Located in the heart of the Valtellina region in the village of Castione Andevenno, on the western end of the Sassella zone historically known as ‘Grisoni’ behind the family cantina, Alfio Mozzi is the third generation contadino to work his family’s schist terraces, along with his nephew Alessandro. Nonno Domenico was already making wine from 1.5ha of vines during the 1940s & ’50s, selling it in bulk to the local cooperative, Enologica Valtellina in Sondrio, & they in turn to the neighbouring Swiss market. Alfio’s father Ezio (nato ’35) tended the vines at the weekend, along with his wife Bambina, but earned a living from transporting feed in the valley; he now helps his son in the vineyards, aided by their dog ‘Giubi’.
Born in 1972, Alfio grew up among the vines, although he became a ‘fabbro’ (ironmonger) first for ten years, before returning to the family estate in 1998. In 2009 he made the step-change from fruit grower to bottler, restoring the family’s old cantina. In 2010, he was joined by Alessandro, a passionate agronomist who studied at the Agraria Institute of Sondrio. The estate now stands at 3.5ha of Chiavennasca (Nebbiolo), all within the prized Sassella zone/vineyard, on friable, rocky, free-draining schist terraces at between 350 – 550m asl, facing SE for the Valtellina Superiore plots of ‘Ronchi’ & ‘Uratori’, & SW for the old vineyard of Mossino at 550m asl. They also grow some Rossola in the highest (550m asl) vineyard of Mossino. Some of their vines are 100 years old, especially in Mossino, while new plantings use a variety of Chiavennasca clones, such as CR34, 269, 275, 274.
They are in the process of converting to certified organic. Since 2010 Alfio & Alessandro have stopped applying fertiliser or calc to their terraced vineyards. And since 2012 they stopped using herbicides. Indeed, as a result Alfio has noticed three benefits: bunches have become looser & smaller; the grapes now have a distinctly richer bloom; & the fermenting wine throws less ‘fecce’, i.e. is cleaner.
In 2019 Alfio added a new vinification room to the family cantina, along with a new destemmer & pneumatic press. Spontaneous fermentation takes place in stainless-steel & fibre-glass, with pumping over of the Chiavennasca must taking place over c.20 days using spontaneous yeast. Unforced malolactic takes place in the spring following the harvest, in Garbellotto (French light toast) 32HL & 22HL botti grande that the family have been buying since 2010. Affinamento in botte is for c.20 mths for the Valtellina Superiore & c.32 mths for the Riserva. The wines are bottled with c.60mg of total sulphur. Production is limited at c.8k bottles of Valtellina Superiore & 2.5k bottles of VS Riserva
They produce three wines: Sassella Valtellina Superiore; Sassella Valtellina Superiore Riserva (in good years); & Sforzato di Valtellina (a partial passito wine).
The labels show the Opuntia Fico d’India, a wild variety that thrives among their schist rocky terraces.
Alfio is supported by his wife Monia, & children Sofia & Matteo.
There have been Castaldi’s in the Alto Piemonte town of Briona, close to Novara, since the 1700s. Originally their surname would have been ‘Castellano’ as they served in the 12th century Castello di Briona – located above the cantina – once part of the Lombard kingdom, now owned by the Marchese di Solaroli. The family estate was founded by ‘nonno’ Pierino (nato 1922), who came from nearby Cavaglio d’Agogna. In those early days, it was a classic farm, tending vines to sell to the cooperative, along with livestock & of course the rice fields for which Novara is also famous.
All change in 1996 when Francesca Castaldi took the plunge & bought the shares of her five siblings before producing her inaugural vintage: 2001. Ten years later, in 2011, she & her son Marco, built a new cantina, ushering in a new era. Tonneaux gave way to Grenier 20HL botti grandi in 2014 & from 2015 the small family property has been converting to organic (although they haven’t used herbicides since 2009). A clearly talented family, Francesca’s daughter Lucia is also a top winemaker!
Marco was born in 1991, graduated in agraria at Novara, worked in London for three years (2011-2014) & has worked harvests in Australia (Mornington Pensinsula) & more locally in Soave. He is responsible for the cantina, & has been supported by a local consultant Maurizio Forgia since 2011.
Briona is the gateway to the river Sesia valley. The 6.5ha of vines are located on a 250 metre asl plateau of acidic soils comprising clay, glacial morainic stones, volcanic dust & alluvial matter. The family has circa 4ha of Nebbiolo, Colline Novaresi, 1ha of Erbaluce, 1ha of Vespolina, plus some Uva Rara & Barbera.
Their flagship wine is Fara DOC, a blend of 70% Nebbiolo & 30% Vespolina, vinified for circa 20-30 days on the skins (pumping over), & then aged for two years in Grenier 20HL botti grandi, new in 2014; production is limited to 2,500bt/anno. Total sulphur levels are at c. 50mg/litro.
The family continue to invest in the estate, buying new stainless steel & botti grandi.
This important Langhe family dates back to 1880, their cantina is to be found in the town of Bra, but the family originates from the village of La Morra. Bra was very much a key hub in the movement of Barolo in the early years due to its train station built in 1874, linking Torino to Savona, via Bra & Cervere (before Alba built their’s). Indeed in those days there were c. ten Barolo producers/negociants in the town, of which only Cantine Ascheri Giacomo survives.
The cantina today is run by la Signora Cristina Ascheri, mother of Matteo who took over from his father Giacomo in 1988, & alongside is Giuliano Bedino the enologo since 1996 & Matteo’s son Giuseppe. They have 16ha of Nebbiolo da Barolo vineyards from across three communes/villages: La Morra, Verduno & Serralunga d’Alba. Incidentally, Matteo is currently the Presidente of the Consorzio of Barbaresco & Barolo growers.
Historically they have always made a traditional Barolo, blended from across the three villages of La Morra, Verduno & Serralunga d’Alba. From 1999 they started releasing the four single vineyard Baroli: Pisapola (Verduno), Sorano (Serralunga d’Alba), & ‘Coste e Bricco’ (Serralunga d’Alba) from 1999, with La Morra’s Ascheri – from where the family originally herald – from 2010. These single vineyard Barolos are only made in exceptional years – most recently in 2010, 2013, 2015, 2016, & then forecast to be in 2019.
Vinification is classical, employing BR97 locally-selected yeast, pumping over or submerged cap for up to 20 days, before ageing the wines ageing for circa 18 mths in largely botti grandi of between 10-20HL, plus a small percentage of French 500litre tonneaux. Since vintage 2010, the Barolos are closed using DIAM30. Total sulphur tends to be c. 75mg/litro at bottling.
Descended from Verduno’s famous Il Commendatore G.B. Burlotto, who supplied the House of Savoia from his estate during the 1860s, it was Andrea Burlotto, his great grandson, who founded Cantina Massara in the early 1900s. Andrea fathered seven children (2 daughters Giuseppina & Luciana, & 5 sons Francesco, GianCarlo, Giacomino, Sergio & GianBattista) & started bottling the Barolo in the early 1970s, before passing away in 1995; leaving the 40ha mixed farm estate to his 7 offspring to manage.
This they did as a collective until 2013 when GianCarlo & his son Gianluca (left), a graduate of Alba’s Umberto 1 Wine School who had joined the family estate in 2002, decided to hive off 10ha of vines from the family estate, all in the comune of Verduno, & to focus their energies on producing wine. 2013 was also the vintage in which Giancarlo & Gianluca Burlotto first released a Barolo Massara, from the fine old 1969 planted parcel that lies high up below the village of Verduno itself (arriving from Roddi). In vintage 2015 they also produced their inaugural Barolo Monvigliero from a tiny parcel in affitto in the heart of the famous vineyard. The Burlotto family also own vines in the vineyards of Castagni, Neirane, Silio, & Campasso.
In the meantime: in 2000 the Burlottos bought a new destemmer; in 2007 they built a new cantina in the centre of the village, attached to the historic cellar, & also invested in several new 75 & 100HL Garbellotto botti, plus a new pneumatic press into the bargain! Gianluca has a sister Claudia, who now helps in the cantina. Gianluca is married to Carla of Gallo & they have two small children Federico & Anna.
Vinification is traditional. Nebbiolo da Barolo: co-fermented fruit (for the Barolo classico), stainless-steel open-vat temperature controllato (c. 28 degrees), selected yeast, followed by circa 15 – 20 days pumping over/remontaggio, no submerged cap, maceration or punching down (i.e. very gentle), followed malolactic in stainless steel, & by 36 months in botti grandi of 16HL, 50HL, 75HL & 100HL with minimal racking; the most recent botti bought in 2008. DIAM10 corks are used.
From north of Torino, bordering the Val d’Aosta, comes Chiussuma of Caluso & Carema.
In 2016 young Matteo Ravera Chion, a tall Anthropology graduate of Torino University, joined forces with locals Rudy & his wife Alessandra to create Chiussuma, named after the waterfall that falls close to their Carema vineyard, which comprises 3ha of Nebbiolo (local Picotener & Prugnet clones) & local Nerd-Ala vines trained high on ‘topia’, trellised across granite/mica pillars that delimit the tiny terraced vineyards at up to 350m asl. The soil is morainic & mica, carried up the impossibly steep slopes from the valley bottom.
In 2020 they released their first Rosso Canavese (2019), ‘Farinel’ (meaning ‘whipsnapper’ in dialect!), all 600 bts of it: a beautifully perfumed blend of Nebbiolo + 10% Nerd-Ala, vinified only in stainless steel & labelled with a picture of a Ghiro, a wild animal with a particularly long tail that inhabits Alpine villages. 2017 Carema is their second vintage, aged in two old barriques & a tonneau; producing 1000 bts total! From vintage 2018, the yield was sufficient to enable them to upgrade to two tonneaux!
Matteo vinifies the Erbaluce from vines in the Caluso village of Piverone – labelled ‘Pajarin’ on account of its straw-like colour – from 1ha of mostly pergola vines that lie in the ancient glacial, acidic, morainic soils close to Ivrea, the grape’s epicentre & source of Piemonte’s first DOC bianco in 1967. Piverone lies near the Lago di Viverone, a volcanic lake. Leggy Erbaluce vines are trellised high on ‘pergola Calusiese’ (at 1k plants/ha) on the splayed slopes of the Serra di Ivrea, in the comune of Palazzo Canavese. Erbaluce is related to Fiano, having been brought to Piemonte by the Romans. Its finest expression is achieved among the Canavese hills north of Torino, in the comune of Caluso, where it looks up the Val d’Aosta & benefits from its dramatic temperature oscillations.
Carema was also awarded its DOC in 1967, & is found 30mins by car up the tight, sheer granite & mica valley on the Piemontese border with the Val d’Aosta, is found the 60ha region of Carema, whose history dates back to 1539 & to the documented works of Papa Paolo III Farnese, in which he celebrated the wines as being worthy of ‘Principi e Signori’ (‘Princes & Gentlemen’). Carema vinification is traditional, preserving the integrity of the Nebbiolo, Picotener & ‘Neretti’ grapes, with skin maceration circa 15 days, followed by 18 mths in 500litre used tonneaux. Production of both wines is limited; notably of the Carema (max. 1200 bts/anno). Their debut vintage being 2016.
Their Carema vineyard is also home to three divine donkeys: Ernesto, Angelica (with long fringe!) & Nerina!
In 2011 Paolo Cominoli joined his nonna Vittoria Binotti at their tiny 5ha family estate, whose roots lie deep in the soft, acidic, Monte Rosa morainic, clay & alluvial soils of the small, historic 14ha Sizzano DOC in the Alto Piemonte region. Sizzano was the second region to be awarded DOC in 1969 after Gattinara.
The Comero vineyards comprise Vespolina (a relation of Nebbiolo), Nebbiolo (3ha in total, of which just 1ha is allowed for Sizzano) & Erbaluce (1ha only). They lie at c. 200metres ASL, along the banks of the river Sesia valley & above the village of Sizzano; they were planted largely in 2000. In 2009 they renovated the old farm buildings to create a new cantina were the vinification, affinamento, stocking happens. Paolo’s first vintage was 2011, at which point he made just Sizzano. In 2013 they also started working with three plots of Erbaluce, one of which was planted – maggiorina trellised – in the 1960s.
The Sizzano DOC stipulates a min. 50% Nebbiolo (Spanna) & maximum of 50% of Vespolina &/or Uva Rara (Bonarda Novarese); plus 10% of red, non-aromatic, Piemontese fruit may be sourced. Ageing of SizzanoDOC is min 22mths, of which 16mths should be in wood.
Paolo’s Sizzano DOC wine is made up of 65/70% Nebbiolo & 30/35% Vespolina (no Uva Rara), vinified for between 15 – 20 days on the skins, followed by up to 24 mths in 10HL botti grandi. Total acidity tends to be at 6grams/litro; pH at 3.50; alcohol 13.5%; production c.1300 bts (vintage 2015).
When not tending his vines, Paolo works at the Berlucchi estate of Franciacorta, in both the vineyards & cantina.
Tucked away in the frazione/hamlet of Santa Maria di La Morra is (eventually!) found the family cantina of Crissante Alessandria. Both family names, Crissante & Alessandria, originate from Santa Maria, & their 6 hectares of vines (+ 5ha of hazelnuts), of which 5 are planted to Nebbiolo, lie an ox-drive’s distance from the cantina, surrounding the frazione; notably the vineyards of Roggeri, San Biagio, Bertolotti, Capalot, & Galina.
The cantina’s story began in 1958, with the first commercial bottles produced in the 1970s when the estate was a tiny 2-3 hectares. Skip forward to 2005 when 8th generation Alberto Alessandria (nato 1985), owner & winemaker, graduated from Alba’s Enological School Umberto 1. He then joined his family in 2007, triggering a series of investments in the cantina – notably the introduction of new Garbellotto botti grandi. In 2008 his ‘nonno’ Crissante passed away, & in doing so passed the baton to Alberto.
Their 3ha vineyard of Roggeri surrounds the cantina, is comprised of Lampia vines planted between 1957 & 2012, is situated at 210m asl, facing SE, & the soil is composed of a heavy grey & brown calcareous clay, cool & humid. Their prime plot of 0.4ha Capalot is situated further up the hill, faces S, just above the Santa Maria to La Morra road, in a natural amphiteatro, at 320m asl on sand & clay; the vines date from the 1970s & more recently from 2003; ‘La Punta’ dei Capalot sits just up from the road, behind the outsized red bench/pachina, & is home to some of Crissante’s oldest vines, many ‘pie franco’ that each year produce c. 200 magnums of late harvest, late release Barolo ‘La Punta’! Just below the same strada, over looking Santa Maria, is their tiny 0.8ha Galina at 300m asl, facing SW, on a poor, white calcareous clay (similar to Bricco Ambrogio in fact); 0.2ha was (high density) planted in the 1922 & then in 1945 on original rootstock (piede franco), while the rest was replanted using Michet clones in 2014, with final old vine vintage being 2016; it was first released as a Barolo ‘cru’ in vintge 2007; from vintage 2018 Galina will be aged in a 40HL botte grande. They also own vines in Bettolotti (facing Verduno) & (sandy) San Biagio (opposite the cantina), which are blended into their Barolo del comune di La Morra.
Keen to gain experience & insight, from vintage 2020 Alberto & his family began to buy fruit from Verduno’s Monvigliero vineyard, courtesy of a chance encounter with a fellow Santa Maria neighbour who was having trouble with red spider mite in his vineyard – a problem Alberto duly resolved, thereby beginning the relationship. From 2023, Alberto was fortunate to be able to buy organic Villero & Rocche di Castiglione fruit from a grower in Castiglione Falletto, & then in 2024 he completed the set by buying fruit from vineyard Lazzarito in Serralunga d’Alba. All four Barolos will be released under a separate ‘negoce‘ label to distinguish the provenance from their own estate fruit.
Vinification is traditional, using static, vertical stainless-steel fermenting tanks, light pumping over for delicacy (not submerged cap, that extracts more), classic maceration times of c. 20 days, malolactic in the steel tanks before transfer to botti grandi & barriques (to accommodate Galina’s tiny production). Pressed wine is all but excluded as Alberto prides himself on making one of the region’s finest & smoothest Grappa!
From 2013 converting to organic but non certificate.
An exciting family estate, headed up by the irrepressible Bruna, & her husband Franco (Fiorino of Ricca), whose 14ha of vineyards cover four villages (communes) of Grinzane Cavour, Roddi, La Morra & Serralunga d’Alba.
Bruna’s father Giovanni (nato ’33) had sold wine in bulk, in demi-john or occasionally in bottle when the year was propitious. Export markets didn’t exist & they mostly produced Dolcetto, the local favourite! From 1989, with the arrival of Bruna & Franco in the cantina they started bottling every year. They started bottling commercially under the ‘Bruna Grimaldi’ label in 1999. It was Bruna who began exporting their wines. In 2015 their son Simone graduated from the Alba wine school, Umberto 1, having started working in the cantina from 2013. Their daughter Martina worked as a Wine Buyer in London, but since December 2018 has returned to Grinzane to help the family entreprise!
In those early days they flirted with tonneaux, plus a couple of botti grandi (from 2000), but a new bottaio in 2014 has given them more space to invest in five more botti grandi of 16HL, 21HL & 30HL, along with more 500/700litre tonneaux; indeed two 50HL troncoconico wooden vats are in-bound! They vinify their wines in a mix of stainless-steel & cement vats. Malolactic generally takes place in cement, soon after the alcoholic ferment, to ensure the wine is clean going into wood. In 2008 they first started employing the ‘cappello sommerso’/submerged cap method of extending the maceration, staked down in the s/s vats (to achieve a rounder tannin profile).
Grinzane Cavour is where the winery is located, & birthplace of Bruna’s father Giovanni, hence their plots in the crus of Borzone (1ha planted in 2012 & 2007 at 220m asl) & Raviole (0.84ha at 280m asl planted in 2000).
Serralunga d’Alba is home to Bruna’s mother Clara (Scarzello) – a.k.a ‘La Badarina’! It’s her family that own a prize, 2ha piece, ave. 20 yo vines of the Badarina vineyard, 400m asl high up, lying just across the road from Boscareto & Francia. Their best-exposed plot & monopole, Vigna Regnola becomes the Badarina Riserva.
In the commune of Roddi, they have two fine plots in the heart of the Bricco Ambrogio vineyard (0.7ha & 0.2ha aged between 10-25yo), that Bruna & her husband bought together in 2006; first vintage 2007. 2007 is also the year when the family stopped using herbicides in their vineyards.
They also have 2.5ha of south-facing vines at 240m asl in La Morra’s Roere di Santa Maria vineyard (10 yo & 40 yo vines, the Roere planted in 1972); yet a glance & whiff tells you this vineyard belongs in Verduno – indeed it lies on the confine/border, not far from the Roero!
Finally they have vineyards in the comune of Diano d’Alba & (salty) Sinio (Vigna del Gallo), that make up approx. 60% of their Nebbiolo d’Alba; the remainder being from Roddi.
Their Barolo Classico is a very generously layered blend of fruit from five vineyards across four villages (Bricco Ambrogio, Roddi; Borzone & Raviole in Grinzane Cavour; Roere di Santa Maria in La Morra; & Badarina of Serralunga d’Alba).
Since vintage 2014 they have been farming organically.
press recognition: http://www.cantinatibaldi.com/news_eventi.asp
Sisters Monica & Daniela come from a long line of Tibaldis, many of whom lie on the same road close to the village of Pocapaglia in the Roero. It was their great grandfather Stefano who began working the vines during the early 20th century, followed by his son Tunin when he wasn’t working in a factory, inspiring the girls to launch the family cantina/winery in 2014. They’re supported by their father Stefano, a gifted ironmonger who doubles up as a ‘trattorista’ (tractor driver) in his spare time, & by their mother Margherita, a cowgirl from Saluzzo. Daniela (& Monica) trained in accountancy, then as a sommelier, while her older sister Monica studied viticulture & enology at Turin University, followed by a further year in Asti & a Masters in Madrid!
They have close to 7ha in total, located in three distinct MGA zones: Mormoré & Bricco delle Passere in the commune of Pocapaglia & the Coste Anforiano vineyard in Santa Vittoria. In Pocapaglia the hilly soils are Miocenic marine sand (stone), rich with fossils in origin, ideal for their two key white grapes/wines: Favorita & Arneis. In 2012 they identified a perfect 0.7ha Nebbiolo vineyard for their Roero DOCG: Coste Anforiano, that lies on limestone white Marne Sant’Agata clay soils, looking across the Tanaro river valley at Verduno; their debut vintage was 2014. They also make some Barbera & Nebbiolo d’Alba.
The whites are classically vinified in stainless steel, using wild yeasts from vintage 2015. The Roero DOCG was initially aged in used barriques but the girls have decided that botti grandi is the future, switching to botti grandi with the 2015 vintage, & then investing in one of 10HL & another of 25HL for the 2016 harvest.
In 2019 they released their first Roero Arneis Metodo Classico ‘Pas Dosé’ from vintage 2015!
They farm organically, & converting to certified from 2014.
In recent years, the Barolo village of Verduno has become a magnet for Nebbiolo (& Pinot Nero!) appassionati! Once regarded as being a marginal Barolo comune (seat) on account of its small size, when compared to the big three originals: Serralunga d’Alba, Castiglione Falletto & Barolo (each with 100% of Nebbiolo da Barolo vineyards within the comune boundaries), perhaps it’s thanks to Verduno’s very size, its prettiness & sleepiness, its unassuming & gentle residents, low contours that seem an extension of the Roero into the Langhe, & (surprise, surprise) the charmingly soft, perfumed, Pinot-esque Barolos epitomised by the great Monvigliero vineyard, that has seen it now become something of a ‘mecca’.
The Alessandria (& Burlotto) family are central to Verduno, just as ‘Conterno’ is to Monforte, Canale to Serralunga, Mascarello to La Morra, Borgogno in Barolo etc…. The current 5th generation of F.lli Alessandria: Vittore (from 2001), along with his uncle Ale (from 2000), father Gian-Battista & mother Flavia (a most welcome incomer from Monforte!) starting making prized wine back in the 18th century, but it’s this family team, supported by Tiziana in the ufficio, that has been turning heads of late.
Much credit to Ale (Alessandria), who tends the 14ha of vines, often on his Lamborghini caterpillar tractor, while Vittore faffs about in the cantina. These past years they’ve been investing in new botti, “paying more attention (esp. the vineyard)” as Vitto says, & focusing on autochthonous grapes.
1978 was the first release (in the village) of their Barolo Monvigliero – the label identical to that of today.
2001 saw the first release of their Barolo Gramolere, from Flavia (Manzone)’s prime old vine plot high up on dark sandstone over tufo soils that face pure west.
In vintage 2015 their San Lorenzo di Verduno made a welcome return as a single vineyard Barolo, having been first made in 1997, but then in 2014 its yields were so low that it was blended into the family’s classic Barolo.
From 2017 the young vine fruit from their Gramolere vyd has grown up, & will no longer be blended into their classic Barolo, so this becomes their first (& the village’s debut) Barolo del comune di Verduno!