Vie di San Rocco
The Land
Vie di San Rocco is located in in the wine area of GAVI DOCG in south Piedmont: the first DOCG white wine produced in Piedmont.
This area lay nestled between steep hills close to the border with Liguria, in what the Italian writer Mario Soldati describes as “a bountiful bastion that separates – and at the same time unites – the moorland and the sea”. Here a white grape is king: Cortese.
Gavi DOCG is a wine made from 100% Cortese from the small production area around 11 neighbouring villages; while Gavi di Gavi DOCG is made from 100% Cortese exclusively from the village of Gavi. A great white wine in a region of great red wines.
The hills of this area are almost totally designed by vineyards, and are characterized by a particular terroir, linked to the proximity to the sea and the presence of typically continental temperatures with cold winters and very hot summers: ideal climatic conditions for the growth of excellent quality wine grapes
The People
The old “Masseria Fontanassa” was built in 1600 in Rovereto di Gavi (today widely considered the historical cru for Gavi wines); and the first official mention is in a 1634 lease contract, reporting “cultivar of white and red grapes”.
The farm was acquired by “Citu'” Gemme in 1921, and it’s today run by his great-grand children: Roberto (vinegrower) and Marco (winemaker) Gemme.
The two brothers are proud farming people who remain true to traditional methods, pay close attention to the vineyards and do not to use chemicals at any stage of production.
For the Gemme family, making wine is passion, tradition and art, and these are evident in their singular labels, the creative fruit of Asti-born painter Carlo Carosso, who took inspiration from the features of some of the family members and their dream of producing excellent wines.
The Wines
Gavi DOCG : Cortese grapes are hand-harvested and light pressed, fermentation is in stainless steel as tradition dictates.
The result is a crisp, dry wine with subtle citrus aromas, leading to a persistent finish with notes of bitter almonds.
Gavi del Comune di Gavi DOCG : Made with Cortese grapes grown within the borders of the Gavi village. The Vie di San Rocco vineyards are located in one of the most suited and historical area, Rovereto.
This Gavi di Gavi shows the true potential of the Cortese grapes and the importance of the “terroir”, as well as the winemaker’s capabilities.
With its elegance, finesse and higher alcohol content it is definitely a step ahead of its ‘little brother’
Timorasso “Marin” Colli Tortonesi DOC : Marin is a wonderful dry white wine made from Timorasso grapes: one of the most exciting indigenous grape varieties to resurface in recent years.
Fermented and matured on fine lees in stainless steel this is a vibrant and energetic yet lightly textural wine. A wine with high acidity and a wonderful purity of fruit, it shows its best when not too young.
Which might explain why it has been dubbed “the Barolo of White Wines”
