As in Burgundy, the vineyards of the Langhe tell a tale of everchanging soils, minerals, slopes, exposure and ownership. But have you tried to find all this information on a map?

Until this past fall, it wasn’t possible. But now, thanks to the tireless work of Alessandro Masnaghetti, Nebbiolo lovers can learn things about Piedmont’s great vineyards that we could never have known before...simply because the information wasn’t available.

Stunning Detail. Masnaghetti, publisher of the respected Italian wine journal Enogea, has issued a series of breathtakingly detailed maps on each of the Langhe’s major viticultural areas. His goal, eventually, is to map the entire Langhe, and so far he has issued seven maps. Four are of the Barolo zone: Serralunga, Monforte d’Alba, Barolo and Castiglione Falletto. The other three are of the Barbaresco zone: Barbaresco, Neive and Treiso.

Each map is large in format (23 x 33 inches) printed both sides. On the front is a detailed color map of the entire commune, showing all the major slopes and recognized crus—the latter broken down into individual historic parcels. For the visitors, all roads are accurately indicated along with important landmarks like cascina buildings.

The back of the map is even more of a gold mine. Here we find detailed discussions of the styles of wine produced on the various slopes of the commune. But even more tantalizing, each cru is broken down by ownership—with extensive information on altitude, grape varieties, history, the superiority of various parcels and important bottlings. Finally, Masnaghetti provides Google Earth Coordinates, allowing us to view each site from space at earth.google.com.

A Gift for Nebbiolo Lovers. Masnaghetti’s maps are not only a breakthrough in the Langhe’s cartography, they are a godsend for Nebbiolo lovers. Any visitor to the Langhe knows that there are few posted signs to guide us through the vineyards. But with Masnaghetti’s new maps, any visitor can find their way, knowing not only the extent of a particular cru, but also who owns which part.

Masnaghetti continues the pioneering work of the late Renato Ratti who, in the 1960s and 1970s, drew the first truly comprehensive maps of Barolo. But as important as Ratti’s maps were, they were not particularly detailed, serving primarily to locate the crus. They didn’t pretend to explain why one section of a cru had better soil or exposure than another, nor did they take the all-important steps of breaking the crus down into parcels and showing ownership. And the scale of the maps made them of little use to the serious visitor to the vineyards.

In 2000, Slow Foods’ wonderful Wine Atlas of the Langhe expanded on Ratti’s work by revealing more about altitudes, slopes, exposures, roads and landmarks, but the Atlas’ maps lack detail and again stop short of showing ownership. It was left to Masnaghetti to give us the maps of which we’ve long dreamed.

We Have Them! Individual maps are just $9.95 (which is less than they sell for in Italy). However, we reward purchasers of four or more maps with a per-copy price of just $8.50.

I Cru di Enogea Maps — Langhe

Barolo Zone Monforte d’Alba Serralunga Castiglione Falletto Barolo La Morra  click to view Verduno  click to view

Barbaresco Zone Barbaresco Neive Treiso

$9.95 each ($8.50 for four or more)

—> Buy Masnaghetti’s maps

Updates to the Crus. From time to time, Alessandro Masnaghetti releases updates to his maps, reflecting changes in vineyard ownership, producers working in each crew, and, of course, occasional oversights. Please follow the links below to view these updates.

Neive – Gallina  (October 28, 2010)

Roddi – Bricco Ambrogio  (September 27, 2010)

Barolo – Panerole  (February 26, 2010)

Barolo – Fossati  (January 23, 2010)

800.999.4342

On the front of each map is a color view of the entire appellation and its crus. On the back are descriptions and maps of the individual crus. As an example, above left is the front of the Monforte d'Alba map; above right is an example of an important Monforte cru, Bussia Soprana. (click each image for larger view)

Here's the Serralunga map. At left is the color map of the entire appellation and its crus. At right is an example of one of the Serralunga crus, Prapo. (click each image for larger view)