Anzivino di Anzivino Emanuele e Andrea

Anzivino is a family-run winery in Gattinara, in Alto Piemonte, the northern corner of Piedmont where Nebbiolo grows on hills of volcanic origin, about half an hour from Lake Maggiore and Lake Orta and around an hour from Milan. Emanuele Anzivino founded it in 1998 with a deliberate choice: Gattinara and its volcanic hills, a territory historically devoted to Nebbiolo. That same year he restored a historic 1862 distillery in the heart of the town, which now houses the cellar, the large oak casks and five guest rooms named after the Nebbiolo clones.

Today the winery is run by Emanuele and his son Andrea, the winemaker and the new generation of the family. They farm just over four hectares on porphyry-rich soils and produce around 22,000 bottles a year, with grape selection and harvest done entirely by hand. From the vineyards there is a view of Monte Rosa, and the area is a good base for exploring Valsesia and the lakes.

The family leads every tasting rather than handing it to an outside sommelier, because telling the story of a wine to the people who will drink it is what repays years of work in the vineyard and the cellar. Those who visit taste the wines directly with the people who make them.

The production is strongly focused on Nebbiolo, grown on the volcanic hills of Alto Piemonte. At its heart are three Gattinara DOCG wines from the Uccineglio, Lurghe, Valferana and Molsino vineyards, each aged in large oak casks. The Gattinara DOCG ages for three years, the Gattinara Riserva for four, and CESARE, a late-harvest Gattinara Riserva made only in the best vintages, for five years in a 1,580-litre cask built for it. The 2020 vintage of CESARE was awarded a gold medal.

Alongside them come the Nebbiolo Coste della Sesia, the freshest expression of the grape, and the Bramaterra, also made as a Riserva, where Nebbiolo meets Croatina, Vespolina and Uva Rara on porphyry hills.

Two wines are rarely found elsewhere. Continuo is a red wine that matures for twelve months in an amphora lined with beeswax. Rosa Continuo is a Méthode Classique rosé from Pinot Nero, aged 36 months on the lees, whose dosage is made with Continuo itself.