Cantina Sociale Cooperativa di Gattinara Vino Rosso NV (2022)
Location: Italy, Piedmont, Gattinara
Grapes: Nebbiolo, Barbera, Vespolina, Uva Rara
Winemaking: Organic farming. The grapes are harvested together from the vineyards of participating producer-members and subsequently co-fermented. As a true field blend, the exact varietal makeup remains a mystery; however, its composition is roughly 60% Nebbiolo, 30% Barbera, 5% Vespolina, and 5% Uva Rara.
All fruit is sourced exclusively from the parcels of cooperative members based in the communes of Gattinara, Lozzolo, Roasio, and Romagnano Sesia.
Hand-harvested grapes are destemmed prior to a gentle pressing. Native fermentation takes place in temperature-controlled, stainless-steel tanks and lasts approximately three weeks. The wine is then racked into cement tanks, where it undergoes secondary fermentation. Following 9-12 months in cement, the wine is bottled and prepared for release.
Fun Fact: A favorite of Gattinara locals! The cantina sees a steady stream of customers who arrive at the winery with their jugs and demijohns, eager to fill up directly from the tank before returning home for dinner and vino rosso with friends and family.
From the Importer The Piedmont Guy: The cantina sociale has been a critical lifeline to small grape growers since the inception of modern winemaking throughout Italy. In particular, Cantina Socialde di Gattinara, founded in 1908, has offered families from the zone of Gattinara a steady path to continued independence and stewardship of the land. Forty families care for their own tiny plots, which total 15 hectares of vines rooted in the zone’s pure volcanic soils. Descending into the cantina’s historic cellar with its cement tanks and botti tucked beneath the centuries-old city center of Gattinara is like traveling back in time. The resulting wines display a simple elegance and purity as well as a palpable connection to over 100 years of production.
Today, only 95 hectares remain dedicated to Gattinara DOCG and an additional 10 hectares for Costa della Sesia DOC.
Fortunately, Alto Piemonte is enjoying a renaissance that is exciting sommeliers, fine-wine retailers, and lovers of world-class Nebbiolo around the world. Efforts to recuperate vineyards will result in an additional 10 hectares coming online in the near future. While often defying the bounds of words, these wines are typically fresh and elegant with fine tannins, purity of fruit, and beguiling tension. Gattinara is one of those rare zones where the soils are entirely volcanic in origin. It is the epicenter of the area’s rebirth, demonstrating that its past glory was well deserved and more than worthy of restoration.
This sudden return to the limelight along with already challenging economic conditions for wineries has led to dual conditions: land prices are increasing rapidly as small growers struggle to hold on to their vineyards amidst a generational shift. Regional cooperatives across Italy have long been the saviors of small farmers by guaranteeing the purchase of grapes at fair prices as well as protecting indigenous varieties and appellations. Cantina Sociale di Gattinara has been safeguarding the culture and traditions of Gattinara for well over a century, and now with renewed investment, the storied cooperative is poised to foster a new generation of young growers with a passion for the superlative wines of this subregion.
Location: Italy, Piedmont, Gattinara
Grapes: Nebbiolo, Barbera, Vespolina, Uva Rara
Winemaking: Organic farming. The grapes are harvested together from the vineyards of participating producer-members and subsequently co-fermented. As a true field blend, the exact varietal makeup remains a mystery; however, its composition is roughly 60% Nebbiolo, 30% Barbera, 5% Vespolina, and 5% Uva Rara.
All fruit is sourced exclusively from the parcels of cooperative members based in the communes of Gattinara, Lozzolo, Roasio, and Romagnano Sesia.
Hand-harvested grapes are destemmed prior to a gentle pressing. Native fermentation takes place in temperature-controlled, stainless-steel tanks and lasts approximately three weeks. The wine is then racked into cement tanks, where it undergoes secondary fermentation. Following 9-12 months in cement, the wine is bottled and prepared for release.
Fun Fact: A favorite of Gattinara locals! The cantina sees a steady stream of customers who arrive at the winery with their jugs and demijohns, eager to fill up directly from the tank before returning home for dinner and vino rosso with friends and family.
From the Importer The Piedmont Guy: The cantina sociale has been a critical lifeline to small grape growers since the inception of modern winemaking throughout Italy. In particular, Cantina Socialde di Gattinara, founded in 1908, has offered families from the zone of Gattinara a steady path to continued independence and stewardship of the land. Forty families care for their own tiny plots, which total 15 hectares of vines rooted in the zone’s pure volcanic soils. Descending into the cantina’s historic cellar with its cement tanks and botti tucked beneath the centuries-old city center of Gattinara is like traveling back in time. The resulting wines display a simple elegance and purity as well as a palpable connection to over 100 years of production.
Today, only 95 hectares remain dedicated to Gattinara DOCG and an additional 10 hectares for Costa della Sesia DOC.
Fortunately, Alto Piemonte is enjoying a renaissance that is exciting sommeliers, fine-wine retailers, and lovers of world-class Nebbiolo around the world. Efforts to recuperate vineyards will result in an additional 10 hectares coming online in the near future. While often defying the bounds of words, these wines are typically fresh and elegant with fine tannins, purity of fruit, and beguiling tension. Gattinara is one of those rare zones where the soils are entirely volcanic in origin. It is the epicenter of the area’s rebirth, demonstrating that its past glory was well deserved and more than worthy of restoration.
This sudden return to the limelight along with already challenging economic conditions for wineries has led to dual conditions: land prices are increasing rapidly as small growers struggle to hold on to their vineyards amidst a generational shift. Regional cooperatives across Italy have long been the saviors of small farmers by guaranteeing the purchase of grapes at fair prices as well as protecting indigenous varieties and appellations. Cantina Sociale di Gattinara has been safeguarding the culture and traditions of Gattinara for well over a century, and now with renewed investment, the storied cooperative is poised to foster a new generation of young growers with a passion for the superlative wines of this subregion.
Location: Italy, Piedmont, Gattinara
Grapes: Nebbiolo, Barbera, Vespolina, Uva Rara
Winemaking: Organic farming. The grapes are harvested together from the vineyards of participating producer-members and subsequently co-fermented. As a true field blend, the exact varietal makeup remains a mystery; however, its composition is roughly 60% Nebbiolo, 30% Barbera, 5% Vespolina, and 5% Uva Rara.
All fruit is sourced exclusively from the parcels of cooperative members based in the communes of Gattinara, Lozzolo, Roasio, and Romagnano Sesia.
Hand-harvested grapes are destemmed prior to a gentle pressing. Native fermentation takes place in temperature-controlled, stainless-steel tanks and lasts approximately three weeks. The wine is then racked into cement tanks, where it undergoes secondary fermentation. Following 9-12 months in cement, the wine is bottled and prepared for release.
Fun Fact: A favorite of Gattinara locals! The cantina sees a steady stream of customers who arrive at the winery with their jugs and demijohns, eager to fill up directly from the tank before returning home for dinner and vino rosso with friends and family.
From the Importer The Piedmont Guy: The cantina sociale has been a critical lifeline to small grape growers since the inception of modern winemaking throughout Italy. In particular, Cantina Socialde di Gattinara, founded in 1908, has offered families from the zone of Gattinara a steady path to continued independence and stewardship of the land. Forty families care for their own tiny plots, which total 15 hectares of vines rooted in the zone’s pure volcanic soils. Descending into the cantina’s historic cellar with its cement tanks and botti tucked beneath the centuries-old city center of Gattinara is like traveling back in time. The resulting wines display a simple elegance and purity as well as a palpable connection to over 100 years of production.
Today, only 95 hectares remain dedicated to Gattinara DOCG and an additional 10 hectares for Costa della Sesia DOC.
Fortunately, Alto Piemonte is enjoying a renaissance that is exciting sommeliers, fine-wine retailers, and lovers of world-class Nebbiolo around the world. Efforts to recuperate vineyards will result in an additional 10 hectares coming online in the near future. While often defying the bounds of words, these wines are typically fresh and elegant with fine tannins, purity of fruit, and beguiling tension. Gattinara is one of those rare zones where the soils are entirely volcanic in origin. It is the epicenter of the area’s rebirth, demonstrating that its past glory was well deserved and more than worthy of restoration.
This sudden return to the limelight along with already challenging economic conditions for wineries has led to dual conditions: land prices are increasing rapidly as small growers struggle to hold on to their vineyards amidst a generational shift. Regional cooperatives across Italy have long been the saviors of small farmers by guaranteeing the purchase of grapes at fair prices as well as protecting indigenous varieties and appellations. Cantina Sociale di Gattinara has been safeguarding the culture and traditions of Gattinara for well over a century, and now with renewed investment, the storied cooperative is poised to foster a new generation of young growers with a passion for the superlative wines of this subregion.