VINTAGE: 2022
GRAPE VARIETY: Barbera (100%)
LOCATION: Acqui Terme, Alessandria, Piedmont IT
YOUNG AMBITION: Enrico Olivieri serves as the assistant winemaker for the Bera family and is regionally known as one of the best tractor drivers in all of Alta Piedmonte. The vineyard rows are tightly spaced and extremely steep, necessitating expertise in most cases. Enrico's father, a farmer who manages extensive land for other winemakers in the area, instilled in him the skills required for the more technical aspects of farming.Although hailing from the small town of Acqui Terme, approximately a thirty-minute drive from the Bera estate, Enrico embraces a decidedly modern approach. He crafts playful wines, using minimal sulfur and focusing on native, lesser-known grape varieties. As part of his arrangement with the Bera family, he has access to their cellar for production and storage but must use his equipment.Following a long production day with Bera, Enrico returns to Acqui Terme to pick a small amount of fruit. He then heads back to the estate to process late into the evening. Meticulous in his process, he maintains an extremely clean operation, with sparkling clean bins, largely because he has such a minuscule production size...every bit matters!Enrico farms just 1.5 hectares, and his largest production wine, Bota, yields only 750 bottles. Giulia of Gonella joked she makes wines serious wines of thought, but Enrico produces wines she wants to drink — playful and lower in alcohol, with a focus on enjoyment, a challenging feat in an ever-warming climate. His wines were consistently the first to be finished at the table.The Bota is a short fifteen-day maceration of Barbera in stainless steel tanks and then aged in tank for six months before release.
- Rebekah