WiMu Opens in Langhe - Wine & Spirits Magazine

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WiMu Opens in Langhe

by Alan Tardi • April 26, 2011

About 150 years ago, French enologist Louis Odart lent a hand to Marquise Juliette Colbert-Falletti, a French woman who married into a noble family with substantial holdings in the Langhe and an imposing castle that became known as the birthplace of Barolo. After the marquise’s death, the dynasty fizzled out and the majestic palazzo fell into disrepair. But now, after a radical renovation by Swiss architect François Confino, it’s home to WiMu, a multifaceted museum dedicated to wine. “When I accepted this project,” says Confino, “I insisted on opening the concept up to wine in general, not just Barolo.” The tour begins on the third floor with the most basic elements of time, earth, soil, seasons and man; moves to the second floor for the history of wine and its role in human civilization; and concludes on the piano nobile, dedicated to the Falletti castle, the town of Barolo and its namesake wine. While some might find the fanciful lights, sounds, projected images and movement a bit flashy, there are valuable insights for wine geeks and amateurs alike.

Wine Museum, Castello Comunale Falletti di Barolo; (39) 0173 386697, wimubarolo.it

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David Paradela
Associate Editor

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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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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After graduating with a degree in journalism from the Universidad de Chile in Santiago, Patricio Tapia attended Bordeaux University in France, where he studied for a diploma in wine tasting and winemaking. Since then, he has visited wine regions around the world and authored several books, including his annual Descorchados, a Chilean wine guide; The Wines of Colchagua Valley; TodoVino and Wines for Great Occasions. Tapia is also the South American correspondent for The Oxford Companion to Wine, The World Atlas of Wine and Oz Clarke’s Pocket Wine Book. For the past three years, he’s been a host on the El Gourmet channel in South America. At Wine & Spirits, Tapia is the critic for the wines of Argentina, Chile and Spain, and regularly contributes articles on these regions.