In the world of wine, the word "tradition" is often used as a mark of quality. But what does it really mean when we talk about serious producers in Europe's great classic regions – Barolo, Burgundy, Montalcino, Bordeaux, Champagne?
Nor does it mean blindly following old recipes.
For the best producers, tradition means something completely different:
It is experience distilled over generations, practices that have proven their worth time and time again because they produce the most honest, precise, and terroir-faithful wine.
But – and this is the point:
The best winemakers stand on the shoulders of their tradition, but they are not guided by it as a dogma.
They do not repeat the past just because it is the past.
They repeat what works – and adjust the rest with understanding, curiosity, and deep respect for the nature of the grape.
1. No two wines are ever the same – and therefore neither can the work be
In a region like Barolo, the difference between a cool vintage and a warm one can be dramatic.
3% more or less acidity can—and will—change an entire harvest.
The fermentation process can—and will—dictate everything from structure to aging potential.
When the raw material is never the same, it makes no sense to work based on "the way we usually do things."
The best producers know this.
Their work is not routine—it is constant reading:
- What do the grapes say this year?
- How does fermentation react?
- How ripe are the tannins – should we extract more or less?
- How do we manage the balance in a warm year when the fruit can become rich and abundant?
- How do we maintain vibrancy and nerve in a cooler vintage?
It's not mechanics.
It's presence.
It's alertness.
2. Tradition + curiosity = true craftsmanship
If the traditions of Chianti Classico, Champagne, Burgundy, and Barolo still exist today, it is because they have proven their relevance.
Not because someone has put them in a glass and frame.
Tradition is not a museum—it is a tool.
A compass.
It is the systematic experience on which new decisions are based:
- Why is Barolo stored in large botti rather than small barriques (unless you are Gaja in the 1970s)?
- Why is Sangiovese best in large barrels and long storage periods?
- Why does Champagne work with reserve wines and cuvée balance?
- Why is delicate extraction crucial in Burgundy?
Not because anyone "usually" does it.
But because decades—and in some places centuries—have shown that it produces the most beautiful, most authentic wine.
But:
The vintage determines.
The fruit determines.
And the terroir determines.
. It evolves quietly—because the best winemakers dare to ask questions, adjust, and refine.
3. Living work – and an example from Barolo
And here it finally makes sense to include one of the producers who practices this philosophy with great integrity: Virna Borgogno from Barolo.
When we visited her, she spoke about what she calls "lo sciocco" – the foolish, the unreasonable – namely, the idea of doing the same thing every year. She said:
“Oh well, I always put Cannubi there... I always do that.
It's silly – you'd do a bad job.”“If I just said, ‘Oh well, that’s how I usually do it,’ that would be stupid—you’d end up with a bad piece of work.”
This statement is not unique, but echoes throughout all the major districts:
Wine is changing – and so must the decisions made by winemakers.
Virna does not work against tradition.
She works within tradition – but she works in a lively, tasteful, observant way.
Just like Berrouet in Bordeaux, Biondi-Santi in Montalcino and many outstanding producers in Burgundy and Champagne.
In a few days, Virna's nephew Lorenzo Borgogno will be sharing Virna's approach to wine during Barolo Week 2025.
Read more about Barolo Week 2025 here
4. Why does this matter to you as a wine lover?
Because this approach—tradition as a foundation, curiosity as a driving force—produces wines that:
- reflects the vintage
- carries the identity of the terroir
- develops beautifully in the glass
- has balance, structure, and depth
- does not taste like "bottles in a row"
- but as experiences
That is why the 2016 Barolo does not taste like the 2017.
That is why a Brunello from Biondi-Santi can be crystal clear in one vintage and deeper, more earthy in another.
That is why you can recognize a producer – but never predict each year.
5. Conclusion – the true value of tradition
They work with tradition as a legacy that obliges them – and that only lives on because they continue to understand it, challenge it and use it wisely.
Tradition is their foundation.
Curiosity is their driving force.
And the nature of the grape is the voice they always listen to.
That is where the great wines are made.
And that is why we continue to fall for them.