Full Belly Files | Bolivia. Burger Week. Bettina & Barolo. Bibi Ji Buy-In
- Virna
- May 1
- 3 min read
By Matt Kettmann - Santa Barbara Independent - Wed Mar 12, 2025
Barolo @ Bettina
My schedule is usually too jammed to commit to last minute lunch invites, but when Jenna Allensworth of Renegade Wines emailed me on Sunday about coming to Bettina on Monday to meet an Italian winemaker and taste a bunch of Barolos, it sounded like a great way to start my first week back in town.
She was hosting Lorenzo Serafino, who hails from a famous family in Barolo dating back to 1720 that today runs Azienda Virna di Borgogno. He’s the latest generation to be involved in the winery; his mom, Ivana, handles much of the business, while his aunt Virna, the winery’s namesake, oversees the winemaking. She’s rather famous, having been one of the first women to graduate from enology school in Italy, back in 1988.
Lorenzo went to the same school in Alba, and is today involved in the winemaking more than the sales, although this was effectively a sales sort of visit. “I work more in production,” he said. “But I understand English, so I’m here.”
Though he’s spent time in New York City, Texas, and Florida, this was his first time in California. He started in San Francisco, flew on a small plane through very bumpy, wind-whipped skies into Santa Barbara on Sunday night, and finished this week with a train trip to Los Angeles. (He seemed relieved not to take a small plane again.) He was surprised to be liking California so much, because the people he’d met in Texas and Florida had told him it was a bad place. He seemed to have the opposite impression, preferring California’s culture to the strip mall sameness of those other states.
Over Bettina’s whipped ricotta and mortadella (epiphany-level snacking, FYI), two salads, and three pizzas — Lorenzo nodded in approval over them all, though did not like the ranch dressing that Satellite S.B.’s Drew Cuddy made him try — we tasted seven of his wines. We started, and finished actually, on the white: a timorasso, which is a classic Piedmont white, recalling flavors of dried apple and sea salt.
Then came the reds, starting with the dolcetto. “This is an everyday wine for all occasions,” said Lorenzo. “We call it a breakfast wine.”
The barbera was next, which Lorenzo suggested serving with carbs and tomato sauce dishes. “The acidity of the tomato matches the acidity of the barbera,” he said.
The Langhe Nebbiolo was of the 2022 vintage, but Lorenzo was proud to explain that he had full control of this wine for 2023. Like younger vintners in California, he is opting for shorter macerations, less heat in the ferments, and other techniques that preserve freshness. I’m excited to see what he does.
The trio of Barolos were next. All made from nebbiolo and aged for an extended time in wood, as tradition demands, they each proved remarkably distinct.
The 2019 “Noi” bottling, which means “us” in Italian, is an easier drinking ode to family. “We use the same combination of vineyards that my grandfather used to combine in the 1950s and ‘60s,” said Lorenzo. The point, he said, “is to make a nebbiolo that’s very smooth, for every type of mouth.”
The 2018 Cannubi hails from the most important hill in Barolo, not far from where Lorenzo lives beneath the famous castle. “It’s located perfectly in the middle of the area,” said Lorenzo, noting that the original name of the Barolo village was Cannubi.
The 2018 Sarmassa is another single vineyard expression. It’s treated the exact same in the vineyard and cellar, and grows only 300 meters away. But it’s totally different, more leathery, tobacco-laden, and savory. “The only difference is the soil, which is clay,” said Lorenzo, compared to the sandy white soils of Cannubi. “The Sarmassa is more powerful. It’s not fruity at all.”
You can find some of the Virna di Borgogno wines at Renegade Wines. Because of the lunch, I wouldn’t be surprised if you can soon find them at Satellite S.B. or the Montecito Village Grocery as well.
There’s more info Virna di Borgongo via this Shiverick Imports description, and you can learn about the winery’s dedication to sustainable practices, as well as other producers in the Piedmont region, by visiting thegreenexperience.it.
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