Truly, it’s an app, appy world today… Here's a superb set of maps of La Morra in the Barolo zone – much more specific than the wine magazine I described here last week. JR
Good news for iPad or tablet owners: Alessandro Masnaghetti, the man busy mapping Italy’s wine regions literally by foot as described here, has developed the first interactive version of his La Morra map. I already considered it nothing less than a miracle to have La Morra in such enormous detail (size, exposure, altitude, soil composition, ownership, to name a few details) on paper. However, it seems that Masnaghetti felt sorry for us, having to turn the map over to look up these details on the back and flip back again.
These arduous times are now over with the La Morra app, which, at a touch, reveals not only the vineyard’s name and a detailed description, but also altitude, exposure of every aspect of that particular vineyard or hill, grape varieties cultivated, complete list of ownership, and all the labels produced from that particular plot of land. There is more detail to be had, but it becomes almost dull to list all the information that Masnaghetti has painstakingly collected and made available to wine lovers. What I find so marvellous is the fact that by just clicking on the vineyard patches you get all the relevant information and which wines under which labels by which producer come from there. An added extra compared with the paper version, however, is that the app includes photos of the most important crus, allowing for an immediate insight into the area as never before. Brunate is shown above, Conca below.
The app can be had from the iTunes app store for a relatively modest £5.49. For anyone (like myself) not au fait with iPads or not in the possession of one, Masnaghetti apparently never even thought of a version for PC or Mac, but I have already started lobbying on your and my behalf. In the meantime, I have been told that Masnaghetti’s next app, for the vineyards of Verduno, will be available very soon.
