As we are getting to the end of our amazing trip through Northern Italy with Nadia Galati of Alberello Wines, one of our last and most interesting stops is to Fabbrica Botti Gamba. This is one of Italy’s oldest and finest producers of wine barrels, a cooperage, as they are known in the States. This was not a scheduled stop: it was a visit that came about as we were speaking to one of the winemakers we met. Gamba has been in business for many generations and we were treated to this tour by the latest generation of this family business, Mauro Gamba.

This was the first opportunity I've had to walk through a barrel making facility and what a fantastic
experience it turned out to be. We were taken through all the steps taken to turn raw planks of aged wood and painstakingly transform them into world class wine barrels, that help to age some of the finest wines in the world.

This facility makes the common fifty-nine gallon, oak wine barrels you can see on display in your local wine shop or retailer. They also make some of the larger, traditional barrigues of all shapes and sizes. The energy level of the Gamba operation was intense, with everyone moving about with the precision of a Swiss watch. As we walked around, with all the lathes, large sanders and flaming machines it is easy to see how one misstep could lead to a very bad day at the office.

Next time you are looking through one of the many wine magazines on your local bookstore shelf, look closely at the barrels in the pictures and you are sure to come across a picture of a Gamba barrel…

 Ken Amendola, North Florida Wine Supervisor

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