Grower: Valli Unite
Region: Piedmont, Italy
Grape Varieties: Barbera, Dolcetto, Croatina, Cortese
Viticulture: Organic
Category: Red
Size: 75cl bottle
Valli Unite, in the Tortona Hills of southeast Piemonte, may be Italy’s only natural wine cooperative. Vineyards lie amid beehives, grain fields, orchards, woodlands with truffles, and livestock herds. 30 members work on the 100-hectare farm and call it home, making everything from honey to salumi and wine in between. During harvest you can still stomp grapes with your bare feet, without feeling the need for an Instagram pic. Their wines range from the glou-glou - Bianco, Rosato, Rosso, and a crown cap farmer fizz - to more complex natural wines, all at great quality-price ratios. "We believe natural vinification is a social responsibility" is the philosophy; soil humus, livestock manure, native yeasts, local grapes, time, and parsimonious sulphur compose the winning formula. Visit one morning, work hard, and then stay for the communal lunch. It’s a visit unlike any other winery - or working farm - that we’ve been to
Valli Unite Rosso is the farm's everyday red wine, made from a blend of the Piemontesi workhouse red varieties Barbera, Dolcetto, and Croatina, plus a dash of Cortese for added freshness. It's a true farmer's wine with bright, lip-smacking acidity, low tannin, and insane drinkability. Serve it with a light chill.
