Who we are
Producers of Barolo and the great wines of the Langhe, in Serralunga d’Alba
Fontanafredda
Born in 1858 from the love story between the King of Italy, Vittorio Emanuele II, and Rosa Vercellana. We have always been a community, united by respect for the land, and today we have 120 hectares of ORGANIC crops that frame Italy’s first Storytelling Village.
Our numbers
1858 Years of foundation
120 HA of organic vineyards
5.000.000 Kg of grapes pressed every year
5 Different CRU of Barolo
2.500.000 Bottles of Barolo ageing in the cellars
114 Members of staff
258 Indipendent wine growers
81 Countries in the world
Artisan with industrial figures
Interpreters of the relationship between vineyard, land and human knowledge
We are artisans of wine and we carefully foster the balance between vineyard, land a nd h uman i ntervention. This approach enables us to enhance the identity of every single wine, which becomes the true expression of the land in which it was born. Even though we maintain a strong artisanal footprint, we have the size and structure of a large company.
We are one of the main private producers of Barolo, with products ranging from iconic labels such as Barolo Serralunga d’Alba and classic Barolo to niche selections such as Vigna La Rosa, Vigna La Villa, Vigna La Delizia, Vigna Gallaretto, Vigna San Pietro, Vigna Bianca, Barolo Riserva Bussia and M.G.A. Fontanafredda.
Our production represents nearly 6% of the total of the denomination. We manage and coordinate a network of winegrowers, which enables us to work on a wide planted area in the lower Piedmont and guarantee a constant and diversified quality: 44% of the production is allocated to prestigious red wines – Barolo, Barbaresco, Nebbiolo, Barbera, Dolcetto and other local vineyards -, 26% to typical white wines from the area – such as Arneis, Gavi, Chardonnay and Moscato, whereas the remaining 30% is allocated to the production of sparkling wines, including Alta Langa Metodo Classico and Asti Spumante.
Our vineyard
The mission of fostering biodiversity
We are a winemaking community which preserves and manages nearly 120 hectares of vineyards spread across the municipalities of Serralunga d’Alba, Barolo, Diano d’Alba, Dogliani, Farigliano, Alba, Rodello and Sant’Agata Fossili. Our plots of land are located between 250 and 420 meters above sea level, where native and international varieties such as Nebbiolo, Barbera, Dolcetto, Nascetta, Pinot Nero, Chardonnay Moscato and Timorasso find their home and identity and become the base from which the distinctive quality of our wines was born.
In this hilly landscape, the climate is markedly continental, but it’s characterized by significant changes in rainfall and thermal sums, elements which, every year, define every harvest and make it unique.
We enhance the activity of Casa E. di Mirafiore, which preserves one of the last forests in the lower Langhe region: a green sanctuary of 12 hectares, which protects and fosters the vegetal and animal biodiversity and contributes concretely to the health of the agricultural system. This green lung is an integral part of an organic choice that we made in 2015 and was certified in 2018.
We don’t use any weedkillers, pesticides or artificial fertilisers: our organic approach goes beyond the agricultural technique. It’s a philosophy that invites us to identify ourselves in plants, recognize their nature as a living being and respect their rhythms, needs and essence. For us, planting without using any useless chemicals is an act of care, consistency and responsibility.
organic certification
Our growers
A community rooted in time, a shared commitment to the future
Sixty years of true relationships and mutual trust allowed us to create a solid community of farmers, who are the guardians of vineyards located in sites of rare beauty and vocation. From generation to generation, these allies of our land continue to guarantee high-quality grapes: Nebbiolo, Barbera, Dolcetto, Freisa, Arneis, Gavi, Riesling, Timorasso, Pinot Nero, Chardonnay and Moscato.
We are certain that our role goes beyond our manufacturing activity: we feel the social responsibility to actively contribute to the sustainable growth of the Langhe region as a whole. This is why, for over a decade, we’ve been working side by side with our farmers and we’ve been accompanying them in a journey of awareness towards a cleaner agriculture, oriented to organic farming and to a profound respect for the land and those who inhabit it.
We believe that preserving the fertility of the soil and the health of the environment is our duty towards future generations: leaving our land better than we found it is our silent promise.
Our
vineyards
vineyards
The grape harvest
The harvest, a magical feeling
Our grapes are harvested strictly by hand.
The key to producing a great wine is to harvest the grapes just at the right time, when they are perfectly ripe, not only in terms of sugar and phenology, but also physiologically.
When sugars, tannins and acidity are in complete harmony, that is the right time to harvest.
If you get it wrong, even by just a few days, you risk failing to achieve balance in the wine. The grape harvest is a magical moment in which fear is pitted against hope, ending with joy on a day of celebration.
The fermentation
Fermentation is the energy of our wine
When you have outstanding raw material, you have to do everything within your power not to ruin it. We use different fermentation techniques depending on the type of grape, striving to enhance what the land offers us.
For some years now, thanks to the University of Turin, we have selected yeasts originating from our vineyards. This enables us to carry out different types of fermentation with native yeasts depending on the grape, enhancing the typicality and varietal characteristics in our wines.
Sparkling wines
Every step of our work is driven by delicacy and speed: as soon as we collect it, we do not hesitate to crush the grape berry, so that its aroma and freshness can remain intact. The type of pressure and the maceration period carefully vary, based on the type of personality that we want to give to the wine:
- Blanc de Blanc
- Blanc de Noir
- Rosè
During maceration, tasting is the more valuable tool with which we can exactly measure the right time to proceed. Fermentation is slow and takes place at low temperatures, to make sure that not a hint of freshness is lost. We leave the wine to rest for a few months, then we bottle it and we enrich it with a high number of active yeasts, which ignite the magic of refermentation: that’s how fine, elegant and persistent bubbles are born, the result of a patient and passionate work.
Whites
Every white wine has a story to tell. The fermentation of Arneis, which is delicate and fresh, takes place without any contact with skins, whereas Riesling and Chardonnay let themselves be caressed by their skins for a few hours, so that every nuance and complexity can be captured. We also experiment whole cluster fermentation, a way to respect even more the integrity of the fruit.
Reds
The fermentation of red wines is a ritual that we’ve been following forever and that we adapt to the personality of each variety. Dolcetto stays in contact with skins for 10-12 days, but it’s carefully racked before tannins become too aggressive. Barbera and Nebbiolo spend 12-15 days along with skins, at controlled temperature. Barbera is separated from skins as soon as fermentation is over, whereas Nebbiolo stays in contact with them for a few more days to develop finesse and elegance.
Barolo
Nebbiolo for Barolo is our pride and it changes according to the type of wine that we want to produce.
The fermentation of our classic Barolo lasts 12-15 days, in contact with skins, and it is followed by submerged-cap maceration for 20 days. It’s an ancient practice, which softens tannins, builds structure and conveys longevity to the wine.
Two souls coexist in our Barolo del Comune di Serralunga d’Alba: the most austere vineyards undergo long fermentations with prolonged macerations, whereas quicker fermentations are preferred in the vineyards with sandy soils, to enhance finesse and elegance. By combining these two types of expression, a complex Barolo was born: it’s vibrant with red fruits and spices and it’s typical of this region.
The Barolo Proprietà in Fontanafredda is fermented in steel, at controlled temperature, with a long contact with skins after fermentation. Ageing takes place in large-sized wooden barrels for two years and is followed by one year in bottle, to give the wine its definitive personality.
On average, Barolo Vigna La Rosa and Vigna La Villa undergo 15 days of maceration, with the aim of seeking the right balance between body and structure. Barolo Vigna La Delizia goes beyond, and its macerations can last up to 50 days, enhancing the unique characteristics of the soil, the mentholated freshness and the hints of incense which are typical of the terroir.
Finally, Barolo Vigna Gallaretto, Vigna S. Pietro, Vigna Bianca and Riserva Bussia are processed with care and average macerations, to maintain harmony between body and structure.
Ageing
The art of waiting
Ageing is the slow maturation of the wine, day by day until it reaches its perfect harmony. Ageing means perfecting, balancing the wine in order to harmonise it.
This process requires patience, experience and knowledge, with each wine needing different times, techniques and care.
The choice of the type of barrel and the type of wood is one of the most important moments in the ageing process. In compliance with production regulations, we study and imagine the ageing processes of our wines, trying to bring out their character and personality to the fullest extent.
We use steel for fresh white wines and our sweet sparkling wines made with the Martinotti method, preferring tonneaux (500 l) and barriques (225 l) for certain white wines for ageing, as their size and thickness generate greater interaction with the environment outside and make them more suitable for ageing these wines. The wood in these barrels is approximately three centimetres thick, so the amount of oxygen exchanged with the environment outside is greater than in large barrels, which have walls which are approximately eight centimetres thick.
We age fresh reds in concrete tanks and, in accordance with tradition, our Barolo and structured reds of the Langhe, are aged in our 19th century cellars in large barrels (20 to 140 hl) made of Slavonian oak, to give the wine more austerity and depth, and French oak to convey more sweetness.
When we feel that our wines are exactly as we imagined them, they are bottled. This is a crucial moment in which the use of inert gases allows us to reduce the sulphur content.
The period in the bottle depends on the type of wine and is a very precious and fundamental moment. This is particularly true for our Alta Langa Metodo Classico sparkling wines, which spend at least 30 months on lees to enhance the broad and complex aromas of these wines.
Certifications