Berry by berry, cluster by cluster: painstaking work, between rows affected by hail, to save the golden nectar of the season. «I admit it: this harvest is one of the most problematic of my life». Sergio Marchisio doesn’t hide it: the “storm” that hit some of his green vineyards, at the beginning of summer, irreparably damaged part of the harvest. But of course we shouldn’t forget the glass is half full: «Where the hail has spared them, our vines have done an exceptional “work”: their fruit, this year, is of a truly spectacular quality». You will be able to taste a preview of it soon, when – after the harvest and the first cellar operations (destemming, pressing) – the must will have stopped boiling and will have finally become wine. We are talking about Arneis, the prince white wine of Roero. One of the jewels of Piedmont: sapid, mineral, very special.

Sergio Marchisio, an absolute pioneer by vocation, was the first to make Arneis sparkling wine. His classic method “Faiv”, buttery and very soft, stays even 9 years on yeasts. It remains an astonishing example of how it’s possible to obtain such finesse, such breadth and such depth. Mission: to ennoble beyond imagination the pure varietal expression of an authentically peasant vine. A grape enhanced in recent decades by the best producers of that corner of Piedmont that extends on the left bank of the Tanaro, in front of the Langhe. Marchisio Family’s Roero Arneis is surprising even in the corked version. It’s a still white wine which shows an explosive fragrance, very rich in scents. All this, thanks to the special care of the organic disciplinary. Soils and plants literally regenerated, year after year, by the rigorous practice of biodynamic viticulture.

And since around Castellinaldo there is no stopping, Sergio Marchisio has decided to go further. To delight wine lovers, in fact, now there is Roero Arneis vinified directly in amphora. A treatment that enriches with light and warmth the already immense generosity of this small enological masterpiece. Of course, the vintage will not be easy to forget: «We are proceeding in slow motion, with the harvest, going to “sift” the bunches – by hand, one by one – to recover the single berries not damaged by hail. This means: a huge amount of extra work and a considerable waste of time». It’s called passion, and it’s the family trademark. The extra gear that will surely make Roero Arneis 2021 even more precious and unique. A special Piedmontese wine, son of destiny and of an unshakable faith in the future.