2021 Nada Giuseppe Langhe Bianco

55% Sauvignon Blanc from a handful of rows in the steep, northeast-facing hillside of Marcarini, 40% Arneis from a friend’s vineyard in Roero, and 5% Favorita. All fruit is certified organic. Soils are clay, calcareous marls and chalk in Trieso; similar in Roero but soils are younger with more sand. Cold fermentation without malolactic fermentation. Aged 6 months on the lies in steel. No fining and only a light filtration. Minimal SO2 additions. 800 cases made. “Armonia” means harmony–between the varieties, their strengths, their acidities and their perfumes.

Terrific fresh aromatics with a textured body. The Arneis adds body and minerality while the Sauvignon Blanc adds intensity, racy acidity and floral notes. Full bodied and dry, with citrus, green apple, peach, minerals and honey notes. Enjoy with grilled scallops or halibut.

On March 27, 1900, a forefather of Giuseppe Nada sealed a deal on a vineyard, orchard, and a small house on a steep hillside in the commune of Treiso. The vineyard was in the cru of Casot, and that forefather bought the parcel from a fellow by the name of Gaja.  In 1964 Giuseppe’s father, Antonio, made the risky decision to begin to estate bottle a part of his production, requiring him to invest in a small winery (he put it in the basement of that house on the Casot hillside). It was a prescient move: in 1966 the DOC of Barbaresco, named after one of the three villages in the appellation, became established. In 1968 Antonio moved to the other side of the ridge, but closer to the top so he had a better view. Probably more importantly, the location made it much easier to receive grapes from the Casot parcel as well as his Marcarini parcel on the other side of the hill. He built a new basement winery and put his house on top. Subsequently, his son Giuseppe and wife Nella raised a family there and over the years carefully enlarged the vineyards and production. In 2022, Giuseppe’s son Enrico increased the vineyard size by a half hectare that he purchased, a virgin parcel in the Alta Langa DOCG. Enrico “officially” became cellar master in 2008 upon graduating from enology school. He quickly eliminated SO2 additions during fermentation, maceration and malolactic, and reduced the additions used during aging. He moved to employing only one minimal filtration at bottling for the reds. He embarked on what to some eyes seemed a Quixotic quest and planted Riesling–which turned out to be an astonishing success–while convincing his father to go organic in the vines.