Nicola Bergaglio

Not even 18 hectares of vineyards cultivate Gianluigi Bergaglio, the viticulture professor and his son Diego. You have to "pull information out of their noses", quite differently than with many of their colleagues. A bit introverted, almost taciturn, they prefer to let their two wines speak for themselves. One has the feeling that they would rather be back in the vineyard now. And yet they are quite proud of their elegant drops.

They're made from a single grape variety called Cortese. An ancient autochthonous grape, probably over 500 years old, to which not a single gene researcher elsewhere has found a relationship. There are not even 3,000 hectares of it, almost exclusively in Piedmont, most of them in the province of Alessandria in the southeast of the region, along the Lemme River, near the charming historic town of Gavi. Some of the best sites belong to the Bergaglios, who only process their own grapes. The Minaia site, on a hill directly behind the family cellar, is one of the best of the whole appellation.

At about 300 m above sea level, the rows arch in a westerly direction towards extremely calcareous rocky soils. Only about 3,800 vines per hectare in Guyot education, without artificial fertilization and irrigation, and exclusively with mechanical weed control. Up here a constant breeze blows, either from the Ligurian sea or from the nearby nature parks, which also creates a clear temperature difference between warm days and cool nights, which promotes a fine fruit and an elegant acid play. The Gavi di Gavi was often called the "Chablis of Italy".

In the past, Cortese was rather a mass carrier, which served as a base wine for the "Vermouth" bianco. But when something went out of fashion in the 1970s wormwood, some winegrowers around Gavi concentrated on quality, limited the quantities by green harvesting and less fertilization and created white wines and spumanti, which quickly became internationally known. The name Gavi di Gavi caught the eye, the wine became a trendy local drink. One of the first known wineries was Nicola Bergaglio, where in 1970 the grapes were no longer sold but bottled. However, at Bergaglio it was quickly recognized that Gavi di Gavi not only has what it takes to become a scene wine that can be drunk quickly, but that it can also ripen well if the grapes from the cru sites are vinified separately and with great care. The many national and international awards of the Minaia are proof of this. The fine fruit and elegance, paired with an animating drinking flow make it a wonderful accompaniment, especially with fish and seafood. Also perfect when oysters are served. The moderate alcohol and not least the formidable price-performance-ratio are the famous dot on the "i". SUPERIORE.DE