Ghëddo "Tinaar” Vino Bianco, Arneis, Piedmont, Italy 2022

FROM POLANER SELECTIONS:

THE PRODUCER: Founded in 2014, Ghëddo is the brainchild of Giovanni Pippia and Mattia Benedetti, childhood friends with zero family ties to Barolo who have nonetheless forged their own intrepid path in the illustrious wine zone of Piedmont. Giovanni and Mattia consider Ghëddo to be the most beautiful word in the Piedmontese dialect—a word that communicates authentic, enthusiastic initiative and the verve with which it is pursued. They have dedicated themselves to protecting vineyard biodiversity, observing organic viticultural practices, and vinifying wines that are at once traditional and natural. Overall production at Ghëddo is miniscule owing to the fact that Giovanni and Mattia tend to just three hectares under vine. With a centuries-old cellar in Monforte d’Alba and a reimagined ciabòt-turned-tasting room in La Morra, these longtime friends are engaged in an imaginative project that transcends any one village and instead embodies the collective spirit of the Langhe. From a thrilling co-ferment of Timorasso, Arneis, and Nascetta through high-energy Dolcetto and Barbera to transcendent expressions of Nebbiolo, Ghëddo’s emergence as a rising star of Barolo is incontestable. The winery itself dates back to the 1880’s during a period in which there was huge demand for Sicilian wines. Phylloxera had already devastated many of the world’s top wine-growing regions but it had not yet reached the island. Sicily has a long history of winemaking, dating back to the 8th century BCE when the Greeks first planted grapes in the eastern part of the Island. It is only more recently though that true top-quality wines and winemaking have arrived there. It was through the hard work and dedication of producers such as COS who showed the potential of Sicily’s terroir and drew attention to the island, especially its ability to produce complex, pure, and fresh wines, despite its location at the very southern tip of Italy. This freshness and balance are helped by the soils in the Vittoria region which are blessed with limestone substrates under 1-2 feet of red clay. For Giusto, “the vineyard is like our life’s savings in the bank, so we must protect it.” Protecting it means that they work organically and biodynamically to support the health of the soil. They have never used any synthetic or chemical additives in the vineyard since the outset in 1980. Officially, the winery was an early practitioner of Biodynamic viticulture starting in 2000 and was certified organic as of 2007. The climate of Vittoria is also generally warm and dry making it well-adapted to organic & biodynamic viticulture. Giusto and his vineyard team also prepare many of the Biodynamic treatments in-house, though a few are purchased elsewhere from small, reputable sources for these important products.

THE WINE: Arneis 33% - Nascetta 33% - Timorasso 33%.