Piedmont Wine Tasting Featuring Gagliardo Winery with Special Guest Stefano Gagliardo

"Old wine and friends improve with age."

 

Italian Proverb quotes

 

 

We have a lot of old friends and old wine here at the Wine Watch.  Nebbiolo is my favorite grape varietal and Barolo and Barbaresco are 100% Nebbiolo so whenever one of our friends are in town from the Piedmont we schedule a date to drink some of my favorite varietal.

 

Barolo is one of the world’s most-age worthy wines.   I like to compare these Italian treasures to the great wines of Burgundy, another region that has to deal with harsh conditions with a varietal that is very finicky. Nebbiolo like Pinot Noir only produces great wines in the a few areas of the world.  

 

We have one of Piedmont’s top producers in town on Thursday, September 4th with Stephano Gagliardo in town to showcase some of the new releases from this landmark winery from the Piedmont. 

 

The fee for this event which includes dinner is $195 + tax, for reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com.  Please let us know when you make your reservations if you have any dietary restrictions and chefs Toni and Dani will be happy to accommodate you.

 

 

Piedmont Wine Tasting Featuring Gagliardo Winery

with Special Guest Stefano Gagliardo

Thursday, September 4, 2025

7:30 PM

 

2020 Tenuta Garetto Barbera D’Asti Rosina

2020 Tenuta Garetto Nizza Barbera Favà

2021 Tenuta Garetto Timorasso

2019 Gianni Gagliardo Barolo

2020 Gianni Gagliardo Barolo La Morra

2020 Gianni Gagliardo Barolo Fossati

2022 Gianni Gagliardo Fallegro

NV Gianni Gagliardo Chinato

 

Menu

Farinata with Murazzano Cheese

Bagna Cauda

Vitello Tonnato

Brasato al Barolo served with Bagnet Verd

Bignole

 

The fee for this tasting which includes dinner is $195 + tax, for reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com.  Please let us know when you make your reservations if you have any dietary restrictions and chefs Toni and Dani will be happy to accommodate you.

 

 

A bit about Gianni Gagliardo Winery:

 

 

The origins of the winery belong to the Colla Family, which has been growing vineyards in Piedmont since the middle of the 19th century. The territory of origin is Santo Stefano Belbo, a land of great Moscato, Langa that borders with the Monferrato. Generation after generation the family moves down to arrive in Alba, especially in Diano d'Alba, hill of excellence for Dolcetto, where in 1913 Paolo Colla was born.

 

Paolo Colla vinifies Dolcetto with great passion but dreams of Barolo. It is 1961 that manages to acquire a farm in La Morra where he can finally grow and vinify Barolo. From the beginning they are wines of great finesse and longevity, that gets important recognition in the main wine exhibitions of the time.

 

In 1972 Marivanna Colla, Paolo's only daughter, married a young man from Roero: Gianni Gagliardo. Gianni is a young boy with so much ambition and it is Paolo, with paternal affection, to transmit his passion for wine.

 

1974

The bottling of home-made amateur wines becomes professional. In addition to the traditional Barolo of Paolo Colla, the first wine created by Gianni could only be in the Roero area, his homeland. The early '70s are a great time for this territory thanks to the intuition of some great producers of the time who started producing white wine on its sandy soils. The vine chosen by these is Arneis. Therefore the Favorita remained, a vine at the time almost disappeared that Gianni has therefore decided to adopt.

 

1978

Start of production of Moscato, which subsequently became an independent winery with the name of VillaM. The Colla family had never stopped growing Moscato, even planting it among the rows of Barolo, and this moment somehow marks a return to the origins.

 

1981

After Paolo passed away, Gianni Gagliardo assumes the reins of the cellar that bears his name, inheriting the tradition of the Colla family.

 

1984

With great innovative spirit, one of the first Metodo Classico of the area is born, the Gagliardo Brut, which somehow anticipates the times. It will be produced until the early nineties

 

1986

In 1986 the Paolo Colla Winery became Gianni Gagliardo, and a very special new logo was chosen: a falling mask that symbolizes the depth of wine and its ability to create strong bonds between people. "In Vino Veritas"...

 

1988

Towards the end of the decade new techniques were introduced in the cellar. It was in fact very recently that in Piedmont the tests of use of the French barrique began. Gianni decides to take an alternative route, and starts working with the most sober 500 and 700 liters tonneaux. Meanwhile the vineyard surfaces grow.

 

1990

In the early nineties, experiments were carried out on the Favorita vines, as well as an increase in the surfaces, and the vinification of the historic family vineyards. Just in 1990 Alberto, Gianni's second son joined the winery. He gradually became passionate about the vineyard, which became his profession in 1998

 

1998

After his studies in Enology, the firstborn Stefano joins the company. The new generation lives the wine with great passion, and immediately participates actively in its thinking. It is in fact at the end of the decade that the family gradually begins to invest in new land from Barolo.

 

2003

It is the year in which the winemaking trials of the Cru begin. It is about micro-vinifying the vines in small sub-parcels, in order to understand where is the best quality of each hill, the peculiarities of the various areas of the vineyard, and the best way to make wine out of them.

 

2010

After a degree at the Agriculture's University of Turin Paolo, third and last son, joins the company. After a few years of training in different company areas, he now concentrates his time on tourist reception.

 

2013

Exactly ten years after the start of the small tests, the first two winery Cru had been released, now called MeGA (Additional Geographic Mentions). They are Barolo Lazzarito Vigna Preve 2013 and Barolo Castelletto 2013.

 

2014

The return to the big casks. And as far as the Cru are concerned, customized containers are sized to optimize the vinification and aging.

 

2017

In July 2017 the family acquires Tenuta Garetto, a beautiful estate with 10 hectares of vineyard and winery in Agliano Terme. In the heart of the most premium Barbera area in the world, recently defined by the new appellation Nizza docg.

 

All The Wines From Gianni Gagliardo Winery On Sale

 

2022 Gianni Gagliardo Fallegro Piedmont, Italy

Price: $19.25                             Your Price: $16.94

The year 2023 began with the unknowns due to the anomalous climate trend of the previous year characterized by a long period of drought. The winter, colder than the previous one, lasted until the end of February with significant rains which allowed the vine to resume its normal physiological activity. The development of the plant then continued regularly despite the fluctuating climatic context: the first part of spring was characterized by very little rain and instead the months of May and June by frequent and sometimes significant disturbances and a generally cool climate. The summer was hot and stable from a meteorological point of view although without significant consequences related to water stress in the vineyards and thus allowing considerable health of the bunches. The white grapes reached maturity with excellent acidity values and a balanced sugar content . The black grapes developed in ideal conditions.

In conclusion, we are looking forward to a year with wines that are elegant, balanced, pleasant and with great potential.

Grapes: Favorita (Vermentino) + 5% complementary grapes

Winemaker notes:  Our Fallegro was born in 1974 as one of the first vinifications of Favorita grapes. This is the Piedmontese version of the Vermentino vine, which is however grown far from the sea, in a continental climate and in sandy soils, which characterize it and make it fresh and saline.

 

 

2021 Tenuta Garetto 'Derthona' Timorasso Colli Tortonesi Piedmont, Italy

Price: $48.00                             Your Price: $42.24

We grow our vineyards in the municipality of Montemarzino (AL), a very rocky soil that gives great freshness and minerality. The long aging on the lees gives depth and breadth to this great Piedmontese white.

2020 Tenuta Garetto 'Rosina' Barbera d'Asti DOCG, Piedmont, Italy

Price: $19.50                             Your Price: $17.16

(91 Points) This Barbera is a tad shy but with a bit of time or a decant, the wine shows up in force. Aromas of ripe black cherries and currants mixed with allspice and freshly turned earth. The palate is perked up with bright acidity turning the fruit flavors into tart wild berries. The wine continues to evolve in the glass with each sip and finishes with distinct floral and earthy notes. A winner. — Jeff Porter Wine Enthusiast

 

 

2020 Tenuta Garetto Fava Superiore Nizza DOCG Italy

Price: $45.00               Your Price: $36.00

Full bodied, dry red wine based on 100% Barbera with great complexity and finesse. Nizza is renowned for its excellent Barbera. Aromas and flavors of blackberry, sour cherry, licorice, dried herbs and black pepper.

 

 

2019 Gianni Gagliardo Barolo DOCG, Piedmont, Italy

Price: $60.00               Your Price: $52.80

A great example of Nebbiolo from the Barolo DOCG.   This was a unique vintage that began with heavy snowfall in the spring, but this lead to lower yields leads which gives the resulting wines wonderful concentration and depth of fruit.  This young wine is just beginning to shine with beautiful rose petal floral highlights on the nose, light earthy truffle aromas and a good amount of cherry berry fruit.  On the palate this wine is rich and layered with a long complex herb and spice laced finish.  Very pleasurable to drink today but with lots of ageing potential as well.

 

 

2020 Gianni Gagliardo Fossati Barolo DOCG, Italy

Price: $170.25                           Your Price: $149.82

2020 vintage marked by vegetative balance in Fossati. Early budding as in the other crus but about a week later than the others. The rains of May and June kept us busy with biological control but, thanks to the timeliness of the interventions, we maintained an excellent defense. The rains at the beginning of the summer led to having bunches that were generally larger than in previous years, the thinning and reduction operations were essential to rebalance production to make the most of the microclimate of the Fossati.

 

Cellar notes:  A lush, mouth-filling style, featuring a concentrate of fruit, ripe Asian plums and a concentrate of cherry and red apple smoothie on a delicate cyclamen and gentian flowers. The light scents of sea water lead and open to a delicate undertone of lichen leaves, eucalyptus and lemon balm. Dry and refined tannins are rightly balanced by a juicy blackberry and a sweet blood orange acidity. In 2018 we produced 1,088 bottles

 

 

2020 Gianni Gagliardo del Comune di La Morra Barolo DOCG, Italy

Price: $106.50                           Your Price: $93.72

Lesser knows Barolo appellation, the ‘’Comunale’’ can be produced by multiple parcels within the same village. So by its 11 villages, the Barolo area can produce 11 Barolo Comunali. Poderi Gianni Gagliardo makes two of them. The La Morra since vintage 2016 and Monforte since 2020, that will be release for the first time this year.

Barolo del Comune di La Morra is made by a specific zone of La Morra. It’s the area surrounding the cellar, with a lower altitude compared to the village average. It’s a place historically recognized by local winemaker to source flavours, ethereal notes, and early expressing wines.

Winemaker notes: The two plots used for Barolo del Comune di La Morra are located nearby on the same hill. However, they are very different from each other. One is a plateau that drifts towards west, it’s very open and exposed, almost a donkey back shape. This allows a lot of energy to accumulate on the grapes and wines. The second plot is made by a south faced amphitheater and a hump. Is this second parcel that gives the elegant side of the blend.

 

 

Gianni Gagliardo Barolo Chinato, Piedmont, Italy

Price: $75.00               Your Price: $66.00

Chinato is created by the aromatization process of Barolo, which is carried out through a cold infusion in a hydro-alcoholic solution of cinchona bark, gentian root, cardamom seeds, vanilla and other spices, resulting in an incredibly unique wine once you have tried Barolo Chinato you will never forget it.