Villa Guelpa

Daniele Dinoia and his wife, Sonia, of Villa Guelpa are trailblazers in Alto Piemonte, Piedmont's most northerly, sub-alpine region. The area is remarkable for the almost total absence of limestone in the soils due a geological event 300 million years ago, when a supervolcano collapsed. Before embarking on this, his own project, Daniele built up considerable experience working for some of the greats, including Isole e Olena, Poggio al Sole, and Nervi in nearby Gattinara. The vineyards are widely planted with regional clones of nebbiolo, along with local specialities vespolina and croatina. As a result, the wines are quite distinct from their cousins in Barolo and the Langhe further south, although well worth checking out if you like those wines. All the wines are fermented with natural yeasts in concrete and the top wines are aged in old Slavonian casks for up to a year before bottling. Sizanno is the largest production at 10,000 bottles, while the Boca is a single barrel of 1,000 bottles, and both are produced as blends of mainly nebbiolo with up to 15% vespolina. The Lessona is 100% nebbiolo. Farming is organic. With small quantities available, we're pleased to be able to bring these exciting wines to the UK.