Giribaldi

After crossing the River Po, the road that runs across southern Piedmont from Turin towards the sea works is way through the mysteriuos tangle of hills known as the Langhe. Geographically they lie between the Ligurian Alps, the Monferrato area around Asti and the River Tanaro, but their precise borders remain a moot point.

At a distance it is not always easy to make out the houses and villages. In the summer it is more soothing to dwell on the roundness of the contours, accentuated by the lush swelling of the woods, vineyards and fields of corn. In winter it is the turn of the brightness of the snow to add to the disorienting effect of the rolling landscape, while in spring and autumn a light mist seeps into the valleys, blurring the heavily-outlined knolls.

Venturing inside, though, reveals - as the celebrated local writer Cesare Pavese remarked - the infinity of details with wich nature and agriculture have merged into a harmony that kindles peace, respect and nostalgia.
The roads run along the ridges linking farmsteads, castels and villages where the colour of the ploughed fileds reapperas in the bricks used to build the houses.

The endless series of hills owes its origins to the formation of the land, which is clayey in the upper layers, and marly limestone or even decidedly sandy underneath.
The surface and meteoric waters have flattened the crests - know as langhe in the local dialect - and the sides of the hills with ease, ofter carving out deep furrow.

Vine clones' of the same variety, that have complementary phenotype characters, are transplanted after a long and accurate selection, in order to get ideal agronomic and oenological types.
 

It is fundamental to select only high quality vines to get greater value grapes and wines: this result can be obtained only by crossing different peculiarities of different clones. The cru Garnì is a perfect example of this procedure: during the reimplanation of 1995, three different clones of Dolcetto were planted (precisely CVT CN 22 clone who bears consistend medium size grapes that make a very intense ruby red wine with slight violet reflexes and high alcoholic strenght; CVT AL 275 clone who bears small grapes thath make a good bodied wine of intense and fruited aroma; CVT 8 clone who bears medium to big size grapes that make an intense and harmoniuous wine with a complex and elegant bouquet and an excellent balance between alcohol and acids). Every clone generates grapes that have particular characters: they will all contribute to produce a very defined quality wine and a masterly union nof these different types will create a real complete wine. Nowadays the selection phase is considered the fundamental step of the whole vine-growind process and the frontier of rurther developments in oenology.

An important development sector in Giribaldi firm is the production of organic wine. The project has started in 2001 and will give its first result in 2004 vintage. The awareness about ecology and health matters and a market which is more and more concerned about the use of chemical products in agriculture and food industry, have given a big input to this new anterprise
In Italy organic and biologic experiments in wine production were started, more than forty years ago, by a small group of "philosopher-farmes" and the result of their experience were acknowledged and regulated by the Europena Community only in 1991, Nowdays the "consumers" are becoming more and more "tasters" and their requests and needs are oriented towards a greater attention on "all" quality standards of wine. Foreign markete, that is even more demanding about bio guarantees, is transforming a narrow market in a great proportions business reality. Giribald firm, whose 70% of products are exported in different countries all over the planet, has mad the purpose to increase the efforts in this direction and to improve its already topmost quality standards, offering a wide range of organic wines who are bound to become the real "ambassadors" of Langhe culture all over the worlds.

As wine culture is complex and subtle and needs to be instilled and taught, the standard of quality of the products we offer is excellent so as not to disappoint not only expectations, but also the imagination of people whose heart has always been with us and who have looked with longing on Piedmont as a land of dreams. This is the spirit on which the company is based, benefiting as it does, furthermore, from the outstanding climatic and soil conditions of its vineyards combined with great passion for the craft of transforming their yeld into fine wines with such particular tasting qualities.

Azienda Giribaldi Mario was founded at the begining of the xx century and has now been farming for three generations. Times in those days were hard and agriculture was not only one of the rare sources of economic support but a reason to be proud of those strong ties with a ground that caused so much suffering. The people however, were used to sacrificing themselvers for the land.
Today following the example set by tradition, and for the love of something as genuine and alive as wine the work begun by our fathers and grandfathers before them lives on with the same passion.  Times are still hard and changeable. The quantity produced is a final result and represents the logical consequence of a continual process of improvement and consolidation that begins with the tilling of the land and continues with the technology of transformation.

What has not changed since then is the fortunate location of the winery in the heart of the Langhe clearly an extraordinary wine growing land, but above all a land for culture and traditions. The colour, sounds, smell and flavours emerging from this area are the true expression for culture, a means of communication, an image in itself. Our efforts and commitment are directed towards these issues; making good wines produced in keeping with the traditions of our land that have the right tasting properties for everyday consumption and will prove pleasing and stimulating on every social occasion.

One of our main objectives is to better the quality of the grapes through a selection of the vine clones, without however leaving behing the other important factors in the vineyard.
A new important novelty which has been introduced into the company, is the production of biological wine. In a market which is becoming more and more aware of the use of chemical products in the alimentary sector, we thought it necessary, and interesting to move in this direction. On the other hand, biological is recognized at a European level and it is an opportunity directed not only towards a consumers niche but an increasing reality wich is destined to confront directly with the conventional production. Seeing as the demand for organic wine is increasing, above all from the overseas it is understandable that it is in our interest to work in this direction. In fact 70% of our company's production is exported in different countries.
 

A choice made with the intention of communicating to the world the image of our civilization, that can really be the ambassador for our wines, our people and all the other aspects of the culture of our Langhe.