Collection: Timorasso

Timorasso is an old grape variety—and yet a new phenomenon.
Before phylloxera wreaked havoc in Italy’s vineyards, it was widely cultivated, especially in southern Piedmont, southern Lombardy, and even in the region around Genoa. Once the microscopic pest had devoured the vines, however, Timorasso was not granted an immediate resurrection.

One likely reason is that it wasn’t particularly easy to manage in the vineyard: in spring, it tended to suffer from poor fruit set, and in autumn, its grapes not only varied greatly in size but often ripened at different times. Phylloxera thus provided a convenient excuse to simply forget about it. But fortunately, that forgetting wasn’t universal. Especially in the Colli Tortonesi, a region that remains deeply rooted in rural traditions to this day, people refused to ignore the variety and continued to cultivate it. In 1929, for example, Carlo and Clementina Ricci planted their vineyards in San Leto with Timorasso—vines from which their grandson Daniele now produces a white wine they would surely be proud of.

The backbone of Timorasso is its acidity, which is why some critics—somewhat hastily—compare it to Riesling. But while both have firm acidity, they differ in how that acidity presents itself on the palate, and Timorasso lacks the overtly fruity aromatics typical of Riesling. Instead, you’ll find notes of almonds, white blossoms, herbs, and plenty of minerality. When vinified with care—using healthy grapes, spontaneous fermentation, and patient aging in large oak barrels—Timorasso evolves beautifully over years, even decades.