Winemaker: Francesco & Giacomo Vaira
Where: Vergne, Barolo, Piemonte, Italy
Size: 4 ha
Main Varieties: Nebbiolo, Barbera & Dolcetto
Viticulture: Careful ethical work, no synthesised chemical treatments
Quick note: Skirting the edges of what Barolo means, the FZ ‘fuorizona’ vineyard is literally 5m away from the designated Barolo zone!
Vaira Aurelj is a small project found high up on the hillsides of Piemonte.
Cultivating Nebbiolo, Barbera and Dolcetto on land they have been working with for 10 years now. Their few hectares of micro-plots are on south-east and south-west aspects, around 450m above sea level, and with only the Cru ‘I Fossati’ and ‘Vigna del Pensiero’ able to be named DOCG. The vineyards are mostly comprised of limestone and clay, with all their vineyard work being as light and unobtrusive to the environment as possible. Their commitment to ethical vineyard work, means no synthesised chemical treatments, no soil treatment unless necessary, and talking with Giacomo shows how deep these vines run within when he accidentally says ‘I am from Nebbiolo – I mean Barolo’!
All their wines are hand harvested, with gentle skin contact over various vessels. FZ ‘Fuori Zona’ meaning ‘Out of the Zone’, quite literally out of DOCG classification, is 100% Nebbiolo red wine from the Lampia clone. Controcorrente ‘against the tide’ is a red from 100% Nebbiolo grapes from the near extinct Rosé clone, and the Barolo, first released in 2024, is fermented in open tino (cask), with around 20 days maceration, 100% destemmed, punch downs and pump overs through the process, then 18 months further in tino.
A really exciting addition to the classic landscape of Piemonte, these brothers aren’t out to revolutionise the region, but adapt their viticultural practises to a changing environment, focusing on the future sustainability of their land, through managed ecological practices, and then in response, making thoughtful, gentle and precise wines.
