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The Commander
Emilio Pietro Abbona
The “commander” Emilio Pietro Abbona was born in Barolo in the 1877. He was the third of nine brothers and sisters and since his childhood he worked for his father company, named “Cavalier Felice Abbona & Figli”.
Thanks to his abilities and to the fate of having “his own vineyards located on the Cannubi hills and on other main hills of Barolo” (as it is written in a document dated back to the 1914), his father company gained a great number of European honours even before possessing the marquis cellars: the gold medal during the World Wide Exposition of Wien 1873, Turin 1884, Paris 1901 and Brussels 1910.
It was in the beginning of the ’30 that the Barolo wine of the Abbona family, under the label of “Società Anonima Vini Classici del Piemonte” – and with the addiction of that “già Opera Pia” statement that gave to the cellar an aristocratic reputation – achieved the international prestige. Some evidences can be found in the past: some order letters of those times coming from the “Legazione d’Italia of Helsinki and Bagdad” expressed the desire to substitute “the already known French wines” with this Italian Barolo; or the English company “Williams Standbring”, based in London, that, in the 1934, was incredibly interested in finding the quotation of that enthusiastic Barolo served on the ship “Rex” that had two castles on its label.
Pietro Emilio Abbona was an aware man and a genuine farmer. He was helped in the company by his sisters Marina and Celestina. The latter was an “ante litteram” public relation expert as well as a prudent book-keeping, as it is testified by the numerous scribbles of prices written on the order letters and adjusted two or three times.
In the 1949 Paolo Minelli was a notable guest of the cellar and in his publication on “La nuova stampa” of the 29th April, he compared the job of the enologist to the one of an artist (he even talked about Morandi). Moreover, the already 76 years old commander Abbona was seen by Ernesto Caballo (Gazzetta Sera, 1954) during his trip organized to discover the Langhe specialties: “… a self-taught of his own art, who does not need tastings, consultations to judge the qualities of a wine; he just needs to get a whiff of the aroma and observe the color”.
Besides all the medals, honours, and articles, it is noteworthy the friendly letter sent in the 1962 by the king of the Italian chef, Luigi Carnacina, to the “dear” commander: “the charming Barolo 1953 had my praise as invincible wine!”. Carnacina also added: “I wrote an article about food and wine, that will be published by the “Accademia della Cucina Italiana”, and I described this charming wine of the “Marchesi di Barolo” as the best Italian wine! I tell the truth”.
Emilio Pietro Abbona died in the 1966. Celestina reached her brother three years later. Both unmarried, they did not have any distractions to divert them from their mission.
Taken by: “Atlante delle Vigne di Langa – I grandi Cru del Barolo e Barbaresco”. Slow Food editore. Settembre 2000. |
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