Why it matters
The producer
Torraccia del Piantavigna makes Nebbiolo-based reds in the Novara hills of northern Piedmont, working two DOCG appellations that most wine buyers know less well than they deserve: Ghemme, the home appellation, and Gattinara, the neighbouring zone to the east. The winery was founded in 1997 by Alessandro Francoli, whose family had been distilling grappa in the same hills since 1875. The wine operation and the distillery remain separate businesses under family ownership.
The winery takes its name from a parcel of land and a family connection that runs further back than the 1997 founding. Pierino Piantavigna, maternal great-grandfather of the current Francoli generation, planted the first Nebbiolo vines on the hillsides above Ghemme in 1977. Alessandro built the winery two decades later to make wine from those parcels. The Ponti family, also from Ghemme and owners of a major Italian vinegar and preserve business, took a significant minority shareholding in February 2015; the Francoli family kept majority control.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
Ghemme and Gattinara sit in the Novara hills on the eastern foothills of the Alps, roughly 80 kilometres north of the Langhe and separated from it by the wide Po valley. The distance matters in the glass. Where Barolo and Barbaresco grow on Tortonian clays that push toward density and dark fruit, the Novara hills rest on volcanic subsoils laid over glacial deposits. This produces a lighter soil profile that pulls Nebbiolo toward a more perfumed, mineral character rather than the concentrated extract of the Langhe.
The 40 hectares of Torraccia del Piantavigna vineyards sit on the hillsides above Ghemme. The volcanic and glacially deposited subsoils that characterise this part of the Novara hills give the wines a mineral quality distinct from Langhe Nebbiolo. Lighter soils mean less extraction and a perfumed lift in the fruit; the DOCG ageing requirements then add the tannin development the grape needs before the wine reaches the market.
In the cellar
Vineyards and cellar
All 40 hectares are hand-tended. In the cellar, Torraccia del Piantavigna ages its wines in large Allier casks of 25 to 50 hectolitres and Slavonian oak casks of 70 to 150 hectolitres. The choice of cask size is deliberate. Large vessels allow a slow, gentle micro-oxidation through the wood staves, which softens Nebbiolo's characteristically firm tannins and allows the tannin molecules to bind without leaving a perceptible oak character on the wine. Small barriques are not used. The effect is a Nebbiolo that arrives in the glass with grip softened and perfume intact, rather than overlaid with toast or vanilla.
The DOCG ageing minimums reinforce this approach. Ghemme spends at least 20 months in wood and 9 in bottle before release; Gattinara spends at least 24 months in barrel. By the time a bottle reaches a table, years of slow development have already done their work.
Wines to know
The range in view
The range is built around two DOCG reds. The Ghemme DOCG is at least 85% Nebbiolo, potentially blended with Vespolina or Uva Rara, and carries the characteristic minerality and perfume of the Novara volcanic soils. Tannins are firm on release but softened by the large-cask ageing regime; acidity runs bright and lifts the finish cleanly. The Gattinara DOCG is predominantly or entirely Nebbiolo, aged longer in barrel, and tends toward firmer tannins at release, with the same perfumed lift and mineral undercurrent.
Torraccia del Piantavigna also produces a Vespolina varietal bottling, a white wine labelled Erbavoglio, and a rosé. The Vespolina offers a different angle on the Novara hills: lighter in body, more angular in acidity, with the grape's characteristic hint of spice alongside red fruit. Both the white and rosé are listed in the range but are secondary to the two DOCG reds in production and market profile.