Jolly Boys Outing

by Garry Clark

One of the perks of this job is the occasional “Educational Visit” aka the Jolly. Its an opportunity to get out into the country, to see the source of the product – be it wine, cognac, spirit etc, quite often getting the chance to hear direct from the horses mouth how the product is made. Over the years I have been exceptionally fortunate to have visited many wonderful wineries and had some very memorable moments. I recently returned from one such “Jolly” to Piedmont recently, courtesy of Enotria. For me it was a godsend, Italy has long been my main Achilles heel wine-wise, and this was a chance to get out there and start to make some sense of one part of a complex country. We visited four estates – Ascheri, E Pira, Conterno Fantino and Fontannafredda. They each opened their cellars to us, giving us a guided tour, talking with passion about their wines and the personal philosophies behind them. Each was quite different and gave us a different experience, as well as showing us amazing hospitality and generosity. I left Italy with one small part of the country a little bit clearer in my head, and a renewed enthusiasm to learn more about the country. I have some wonderful memories of the visit and now face the difficulty of trying to find a way to list as many of the wonderful wines we experienced as I possibly can.