Gian Luca Colombo’s grandparents were poor farmers in Treiso (Barbaresco) with grain, animals and vineyards. He remembers that when he was not yet five years old, he asked to be given a tool so that he, too, could work on the family farm. However, it was a long and tortuous path that led from childhood to becoming one of Piemonte’s most prominent wine consultants and now also the owner of his own winery. Initially, he wanted to be a pilot and then a lawyer until a teacher challenged him whether this was really the direction for him. As a result, he changed course and started to study oenology at Alba, mainly because many of his friends were doing that. What hooked him was the practical outcome of studying viticulture and winemaking. 

On becoming a wine technician, unlike his classmates who mostly came from established family-owned wineries, he had to look for a job. As late in the summer as 13 August, Ca’ Viola, an important Barolo winery, contacted him and offered him a job in the wine lab. He started the next day, despite his protests that he did not know about wine analysis. This set him on a path that led to studying for a first degree and then a Master’s degree. Next he was employed by the major Barolo co-operative, Terre del Barolo, who paid him and allowed him to study. During his time, he did a large-scale trial (with 140 tons of Barolo grapes!) and demonstrated for the first time that doing alcoholic and malolactic fermentation simultaneously worked well and saved money as it was not necessary to heat the wine during the second fermentation.

The awards for Gian Luca began to arrive: best Italian wine researcher in 2010. A side project with a colleague saw their Pinot Noir win the top prize in its very first vintage. The most prestigious award was winning Young Winemaker of the Year in 2014. The child who wanted to work in the fields had become one of Italy’s most technically knowledgeable young wine professionals.

The fruit for the Barolo classico is all harvested separately from four plots: Bricco Ambrogio in Roddi, Roere di Santa Maria (La Morra), Ravera (Novello) and Bussia (Barolo). In the cellar, the keyword is a delicacy. Maceration on the skins lasts for 30–35 days with ambient yeast and very few pumpovers. At the end of malolactic fermentation, the wine goes into 20-35 hL Stockinger casks (‘the toast is lighter than light’), where possible, the fruit of the different vineyards is still kept separate. Around 18 months later, after checking its evolution, the final blend is made and bottled. The rest of the maturation is in glass, with the aim of preserving fruit expression at every step. A similar approach is taken with the deliciously fruity and elegant Barbera, made with vines that are more than half a century old. The one difference is that maturation in wood, Stockinger again, is nine months. Like the Barolo, this has the depth of fruit and structure to age. 

Gian Luca’s wife, Alessandra, is an artist who also works in the winery. She has hand painted a number of special labels. These will be distributed randomly among cases of wine. You might be the lucky one to unpack this very pleasant surprise.