Giacomo Oddero, 1926-2025
Michele Boscia
Giacomo Oddero, the patriarch of the branch of the Oddero family that owns and runs Podere e Cantine Oddero, recently passed away. We would like to extend our sympathy to his family for their loss.
Giacomo was an iconic figure in the town of Alba, and the region called the Langhe. He was not just a Barolo producer; he and his wife ran a pharmacy on the main street in Alba, a pharmacy that was mentioned in the famous Beppe Fenoglio book about the area, La Malora; he was vital to the development of the local aqueduct; and he created the Alba center for the study of the other famous local product, white truffles.
As a winemaker, Giacomo vigorously continued the winemaking tradition started in the nineteenth century by his Oddero forebears. He used a group of vineyards, several very well-known, near the winery to make his regular Barolo bottling, but also had the foresight to buy parcels of an extraordinary range of different high-quality single sites in other parts of the appellation (and in Barbaresco), including Vignarionda, Bussia, Brunate, and others. Giacomo participated in more than 80 harvests, the first of which used ox-carts to bring the grapes to the winery; he saw Barolo evolve from a locally known specialty to an internationally famous fine wine. What changes he must have seen in his long life! We are grateful to him for his lifetime of work, achievements and contributions to the winemaking world.
-Oliver McCrum