Cantine Gemma

Gemma came into being in 1978, when Silvano Piacentini decided to found a new wine producing enterprise in the commune of Serralunga d’Alba, located inside an old winery which had formerly belonged to the Marchesi Falletti’s Opera Pia Barolo(the premises have now been completely renovated, with state-of-theart vinification equipment and new barrels). The Gemma company actually owns around 16 hectares (39.5 acres) of vineyards – divided up between the communes of Serralunga and Monforte d’Alba, of which 65% consist of plantings of Nebbiolo for Barolo.

I

n 1990, Giorgio Barbero joined the company. He works with the Faculty of Agriculture at Turin University, and it is he who is responsible for supervising and developing all of Cantine Gemma’s viticultural and winemaking operations.

The Dolcetto vineyards are situated in the commune of Roddino (and more precisely in the renowned sub-zone of Madonna della Neve), whereas that for Barbera is in the commune of Alba (the Bricco Angelini vineyard). The company also owns a small vineyard planted with Rossese in the Castelletto district – a sub-zone of Monforte d’Alba where this old, late-ripening, Piedmontese white grape variety has succeeded in surviving till the present day – from which a rare white wine (partially aged in barriques) is obtained.

The “ordinary” Barolo and the Barolo Giblin are the result of very strict selection of the Nebula grapes, carried out at the time of the harvest, which usually takes place from the 10th. October onwards…