Vinchio Vaglio, Piedmont, Italy
Vinchio Vaglio’s old Barbera dAsti vines.
Piedmont, Italy
"We cannot think these extraordinary vineyards will one day be surrendered to the weeds. We wish to believe that young and capable wine people will soon come to collect such a precious legacy. Those grapes, those lives and those faces are a chapter in the history of us all”.
Named after the two villages that were home to the original founders, this Piemontese producer, Vinchio Vaglio, has championed old vine heritage for decades. In 1959, 19 grape growers in the picturesque hill towns of Vinchio and Vaglio Serra came together to establish this dynamic co-operative. Their vineyards were planted on beautiful hills facing the Monviso mountain, in the foothills of the Alps. Recognised by UNESCO as World Agricultural Heritage, these steep “Monferrato Hills” have shaped and been shaped by their wine-growing communities for centuries. UNESCO honours this biodiverse habitat of vineyards, native woodland and nature reserves. They show a cultural and integrated approach to viticulture which is embedded in the lives of the people who farm here.
From 19 founders in 1959, Vinchio Vaglio has grown to 192 members in 2023. They farm 470 hectares between them. Barbera, including the prized old-vine Barbera, accounts for 70% of vineyard area. But the co-op also values and makes wine from many autochthonous grape varieties, including Nebbiolo, Dolcetto, Ruché, Albarossa, Grignolino, Arneis, Cortese, Moscato and Brachetto. Some international varieties are also grown by members.
This is an admired co-operative with a high domestic reputation (85% of production is sold within Italy). In recent years exports have grown, leading to increased recognition for the quality and authenticity of Vinchio Vaglio’s wines and approach.
Within Vinchio Vaglio’s considerable 1,000,000 million bottle production, old vines are treasured and valued through two pure old vine cuvées that are among this producer’s most premium and awarded wines.
In 1986, the then managers of the co-operative recognised the threat to old-vine Barbera planted on steep slopes. They observed that in the wider area, sustainable and high quality vineyards of more than 30 years old were being uprooted and replaced by more productive clones, planted to enable mechanisation.
“Thousands of hands, hoes, "zapponi" and spades contributed to this colossal work, in years without any written records, when very active, frenetic farmers, capable of the miracles created by necessity, uprooted enormous trees, planting such barberas capable of withstanding the drought of the conchy sands and steep slopes and producing unparalleled grapes. "
These old vineyards were different to the mechanised new plantings that were increasing in other parts of Asti. The planting on these vertiginous slopes was dense, and the vines grew almost vertical. They had been planted by hand, with a painstaking hoeing technique that pulled up the soil around each vine so as to protect and strengthen the root system. The massale selection of clones had resulted in perfectly balanced vines between vigour and yield, with moderate yields, and loose bunches that were naturally resistant to disease.
After the Second World War, young people had left this agricultural life for the cities, and by the 1980s many of these old vineyards had been abandoned, or were tended with difficulty by their elderly growers. It was then that Vinchio Vaglio committed to working with some of these growers to restore vineyard health and viability, and to make a range of Barbera exclusively sourced from these old vines. This prompted more growers to come forward and join the project. The co-operative pays a premium for grapes from these old vines, and its technical advisors assist growers in cultivating and maintaining the old vines.
These old vines are on the steepest slopes of the region and the skilled work to cultivate them is done by hand. Vinchio Vaglio produce two premium Barbera d’Asti made only from these vineyards where vines are between 50-80 years old. “Vigne Vecchie” is a sumptuous, oak-aged Barbera with deep, inky fruit. The cuvée “Vigne Vecchie 50”, released for the co-operative’s 50th anniversary in 2009, is a luminous and vibrant unoaked Barbera. Both convey the depth and vitality of old vine wisdom.
www.vinchio.com
@vinchiovaglio
June 2023: We are pleased to add the news that Vinchio Vaglio have been certified as a Sustainable Winery by Equalitas.
