«We believe in our hills and our wine: we are sure that the Earth will have the last word, this time too». And so says Sergio Marchisio, a man who loves to express himself with facts. This is demonstrated by the Marchisio Family’s latest venture, which in recent days has taken another important step: two new hectares of vineyards, with Pinot Noir and Barbera plants, a stone’s throw from Castellinaldo. The hill is Bricco Medica, at Priocca. «We’ve just finished preparing the soil, and now we’re planting the rooted cuttings». Great news, just while Italy is still suffering from the coronavirus emergency. «Planting vines means betting, once again, on the future». If you like, all this is reminiscent of a biblical gesture: the vines that Noah planted at the end of the flood. Joking aside: the origin of the wine comes from Armenia, the home of amphorae. And the vessels in which Sergio Marchisio’s biodynamic wines are refined are made of ceramics. And the Pinot Noir and Barbera that will be harvested at Bricco Medica in Priocca will be welcomed by amphorae.

Sergio Marchisio is a great experimenter: the first to make Arneis sparkling wine, the first to make Nebbiolo wine in amphora (from the cru Valmaggiore, of Vezza d’Alba) and the first – in the Roero – to produce Pinot Noir in amphora. «I love Pinot Noir very much, and I wanted to discover how it could express itself on our hills». The first test proved to be more than encouraging, from the vineyard cultivated in the renowned Bussia basin in Monforte d’Alba. «Great result: the first two thousand bottles were sold like hot cakes». And now, with the new Bricco Medica vineyard, production will be significantly increased – and always with the natural rules of the Marchisio Family, certified organic and faithful to the dictates of Steinerian viticulture. It’s a gamble with yourself, based on your land: «We are and remain farmers, and our strategy is the one indicated by Rudolf Steiner: if you return the soil to its fertility, then the wine pays you back in the glass, with exceptional aromas and maximum naturalness».

All this is even more comforting in the middle of the coronavirus season, with the whole world grappling with the threatening pandemic: it won’t be Noah’s universal deluge, but we have little lack of it. And it’s precisely in difficult times that you can see the authentic heart of Made in Italy, of which the wine of Piedmont (and Roero) represents an absolute excellence, a precious ambassador of territories included in the Unesco heritage. Fabio, Ivo and Elena Marchisio are alongside Sergio in this new, exciting undertaking: to demonstrate, once again, that truly betting on one’s own land, interpreted in a biodynamic way, means looking to the future with confidence. A future that in Marchisio’s house also smells of antiquity, like the amphorae that – since five thousand years – use to guarde the secret of a perfect alchemy: letting wine grow in all its depth but keeping its freshness intact, in the fragrance of eternal youth.