Ebbio Langhe DOC Nebbiolo

In 1858, fresh off Italian unification, King Vittorio Emanuele II purchased a 250-acre property in Serralunga d'Alba and began producing wine from native Piedmontese grapes: Dolcetto, Barbera, and Nebbiolo. His son, Count Mirafiori, built it into a commercial winery, and Fontanafredda released its first Nebbiolo labeled as Barolo with the 1878 vintage. The estate prospered for decades before phylloxera, the Great Depression, and two world wars took their toll, eventually forcing a sale to Italy's oldest bank. In 2008, Piedmont native and Eataly co-founder Oscar Farinetti purchased a majority stake, breathing new life into the historic property. Under Farinetti, with winemaker Giorgio Lavagna and longtime agronomist Alberto Grasso guiding a zero-chemical farming program, Fontanafredda became Piedmont's largest certified organic winery following the 2018 harvest. Today the estate remains the single largest contiguous vineyard holding in the Langhe. Ebbio is Fontanafredda's everyday expression of that legacy: Nebbiolo grown across the wider Langhe and Roero hills, made to be poured young.

Ebbio's Nebbiolo comes from south- and southwest-facing vineyards across the Langhe and Roero hills, planted at a density of about 4,200 vines per hectare on calcareous marl soils. Fontanafredda's home estate in Serralunga d'Alba, a Barolo cru site, is the largest contiguous vineyard holding in the Langhe, with additional owned vineyards across eight communes at altitudes between 200 and 400 meters.

A blend of roughly 50-50% whole-bunch and destemmed, crushed grapes ferments in stainless steel at a controlled 82°F for 10 to 12 days. The wine then ages in wood for at least four months, followed by one to two months in bottle. Ready to drink on release, with aging potential of three to four years depending on vintage.

Dried rose and geranium aromas lead to a warm, velvety palate with balanced tannins and a long finish; with age, the color turns garnet with orange hues.