naval blockade, with the Italian navy having a clear advantage over the Turks in the size of their fleet at the time. “In January 1912, the Italian cruiser Piemonte, with the Soldato class destroyers Artigliere and Garibaldino, sank seven Turkish gunboats (Ayintab, Bafra, Gökcedag, Kastamonu, Muha, Ordu and Refahiye) and a yacht (Sipka) in the Battle of Kunfuda Bay Although Italy could extend its control to almost all of the 2,000 km of the Libyan coast between April and early August 1912, its ground forces could not venture beyond the protection of the navy's guns and were thus limited to a thin coastal strip.”
Giuseppe Cappellano, brother of Giovanni, son of Filippo:
Runs winery from 1912-1955.
Studied pharmacology. Was enrolled in a pharmacy course in the school year 1890/1891.
Took over the winery after his brother died. Closed the pharmacy at this time.
Purchased additional vineyards. Also bought in large quantities of grapes. (Kerin O’Keefe, A Wine Atlas of the Langhe)
Vinified wine for the Gancia wine company, including Mirafiore at that time. (Via del Vino, A Wine Atlas of the Langhe)
Invented the Barolo Chinato in the late 1800s while working in Turin. (Winestories, A Wine Atlas of the Langhe). Augusto has seen Barolo Chinato from Giuseppe dated 1890 (before the 1960’s it was common for Barolo Chinato to carry a vintage label, a practice the Consorzio put an end to in the 60s).
The Gancia company also made Barolo Chinato.
Died in 1955. (A Wine Atlas of the Langhe)
His only child had died of Spanish flu (the square in Serralunga is dedicated to her. Family property divided between nieces and nephews, and some family members sell their share of the land. (Kerin O’Keefe)
“made Barolo full time until 1958 when three nephews took over the business” (The Mystique of Barolo)
Francesco Augusto Cappellano, son of Giovanni (Francesco had two brothers):
Was a nephew of Giuseppe Cappellano.
Fought in the Italian Army. (Via del Vino)
Was a horse breeder. (Winestories)
Made wine in Eritrea. (Winestories)
“left Eritrea shortly before the country plunged into civil war” (late 1950s?) (Kerin O’Keefe)
Died in 1968. (The Mystique of Barolo)
Eritrea: the first Italian settlers arrived in Eritrea in 1880. It was important as a coaling station for ships on the way to or from the Suez canal, and an Italian company had obtained the rights to area near the coastline. There was an Italian colony in Eritrea from 1889, the colonial administrators invested heavily in agricultural development. Mussolini merged Italian Eritrea with Italian Somaliland and also Ethiopia in the 1930s. The Italian population living in Eritrea grew to 75,000. It was the industrial center of Italian East Africa. The British took over the administration of Eritrea in 1941-1950 (Mussolini had had his troops attack British Somaliland in 1940). Eritrea was federated with Ethiopia in 1950. Struggles for Eritrean independence from Ethiopia began in 1958, with armed resistance from 1962. The Eritrean War for Independence went on until 1991.
Teobaldo Cappellano, the son of Francesco Augusto Cappellano:
Runs winery from 1970-2008.
Born in July, 1944 in Eritrea in eastern Africa. (Ken Vastola, L’Espresso)
Grew up in Eritrea.
Trained in medicine. (Alan Tardi)
Made wine in Tunisia. (The Mystique of Barolo)
Went to Italy in 1969. (The Mystique of Barolo)
Sold the old winery facility. (Winestories)
First vintage making Barolo was 1970. Teobaldo was 26 at the time. (The Mystique of Barolo)
Used some barrique from 1989, then later abandoned barrique. (The Mystique of Barolo, published 2002)
“In the beginning, Teobaldo purchased grapes and vinified in different cellarsuntil he was able to buy his own cellars and house” (Kerin O’Keefe)
Reintroduced Barolo Chinato. (The Mystique of Barolo)
President of the Enoteca Regionale del Barolo from 1986-1996.
President of the Vini Veri group.
Said “Io evolvo indietro" : "I evolve back"
Died on Feb. 21, 2009
Augusto Cappellano, son of Teobaldo:
Runs the winery from 2008/9.
Studied chemical engineering.
Started spending more time in the vineyard in 2003 after finishing school. (Winestories)
Helped with the 2008 vintage while his father was ill
Has been renovating the cellar space in Serralunga (across from Fontanafredda).
“Ogni generazione, me compreso, ha compiuto una piccola rivoluzione rispetto alle altre.”: “Every generation, including myself, has made a small revolution from the other.” Augusto Cappellano (ViniVeri)
Cappellano Vineyard holdings:
Cappellano today owns 6ha and 4.5ha of that is planted to vineyards between Gabutti and Novello. (Via del Vino, Eric Guido)
The Novello holding is used for the Nebiolo d’Alba. (Rosenthal)
The Novello parcel is less than one hectare. (Wine is Terroir)
Gabutti Vineyard-
Had been buying grapes from Gabutti since 1976. (Wasserman)
Purchased their parcel from Otin Fiorin around 1985. (Ken Vastola) Kerin O’Keefe writes that there were two separate purchases of Gabutti parcels from Otin Fiorin, years apart, in the late 1980s.
Pie Rupestris: 3 different types of Nebbiolo (Lampia, Michet, Rosé), planted in 1946 and in 1954, on grafted rootstock. Less than 9,000 bottles made each year. (Via del Vino, Ken Vastola)
Pie Franco: Own rooted Michet planted in 1989. The cuttings were massale selection of Cappellano’s own Gabutti vines. (Kerin O’Keefe) Planted after an earthquake caused a landslide in a part of the vineyard. (Via del Vino, Eric Guido) About 1,500 bottles or fewer are made each year. (Rare Wine Co.) About 3 meters from the Pie Rupestris parcel. (Via del Vino) First release of Pie Franco Barolo was 1994. (Ken Vastola)
Plant density is 3-4,000 vines/ha. on modified Guyot training (Via del Vino)
Does not hedge the vineyard rows. (Alessandro Franceschini)
“the ungrafted plants are sparser, with fewer grape bunches, when compared to the lush vegetation of the grafted vines” (Kerin O’Keefe)
The entire Gabutti cru is 14.24ha in size and 79% of it is planted to vines. Other producers of Gabutti include Franco Boasso (top portion of Gabutti) and Giovanni Sordo (eastern portion of Gabutti). Gabutti is 240-350 meters above sea level, and ranges from southwest, through true south, to southwest exposures. 86% of the vines are planted to Nebbiolo (Masnaghetti) The Cappellano parcel is 250-300 meters above sea level. (Wasserman)
The soil breakdown of the Cappellano parcel is calcareous marl composed of 61-65% silt, 22% clay, 11-16% sand. (Kerin O’Keefe)
You can see a video of Teobaldo Cappellano in the Gabutti vineyard here:
Current Winemaking practice:
Fermentation mostly in lined cement and then also stainless.
Current winery facility since the mid-1970s. (dbp)
Native yeasts. They don’t use a pied de cuve. (Via del Vino)
Fermentiation of 14 to 21 days. (Rare Wine Co.)
No temperature control during ferment. (Via del Vino)
Does not induce malo. (ViniVeri)
Aging in botti for 3 years to 4 years. (Rare Wine Co., Kerin O’Keefe)
Garbellotto cooperage, and now some Stockinger cooperage. (dbp)
Mix of Slavonian oak, chestnut, and acacia. (Via del Vino)
Assemblage in wood. (dbp)
Not filtered prior to bottling. (Rosenthal)
Low doses of sulphur. (Eric Guido)
Typically released a year after most producers of Barolo. (Kerin O’Keefe)
The winemaking of Pie Rupestris and Pie Franco is identical. (Kerin O’Keefe)
Production of 20,000 bottles a year or less. 9,600 or less of those bottles are Barolo. (Rare Wine Co.)
Didn’t release a 2002 Barolo or a 1972 Barolo. (Ken Vastola)
Earlier vineyard sources: Gabutti, Baudana, Carpegna, Parafada. (Ken Vastola) A Wine Atlas of the Langhe indicates that Giuseppe Cappellano also sourced from Briccolina in Serralunga.
Wasserman states that Teobaldo Cappellano purchased grapes from Parafada as well, and did a cru bottling from Parafada. (Wasserman’s book was published 1985, 1991). Wasserman states that Cappellano made a Barolo from Carpegna fruit (a Serralunga cru) that was purchased from Giovanni Zunino and which didn’t have the cru name on the label.
At one time Cappellano produced Arneis, Favorita, and Barbaresco. (Wasserman)
Troglia bottlings from 1954-1979. (Ken Vastola)
Super Barolo made in 1935, 1947, + other vintages? Super Barolo = “a superior selection of grapes/exposition” -Augusto Cappellano
Barolo Chinato:
Herbs in alcohol for 1 month. (dbp)
Aged for six months in wood. (Wine & Spirits)
May make a risverva with longer wood aging in the future (Wine & Spirits)
Looks for a Barolo base with “big body”; the Pie Franco Barolo is never used for the Chinato (Augusto Cappellano)
At one time there was a Moscato Chinato produced by Cappellano, as well as a Fernet. (Augusto Cappellano)
As Augusto Cappellano said: “Every generation, including myself, has made a small revolution from the other."
Filippo Cappellano, father of Giovanni and Giuseppe:
Runs winery from 1870-1886.
A notary.
Founded the winery at age 48. (Cappellano website)
Had 180 giornate of vineyards in Serralunga, or 60 hectares. (Ken Vastola)
He was selling wine in bottle. (Kerin O’Keefe)
Died in 1886. (Via del Vino, Ken Vastola)
Giovanni Cappellano, brother of Giuseppe and the elder son of Filippo:
Runs winery from 1886-1912.
Took over the winery when Filippo died. Giovanni was 19 at that time. (Via del Vino)
Restructured the cellars in Alba. Then moved the cellars to Serralunga. (A Wine Atlas of the Langhe, Kerin O’Keefe)
Opened hotels in Alba and Serralunga. (Ken Vastola and various other sources)
Won a bronze medal for the wine in 1889 in Paris.
Went to Tunisia in 1912 to look for drought resistant rootstock. Died shortly after returning to Italy in the same year. (The Mystique of Barolo, Via del Vino)
From September, 1911 through October, 1912, the Italo-Turkish War was being fought in what is now coastal Libya, which neighbors Tunisia. That war entered a stalemate in December, 1911. “Turkish officers and men, weapons, ammunition, and all kinds of supplies were constantly sent across the Egyptian and Tunisian frontiers, notwithstanding their neutrality.” And there was a naval blockade, with the Italian navy having a clear advantage over the Turks in the size of their fleet at the time. “In January 1912, the Italian cruiser Piemonte, with the Soldato class destroyers Artigliere and Garibaldino, sank seven Turkish gunboats (Ayintab, Bafra, Gökcedag, Kastamonu, Muha, Ordu and Refahiye) and a yacht (Sipka) in the Battle of Kunfuda Bay Although Italy could extend its control to almost all of the 2,000 km of the Libyan coast between April and early August 1912, its ground forces could not venture beyond the protection of the navy's guns and were thus limited to a thin coastal strip.”
Giuseppe Cappellano, brother of Giovanni, son of Filippo:
Runs winery from 1912-1955.
Studied pharmacology. Was enrolled in a pharmacy course in the school year 1890/1891.
Took over the winery after his brother died. Closed the pharmacy at this time.
Purchased additional vineyards. Also bought in large quantities of grapes. (Kerin O’Keefe, A Wine Atlas of the Langhe)
Vinified wine for the Gancia wine company, including Mirafiore at that time. (Via del Vino, A Wine Atlas of the Langhe)
Invented the Barolo Chinato in the late 1800s while working in Turin. (Winestories, A Wine Atlas of the Langhe). Augusto has seen Barolo Chinato from Giuseppe dated 1890 (before the 1960’s it was common for Barolo Chinato to carry a vintage label, a practice the Consorzio put an end to in the 60s).
The Gancia company also made Barolo Chinato.
Died in 1955. (A Wine Atlas of the Langhe)
His only child had died of Spanish flu (the square in Serralunga is dedicated to her. Family property divided between nieces and nephews, and some family members sell their share of the land. (Kerin O’Keefe)
“made Barolo full time until 1958 when three nephews took over the business” (The Mystique of Barolo)
Francesco Augusto Cappellano, son of Giovanni (Francesco had two brothers):
Was a nephew of Giuseppe Cappellano.
Fought in the Italian Army. (Via del Vino)
Was a horse breeder. (Winestories)
Made wine in Eritrea. (Winestories)
“left Eritrea shortly before the country plunged into civil war” (late 1950s?) (Kerin O’Keefe)
Died in 1968. (The Mystique of Barolo)
Eritrea: the first Italian settlers arrived in Eritrea in 1880. It was important as a coaling station for ships on the way to or from the Suez canal, and an Italian company had obtained the rights to area near the coastline. There was an Italian colony in Eritrea from 1889, the colonial administrators invested heavily in agricultural development. Mussolini merged Italian Eritrea with Italian Somaliland and also Ethiopia in the 1930s. The Italian population living in Eritrea grew to 75,000. It was the industrial center of Italian East Africa. The British took over the administration of Eritrea in 1941-1950 (Mussolini had had his troops attack British Somaliland in 1940). Eritrea was federated with Ethiopia in 1950. Struggles for Eritrean independence from Ethiopia began in 1958, with armed resistance from 1962. The Eritrean War for Independence went on until 1991.
Teobaldo Cappellano, the son of Francesco Augusto Cappellano:
Runs winery from 1970-2008.
Born in July, 1944 in Eritrea in eastern Africa. (Ken Vastola, L’Espresso)
Grew up in Eritrea.
Trained in medicine. (Alan Tardi)
Made wine in Tunisia. (The Mystique of Barolo)
Went to Italy in 1969. (The Mystique of Barolo)
Sold the old winery facility. (Winestories)
First vintage making Barolo was 1970. Teobaldo was 26 at the time. (The Mystique of Barolo)
Used some barrique from 1989, then later abandoned barrique. (The Mystique of Barolo, published 2002)
“In the beginning, Teobaldo purchased grapes and vinified in different cellarsuntil he was able to buy his own cellars and house” (Kerin O’Keefe)
Reintroduced Barolo Chinato. (The Mystique of Barolo)
President of the Enoteca Regionale del Barolo from 1986-1996.
President of the Vini Veri group.
Said “Io evolvo indietro" : "I evolve back"
Died on Feb. 21, 2009
Augusto Cappellano, son of Teobaldo:
Runs the winery from 2008/9.
Studied chemical engineering.
Started spending more time in the vineyard in 2003 after finishing school. (Winestories)
Helped with the 2008 vintage while his father was ill
Has been renovating the cellar space in Serralunga (across from Fontanafredda).
“Ogni generazione, me compreso, ha compiuto una piccola rivoluzione rispetto alle altre.”: “Every generation, including myself, has made a small revolution from the other.” Augusto Cappellano (ViniVeri)
Cappellano Vineyard holdings:
Cappellano today owns 6ha and 4.5ha of that is planted to vineyards between Gabutti and Novello. (Via del Vino, Eric Guido)
The Novello holding is used for the Nebiolo d’Alba. (Rosenthal)
The Novello parcel is less than one hectare. (Wine is Terroir)
Gabutti Vineyard-
Had been buying grapes from Gabutti since 1976. (Wasserman)
Purchased their parcel from Otin Fiorin around 1985. (Ken Vastola) Kerin O’Keefe writes that there were two separate purchases of Gabutti parcels from Otin Fiorin, years apart, in the late 1980s.
Pie Rupestris: 3 different types of Nebbiolo (Lampia, Michet, Rosé), planted in 1946 and in 1954, on grafted rootstock. Less than 9,000 bottles made each year. (Via del Vino, Ken Vastola)
Pie Franco: Own rooted Michet planted in 1989. The cuttings were massale selection of Cappellano’s own Gabutti vines. (Kerin O’Keefe) Planted after an earthquake caused a landslide in a part of the vineyard. (Via del Vino, Eric Guido) About 1,500 bottles or fewer are made each year. (Rare Wine Co.) About 3 meters from the Pie Rupestris parcel. (Via del Vino) First release of Pie Franco Barolo was 1994. (Ken Vastola)
Plant density is 3-4,000 vines/ha. on modified Guyot training (Via del Vino)
Does not hedge the vineyard rows. (Alessandro Franceschini)
“the ungrafted plants are sparser, with fewer grape bunches, when compared to the lush vegetation of the grafted vines” (Kerin O’Keefe)
The entire Gabutti cru is 14.24ha in size and 79% of it is planted to vines. Other producers of Gabutti include Franco Boasso (top portion of Gabutti) and Giovanni Sordo (eastern portion of Gabutti). Gabutti is 240-350 meters above sea level, and ranges from southwest, through true south, to southwest exposures. 86% of the vines are planted to Nebbiolo (Masnaghetti) The Cappellano parcel is 250-300 meters above sea level. (Wasserman)
The soil breakdown of the Cappellano parcel is calcareous marl composed of 61-65% silt, 22% clay, 11-16% sand. (Kerin O’Keefe)
You can see a video of Teobaldo Cappellano in the Gabutti vineyard here:
Current Winemaking practice:
Fermentation mostly in lined cement and then also stainless.
Current winery facility since the mid-1970s. (dbp)
Native yeasts. They don’t use a pied de cuve. (Via del Vino)
Fermentiation of 14 to 21 days. (Rare Wine Co.)
No temperature control during ferment. (Via del Vino)
Does not induce malo. (ViniVeri)
Aging in botti for 3 years to 4 years. (Rare Wine Co., Kerin O’Keefe)
Garbellotto cooperage, and now some Stockinger cooperage. (dbp)
Mix of Slavonian oak, chestnut, and acacia. (Via del Vino)
Assemblage in wood. (dbp)
Not filtered prior to bottling. (Rosenthal)
Low doses of sulphur. (Eric Guido)
Typically released a year after most producers of Barolo. (Kerin O’Keefe)
The winemaking of Pie Rupestris and Pie Franco is identical. (Kerin O’Keefe)
Production of 20,000 bottles a year or less. 9,600 or less of those bottles are Barolo. (Rare Wine Co.)
Didn’t release a 2002 Barolo or a 1972 Barolo. (Ken Vastola)
Earlier vineyard sources: Gabutti, Baudana, Carpegna, Parafada. (Ken Vastola) A Wine Atlas of the Langhe indicates that Giuseppe Cappellano also sourced from Briccolina in Serralunga.
Wasserman states that Teobaldo Cappellano purchased grapes from Parafada as well, and did a cru bottling from Parafada. (Wasserman’s book was published 1985, 1991). Wasserman states that Cappellano made a Barolo from Carpegna fruit (a Serralunga cru) that was purchased from Giovanni Zunino and which didn’t have the cru name on the label.
At one time Cappellano produced Arneis, Favorita, and Barbaresco. (Wasserman)
Troglia bottlings from 1954-1979. (Ken Vastola)
Super Barolo made in 1935, 1947, + other vintages? Super Barolo = “a superior selection of grapes/exposition” -Augusto Cappellano
Barolo Chinato:
Herbs in alcohol for 1 month. (dbp)
Aged for six months in wood. (Wine & Spirits)
May make a risverva with longer wood aging in the future (Wine & Spirits)
Looks for a Barolo base with “big body”; the Pie Franco Barolo is never used for the Chinato (Augusto Cappellano)
At one time there was a Moscato Chinato produced by Cappellano, as well as a Fernet. (Augusto Cappellano)
