Cantine Garrone 'Munaloss' Vino Rosso 2024

In 1921, Luigi Garrone started making wine in Val d'Ossola, the northernmost corner of Piemonte. Even now, a century later, this place feels wild and inaccessible. Vines cling to mountainsides and you wonder how anyone gets up there, let alone harvests anything.

Luigi's grandsons Piermario and Roberto run things now, along with Roberto's sons Marco and Matteo. Four generations in, and they've taken on a pretty significant mission: keeping the local winemaking tradition alive. In the 1990s, they started working with small farmers who were struggling to survive, combining fruit from more than forty growers to make something viable. They own 3.5 hectares themselves and manage another 7.5 through this network. Without them, a lot of these vineyards would just be forest again.

This wine is a blend of Prünent (the ancient mountain Nebbiolo clone that grows here, trained on those traditional toppia pergolas), and Croatina. The Prünent comes from younger vines, which makes this the more approachable, drink-now version of what they do.

It's low-tannin and mouthwatering. Wild mountain berries, a little earth, brambly fruit.