I was introduced to Fontanafredda as being a famous winery that made affordable & reliable products as well as more prestigious bottles. I then did a little research and found out it is a historic estate, in fact it was the first one to be in the Barolo Region.
History
Fontanafredda’s beginning goes back to mid 1800s when the estate was bought by the Prince of Piemonte, Vittorio Emanuele II, who would become the first King of Italy. It was a gift for his wife Rosa Vercellana & eventually their children inherited it when they both passed. One of these kids was Emanuele Alberto, Count of Fontanafredda, a small town or commune. The first wine elaborated at Fontanafredda was in 1867, however, the production really started 1870. Emanuele Alberto was a visionary at the time, having specialized employees working the 300 hectares of vineyards the estate had. By popularizing his wines, he managed to make Barolo notable worldwide, while also investing money in the commune allowing for a school & a church to be built. Emanuele Alberto dies in 1894 & Fontanafredda is then led by his son Gastone Guerrieri. About 20 years later, the winery achieved maximum production with 200 employees & multiple families living on the estate.
In 1928, almost 50 years after the introduction of Phylloxera in Italy, it unfortunately reaches Langhe & destroys practically all vineyards, including Fontanafredda’s. The following year, in the USA, a great market for wine, begins The Great Economic Depression. Both these situations, plus many others forced the owners to sell Fontanafredda’s estate & cellars to Monte dei Paschi di Siena Bank, while the branding was purchased by the Gancia family, native of the Asti Province. Carlo Gancia is known as the father of Italian sparkling wine, making the first one by traditional method in Piemonte.
10 years ago, Fontanafredda was sold to Oscar Farinetti at a value of 90 million euro with his partner Luca Baffigo Filangieri, both natives from Piedmont. They now own 64% of the estate, the remaining 36% belonging to another entrepreneurial foundation. It has since then regain a lot of it’s prestige even if it never stopped being a staple in Barolo wines.
The Vines
The Vineyards
Fontanafredda possesses multiple vineyards through the Langhe Region, in Piemonte, mainly in the communes of Serralunga d’Alba, Diano d’Alba, Barolo, Dogliani, Farigliano, Alba, Rodello & Murinsengo. It also owns vineyards in Friulia-Venezia-Giulia with its Già series. In Piemonte, the vines are located on sloped hills at an altitude between 200 & 400 metres. Most of the soils are composed of calcareous marl, similar to what is found in the Barolo Region. Calcareous marl are calcium carbonate-based with a low to medium clay content & is somewhere in-between mudstone & limestone. The composition may vary greatly from plot to plot, some having more sand, loam or clay. The climate in the region of Barolo is prone to severe changes from one vintage to the other. This is due to a continental climate with highly unpredictable precipitations. Continental climates tend to have hot summer & cold winters providing a significant variation through the year. The heaviest months of rainfall are in the spring & the fall.
The Grapes
Spread on the several hectares of the estate, Fontanafredda cultivates many of the classic Piemontese grapes. Nebbiolo, Barbera, Dolcetto & Moscato are a big part of the wine culture in these regions, but the vineyards also contain some international varieties such as Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling & Viognier. In order to create some blends, some minor indigenous local grapes are cultivated here & there.
The Climate
The microclimate surrounding the estate is a typical continental one, much like the rest of Langhe & Piemonte in general. The temperature varies from 0 to 10 °C in the winter to 25 to 35 °C in the summer. The rainfall lands somewhere between 850 and 900 mm depending on the vintage & occurs mainly in the spring & the fall. The disparity of the weather from one year to another is particularly present in the Langhe Region allowing for various wine profile through the years.
The agriculture
Fontanafredda relies on modern & natural agriculture, notably organic & biodynamic, by adopting the VinoLibero. These guidelines serve to decrease the environmental impact of wine agriculture & allows for less harmful chemicals in the fields & in the wine. The estate’s 100 hectares only manage to provide about 20% of the need for wine production. The remaining 80% relies on over 400 local vine growers contributions who are also following the VinoLibero guidelines, generating fruits without any chemical residues. This gives the opportunity for Fontanafredda to crush 6 million kilograms of grapes each year.
The Winery
The Philosophy
Fontanafredda’s philosophy is to reduce the interactions with the wine. Some of the methods adopted to achieve this is by keeping the indigenous yeasts & decreasing the amount of sulfites below the allowed limit. Furthermore, it only employs concrete & steel vats for fermentation & ages its wines in large oak barrels. The estate also participates in ecological concern by using up to 85% recycled glass for their bottles & applying FSC-approved labels.
Wine production
A little less than 50% of the wines of the estate are red, representing typical Piemonte Regions. Next in line is sparkling wines with Asti taking a big share. Finally, the whites make up a quarter of the production, with DOCG expressions such as Arneis & Gavi. Fontanafredda is the leader in Barolo by terms of quantity, with about 6% of the denomination coming from the winery.
Popular Products
Fontanafedda possesses multiple products giving a lot of choice for consumers. Still, their flagship bottles must be one of these three, since it’s by far their most bought ones. The Fontanafredda Barolo, a very reliable offering at an often low price. The Barolo Serralunga d’Alba, a more serious Barolo that reflects a more specific terroir. Finally, the Briccotondo, a concentrated & powerful Barbera.
The Series
The winery owns 11 different catalogues at the moment. First of all, there is the Barolo - The Library Collection made of various old vintage Barolo. Then there’s the Le Vigne, mainly made up of the Vigna La Rosa, a prestigious single vineyard Barolo. The Stripe series is one of their core ranges, with multiple different denominations from Piemonte. The Superstars is next on the list & is made of their noblest single vineyard products. The Silver Label is the most popular & known of all their brands. The Briccotondo represents a few bottles from Piemonte & Langhe. In the sparkling wines, it possesses three distinct series, The Prestigious Sparkling Line offering mainly Asti sparkling wines while The Classic Sparkling Line is made up of an array of DOCs & DOCGs of Piemonte. They also have a category for Alta Langa. Additionally, they make some Barolo Chinato, a wine liqueur & some grappe made from Barolo or Moscato marc.
The Reference
More info @fontanafredda.it
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