Cantina Sociale Cooperativa di Gattinara ‘Gattinara Riserva’ Rosso 2016
Location: Italy, Piedmont, Gattinara
Grapes: Nebbiolo
Winemaking: Organic farming. Hand-harvested grapes are destemmed prior to a soft pressing. Native fermentation takes place in a combination of large oak casks and cement tanks without temperature control. In these vessels, maceration lasts up to 30 days. Secondary fermentation occurs naturally in the same vessels.
Aged a minimum of five years in Slavonian botti of 20 hl or larger followed by at least one additional year in cement tanks. Finally, the wine spends a minimum of six months in bottle prior to release.
The final decision to produce a riserva bottling in any given year rests with the cantina itself. The quality of each cask of wine is assessed individually, and only a select number of casks (if any at all!) are chosen for longer aging to ultimately garner riserva status.
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
Winemaking: Organic farming. Hand-harvested grapes are destemmed prior to a soft pressing. Native fermentation takes place in a combination of large oak casks and cement tanks without temperature control. In these vessels, maceration lasts up to 30 days. Secondary fermentation occurs naturally in the same vessels.
Aged a minimum of five years in Slavonian botti of 20 hl or larger followed by at least one additional year in cement tanks. Finally, the wine spends a minimum of six months in bottle prior to release.
The final decision to produce a riserva bottling in any given year rests with the cantina itself. The quality of each cask of wine is assessed individually, and only a select number of casks (if any at all!) are chosen for longer aging to ultimately garner riserva status.
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
Winemaking: Organic farming. Hand-harvested grapes are destemmed prior to a soft pressing. Native fermentation takes place in a combination of large oak casks and cement tanks without temperature control. In these vessels, maceration lasts up to 30 days. Secondary fermentation occurs naturally in the same vessels.
Aged a minimum of five years in Slavonian botti of 20 hl or larger followed by at least one additional year in cement tanks. Finally, the wine spends a minimum of six months in bottle prior to release.
The final decision to produce a riserva bottling in any given year rests with the cantina itself. The quality of each cask of wine is assessed individually, and only a select number of casks (if any at all!) are chosen for longer aging to ultimately garner riserva status.
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.