Barolo MGA Vol. I, 3rd Edition - Wine & Spirits Magazine

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Barolo MGA Vol. I, 3rd Edition

by Stephanie Johnson • December 7, 2023

Map courtesy of Alessandro Masnaghetti

Many publications have gone digital, but there are still some books you need to hold in your hands and browse through frequently, marking up the pages and discovering something new each time you open them. Alessandro Masnaghetti’s Barolo MGA Vol. I is one such book. It became required reading for every serious wine student and Barolo lover the instant the first edition came out in 2018. If you own a copy of the first or second edition, you might think you’ve got Barolo covered—but you’d be missing out. The third edition is not just a revision, it’s a complete overhaul, with 84 more pages than the last edition and coverage of 42 new small producers. The MGA maps are more precise and colorful, and now all oriented with North towards the top of the page. Previous editions included two sets of MGA maps, one section with elevations and expositions, and a second black and white set showing the plots of each producer. In a major improvement, Masnaghetti has integrated the two sets of maps, so that you can find all the information about each MGA in one place, and in full color. Coverage of commune-specific wines has been expanded, with new maps showing the varietal distributions of each commune, and you’ll find far more detail on the vigne. There’s also an expanded vintage chart going back to1967 and an in-depth study of the first vintage produced for all MGAs. Barolo MGA Vol. I, 3rd Edition demands a place on your bookshelf.

Barolo MGA Vol. 1, 3rd Edition, By Alessandro Masnaghetti and Paolo De Cristofaro (2023), $95 plus shipping, available through Rare Wine Co.: www.rarewineco.com/offers/masnaghetti-barolo-mga-vol-i-3rd-ed-web-campaign

Stephanie Johnson

is the Italian wine editor at Wine & Spirits magazine.

This story appears in the print issue of Winter 2023.
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David joined Wine & Spirits in 2021 after immersing himself in the world of wine at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally from Boston, he graduated from Boston University with a degree in English and completed a master’s degree in Publishing and Writing from Emerson College in 2021. Prior to working at the magazine, he served as an editor and staff writer for the music blog Sound of Boston and worked in scientific publishing. Aside from wine, he loves basketball, arguing about Taylor Swift’s best album, and everything Greta Gerwig touches.

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Tastings Editor

Corey Warren moved to New York in 2015—fifteen years too late to join The Strokes—after earning a degree at Cornell in Comparative Literature. He started polishing glasses at Betony and threw himself into the restaurant world. Later, while a captain at Aquavit, he began working part time in the Wine & Spirits tasting department. Now, in addition to running tastings, he serves as critic for the wines of the Loire, Southern France, Argentina and South Africa. Corey likes almost anything bubbly, from Miller High Life, the Champagne of beers, to Champagne, the Champagne of Champagne, but he’ll drink anything once, and loves finding unique wines.

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