Farsons Beverage Imports Company (FBIC) Limited recently acquired the exclusive rights to import and distribute some of the most sought-after wine producers from the Piedmont region in northern Italy - Elio Altare, Luciano Sandrone and Poderi Aldo Conterno. These producers will join the other big names from Piedmont in FBIC’s portfolio – Fontanafredda, Borgogno and Casa E. di Mirafiore.

Elio Altare is universally acknowledged to be one of the world's greatest winemakers. Altare was a leader of the revolution in cellar and vineyard technique in the Barolo zone. Among his many now-commonplace innovations were the use of rotary fermenters, a short maceration period, and the use of small barriques for aging. The resulting wines, from Dolcetto to Barbera to Barolo, are often considered to be the ultimate expressions of the soft, fragrant and lush qualities characteristic of the commune of La Morra. Altare wants no more than 1.5 kilos of grapes per vine and there are merely 5500 vines per hectare. This is the real key that Altare maintains plus an organic approach to viticulture: "You can't make great wine without concentrated fruit."

Luciano Sandrone is one of the iconic producers in Barolo, and his is both a well-known and extraordinary story. He started to learn viticulture at the age of 14 or 15, and after years of work as a cellarman he depleted his life savings and purchased his first vineyard on the Cannubi hill in 1977, though he could only manage his land on the weekends while he continued to work. Sandrone’s wines are sometimes described as straddling the modern and traditional styles in the region: elegant, attractive and easy to appreciate right from their first years in bottle, but with no less power and structure than traditional Barolos. Along with the extremely low yields in the vineyard and an obsessive attention to training, pruning and harvesting, Sandrone has a very rational approach in the cellar. Sandrone subjects his wines to medium-length maceration period, shorter than traditional, but makes limited use of new oak in the maturation process. His entire range of wines, all limited in production, are jewels of impeccably balanced concentration and precision, and the ability to age for long periods of time.

Poderi Aldo Conterno belongs to an elite group of historical Barolo producers who have truly shaped the history of winemaking in the Langhe. Aldo created a top-class Barolo, sought the world over, while isolating the best parcels in the Bussia vineyard and bottling them under their respective names, Vigna Cicala, Vigna Romirasco and Vigna Colonello. The iconic Barolo Granbussia, a selection of these three vineyards, is made in outstanding years only and considered a collector's item in its own right.

FBIC proudly imports and distributes Elio Altare, Luciano Sandrone and Poderi Aldo Conterno wines locally. Available in selected restaurants, wine boutiques and Farsonsdirect in Mriehel (www.farsonsdirect.com). FBIC is a member of The Farsons Group.