Screws

All the wines we produce ooze from four grape varieties: Barbera, Dolcetto, Favorita and Nebbiolo. We employ traditional techniques with all of them: espalier training form and Guyot pruning system.

Our vines vary in age: some date back to the early 1970s, have reached the pinnacle of production quality and at the same time are heading into the decline of their life cycle.

Ripening bunch of grapes on the vine
Freehand drawing of a grape shoot

Age

Barbera vines, for example, were planted in the 1990s, when they took the place of an orchard that produced delicious peaches. We can say that they are going through their full maturity. Still others, such as those from which we produce Langhe Nebbiolo, planted in 2011 have all the momentum of youth, and require some extra attention.

Pen sketch of grapes and vine leaves

Varieties

We grow all three subvarieties (or cultivars) of “Nebbiolo” from which Barolo can be made: “Nebbiolo Lampia,” “Nebbiolo Michet,” and “Nebbiolo Rosé.” Distinctions that are not inventions of contemporary enology. They appear already mentioned before the mid-nineteenth century, in early studies illustrating the local winemaking tradition.

Grapes and leaves sketched in pencil

Origin

The Rosé subvariety, in particular, harbors a curiosity, discovered in recent years through genome sequencing. It would actually be a different variety from Nebbiolo, born from a different plant, called Chiavennaschino in Valtellina, which has short wings, larger berries and skin that is more purple than blue. The leaf is larger, the grape is on average more vigorous and less sensitive to drought.

Macro di un campione di terreno argilloso proveniente dai vigneti Sorano
Macro of a sandy soil sample from Sorano vineyards.

Land

At Serralunga, the soil is made up of layers: clay marls and siliceous sands, with a high limestone content, alternate in the Lequio Formation. They are the result of sediments deposited on the bottom of what, millions of years ago, was a shallow sea.

In Sinio, on the other hand, where our Autin vineyard is located, the soil has less sand, is more clayey, red and compact than that of Serralunga.

Climate

The particular corner of Langhe in which Serralunga is located has a temperate cold subcontinental climate.

The protection that comes from the proximity of the Alpine arc creates a fairly mild climate and makes it little prone to extreme phenomena. The area is protected from winds but influenced by both Alpine currents and warm, moist air rises from the Tanaro valley.

However, we should not generalize: the presence of valleys and hills at different elevations, as well as different exposures and wind patterns, create an incredible variety of different microclimates.

Albero esposto al vento in cima a una collina ricoperta di viti
Grey and pink clouds above a clear and favorable sky
Paesaggio delle Langhe UNESCO coltivato in maniera intensiva
Natural forest surrounded by vineyards in the territory of Piedmont's Langhe region

Ecosystem

We would like to tell you that, around our vineyards, there are many different environments. In reality, this is not the case, because in an area of such high oenological prestige, the vine is in danger of becoming a monoculture.

There are, fortunately, a few exceptions: at the foot of our Barbera vineyard lies a stretch of forest, the continuation of the Wishing Forest. Its shade and moisture manage to soften the extreme conditions the vines face in these areas. Autin is also close to the forest, to hazelnut groves, to a biodiversity that is certainly richer than what we find in Serralunga.

They keep us company in our daily work and populate our vineyards-bees, noctues, fireflies, foxes, deer, and the occasional rare wild boar.

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In depth

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