Food

WINE WOMEN: LABORS OF LOVE

“Chiara Boschis,” by Elisabetta Vacchetto. Courtesy of Wine Families. Piemonte (Piedmont), Italy.

Image: by Elisabetta Vacchetto. Courtesy of Wine Families. “Chiara Boschis.” Piemonte (Piedmont), Italy.

LABOR OF LOVE

Exceptional wine is a labor of love. Oenophiles know that. You can taste it. The more you know about what goes into the winemaking process, the more you understand the skill and, yes, the love, that goes into it.

Image: Courtesy of Wine Families. “Labor of Love: Wine Family Women of Piemonte,” by Suzanne Hoffman.

“Labor of Love: Wine Family Women of Piemonte” is a beautiful new book, by Suzanne Hoffman, that tells the stories of 22 women winemakers and their families.

Woman holds mashed red grapes used in making wine in Italy.

Image: by Elisabetta Vacchetto. Courtesy of Wine Families. “Chiara Boschis.” Piemonte (Piedmont), Italy.

For many generations, in the Piemonte (aka Piedmont) region of Italy, women have played major role in producing some of the finest wines in the world.

Tuscan landscape, showing vineyard and village near the France border.

Image: by Robert Alexander. Courtesy of Wine Families. “Treiso with the Cottian Alps (Italy's western border with France) in the distance.” Piemonte (Piedmont), Italy.

Piemonte is one of the world's greatest viticultural regions. It borders France & Switzerland, surrounded on 3 sides by the Alps.

Harvesting grapes for wine-making in Piedmonte, Italy.

Image: by Paolo Bona. Courtesy of Wine Families. Piemonte (Piedmont), Italy.

Prestigious lush Barolos & Barbarescos are produced from Nebbiolo & Barbera grapes grown in the ancient vineyards planted on 170,000 acres of hillsides here.

Two women harvest wine grapes in Piemonte, Italy.

Image: by Elisabetta Vacchetto. Courtesy of Wine Families. “Mariavittoria & Mariacristina, the Oddero Sisters, of Poderi e Cantine Oddero.” Piemonte (Piedmont), Italy.

The women’s stories speak of their passion, their values and their artistry. They are part of a prized legacy of some of the greatest wine estates.

Monte Viso, on the western border of Piedmont, Italy, with vineyard in the foreground.

Image: by Pierangelo Vacchetto. Courtesy of Wine Families. “Monte Viso on the Western Border of Piedmont.” Piemonte (Piedmont), Italy.

Hoffman and her husband spent 16 years researching and experiencing these labors of love in Piemonte’s Langhe, Roero, and Monferrato hills. They spent over 200 hours interviewing multigenerational Piemonte wine families and poring through whatever documentation they could find.

Fog settles on the Tuscan hills of Piemonte, Italy, with Castello della Volta in shadow in the foreground.

Image: by Pierangelo Vacchetto. Courtesy of Wine Families. “Castello della Volta.” Piemonte (Piedmont), Italy.

Until Hoffman began to ask, many of the family stories had never been told outside of the families. Steeped in the centuries-old history that played out over many generations, we get a rich and colorful picture of life in these Piemontese vineyards.

Vineyard and village in Piemonte, Italy.

Image: Courtesy of Wine Families. “The Serraboella Vineyard.” Piemonte (Piedmont), Italy.

Some of the most dramatic behind-the-label tales recount the struggles through World War II, the German occupation, and the rocky politics of post-war Italy.

One of the endearing couples of Valais Vineyards, Antoinnette Maye, and her dearly departed husband Simon, in Piemonte (Piedmont), Italy.

Image: Courtesy of Wine Families. “One of the endearing couples of Valais Vineyards, Antoinnette Maye, and her dearly departed husband Simon.” Piemonte (Piedmont), Italy.

Many of the women Hoffman interviewed are quite old now. She was determined to publish “Labors of Love” quickly, while these women were still alive to see it. She raised funds via Kickstarter so she could self-publish sooner.

Wine grapes ready for harvest in Piedmont, Italy.

Image: Courtesy of Wine Families. “Harvesting in Piemonte.” Piemonte (Piedmont), Italy.

The book is lavishly illustrated, with over 200 captivating photographs gorgeous photos taken by photographers Pierangelo Vacchetto & Elisabetta Vacchetto. It also includes vintage photos and detailed geneologies gathered from extensive research.

Woman picks a large bunch of wine grapes during harvest in Piemonte, Italy.

Image: by Eugenio Vacchetto. Courtesy of Wine Families. “Maria Teresa Mascarello.” Piemonte (Piedmont), Italy.

Learn more about Suzanne Hoffman and the women-led wine families of Piemonte at Wine Families.

Magnums of Barbera. 2014 Harvest collection of wine,

Courtesy of Wine Families. “Magnums of Barbera. 2014 Harvest. Cascina delle Rose.” Piemonte (Piedmont), Italy.

Read more about Beautiful Labors all this week on BeautifulNow. And check out more beautiful things happening now in BN Wellness, Impact, Nature/Science, Food, Arts/Design, and Travel, Daily Fix posts.

Woman stands in front of grape vines, destined to become Tuscan wine, at a vineyard in Piemonte, Italy.

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Woman sits on wine barrels in wine cellar in vineyard in Piemonte, Italy.

Image: by Pierangelo Vacchetto. Courtesy of Wine Families. “Brigitta Correggia, daughter of Ornela Correggia and her late husband Matteo.” Piemonte (Piedmont), Italy.