Francone

Family origins and the beginning of estate winemaking

The family narrative begins with Alberto Francone, born in 1892. He ran an inn and helped circulate the family’s wines, establishing an early connection between wine, direct hospitality and the local community.

In 1940, Giovanni Battista Francone took over the business and began vinifying grapes from the family’s own vineyards. This year marks the beginning of Francone’s modern development as a winery.

1958: the first Barolo

Francone first vinified Barolo in 1958 alongside its Barbaresco production. The original source was a historic vineyard in La Morra. Grapes from Monforte and Barolo were subsequently added to the selection.

1964: a new winery and an early commitment to hospitality

In 1964, Giovanni Battista and his sons Mauro and Silvano completed a large new winery in Neive. The building remains the company’s headquarters. It was conceived not only for production but also for welcoming the first visitors beginning to explore the rural and viticultural character of the Langhe.

The same year marked Mauro Francone’s first harvest after graduating from the Alba School of Oenology. The family’s early attention to visitors developed into more than six decades of cellar hospitality.

1967: the birth of Valsellera

Giovanni Battista’s interest in experimentation led him to make several family journeys to Champagne during the 1960s to study bottle-fermented sparkling wine. Francone released its first Metodo Classico in 1967. Giovanni Battista named it Valsellera after Val Scellera, the valley where the winery had been built in 1964.

His guiding idea was to learn from other traditions without copying them, allowing the grape and its place of origin to determine the result.

The fifth generation

Mauro’s sons joined the business during the 1990s, Marco first and Fabrizio afterward. They now lead Francone as its fifth generation, supported by a team working across the vineyards, cellar, hospitality and international markets. The family’s historic tools and records are preserved in a permanent museum within the winery.

2017: fifty years of Metodo Classico

In 2017, Francone created Valsellera Pas Dosé as a tribute to Giovanni Battista and to mark fifty years since the family’s first Metodo Classico. The project retained Chardonnay, selected must from pressing and a zero-dosage style.

2020: new vineyard expressions

In 2020, Francone began two significant projects. Valsellera Pas Dosé entered the Alta Langa DOCG framework, with Chardonnay sourced from vineyards between Loazzolo and Bubbio. The winery also began developing separate Barbaresco expressions from the Albesani and Starderi MGAs, adding them to a range already centred on Gallina and including Fausoni.

An experimental Nebbiolo project introduced stoneware vessels into the barrique cellar. A 320-litre amphora was followed by a 500-litre vessel, providing an alternative maturation environment without the aromatic or tannic contribution of wood.

2025: integrated-production certification

By January 2025, Francone had obtained SQPNI certification under Italy’s national integrated-production quality system. Langhe DOC Chardonnay DelleRose 2023 was the first label identified with the certification, with further wines planned to follow.

2026: a new vineyard in Mango

In 2026, the family completed the planting of approximately one hectare of Chardonnay at Mango, on land cultivated by the family for generations and recently tended by “Grandma Rosa.” The site lies above 500 metres in Alta Langa and contains two Chardonnay clones selected for its different exposures and microzones.

The rows were established with a laser-guided mechanized planting system, followed by the manual checking and positioning of every vine. The vineyard is intended to become the future source of Valsellera Alta Langa DOCG. The projected process combines oak-aged base wine with at least 30 months of bottle maturation following tirage, and the family anticipates a seven-year wait before the first tasting.

Francone is based at Neive, a few kilometres from Alba in the Langhe UNESCO landscape. Neive is locally known as the “village of four wines,” reflecting its capacity to ripen different varieties within a favourable set of soils and microclimates.

Gallina

Gallina is the central family cru and one of Neive’s best-known vineyard areas. Its limestone-rich and calcareous-marl soils, warm southern to south-western exposure and favourable microclimate suit Nebbiolo. The sunniest positions are used for Nebbiolo, while cooler portions carry Arneis, Chardonnay, Moscato and Nascetta. Some Nebbiolo vines exceed 50 years of age. The hill was included in Renato Ratti’s Barbaresco vineyard map and was among the first local crus named on producers’ labels.

Albesani and Starderi

Albesani occupies a hill parallel to Gallina and has comparable limestone- and silt-rich composition, with clay also present. The Francone parcel is near the top of the hill at approximately 270 metres, faces south and is formed from laminated Sant’Agata Fossil Marls. Its microclimate is influenced by the Tanaro.

Starderi lies at approximately 200 metres. Its laminated Sant’Agata Fossil Marl is rich in clay, and its south-western exposure overlooks the Tanaro, whose presence moderates the microclimate.

Alta Langa

The 2026 Mango vineyard lies above 500 metres. Its altitude brings cooler conditions, pronounced day–night temperature changes and regular ventilation. These conditions help preserve acidity, aromas and freshness while reducing vine stress. Different exposures and microzones led to the selection of two complementary Chardonnay clones. The site looks across the Langhe and Roero hills toward the Alps.

Earlier Alta Langa Chardonnay sources lie between Loazzolo and Bubbio on steep, high hills with marly soils rich in sand and clay.

Francone follows integrated-production principles and obtained SQPNI certification by January 2025. Vineyard and grape variety are matched according to the suitability of each soil, and the stated objective is to preserve the vines while obtaining balanced, concentrated fruit.

All vineyards use Guyot training, locally described as ad archetto because of the arched fruiting cane. During winter dormancy, each vine is assessed individually according to its age, vigour, position and performance in the preceding season. The previous fruiting cane is removed, and a vigorous shoot close to the head is selected as the next fruiting cane. It normally retains 8–10 buds, depending on variety, vigour and site conditions, and is bent and tied horizontally in spring to encourage even budbreak.

A renewal spur beside the fruiting cane is pruned to two buds, providing wood for the following season. Cuts are clean and angled, approximately 1–2 cm above the final bud, so water can drain and infection risk is reduced. Large, disorderly wounds and disruption to sap flow are avoided.

The fruiting zone is normally about 60–80 cm above the ground, beneath a canopy approximately 1–1.5 m high. At higher elevations, a lower fruiting zone benefits from warmth radiated by the soil; at the foot of slopes, greater height helps protect the plant from harvest humidity and spring frost. The system facilitates pruning and picking, exposes leaves to sunlight, supports planting density and helps balance yield, grape concentration and vine longevity.

Balanced winter pruning prepares the canopy for sunlight and air circulation, improves bunch aeration and assists ripening management. Vineyard work continues manually from winter pruning through harvest. Older vines are retained, including Nebbiolo in Gallina exceeding 50 years and other estate vines more than 40 years old.

The 2026 Mango planting combined precision machinery with manual finishing: a laser-guided tractor established the rows, after which every young vine was checked and arranged by hand.

Francone’s winery, built in Neive in 1964, remains the production headquarters. Its working and visitor spaces include stainless-steel vats, oak barrels, barriques, modern pallet tanks, a historic barrel cellar, a barrique cellar, old pupitres, bottle-ageing areas and a private cellar.

The production philosophy combines traditional vessels and practices with selective experimentation. Oak barrels and barriques are used alongside stainless steel, while two stoneware amphorae of 320 and 500 litres were introduced for a small Nebbiolo project. Stoneware permits maturation without contributing wood-derived tannins or aromas; the amphora-aged Nebbiolo spends approximately 10 months in these vessels and is bottled without filtration.

Metodo Classico has formed part of production since 1967. For Alta Langa Chardonnay, whole grapes are harvested manually and softly pressed; the best fraction of must is separated during pressing. Clarification and low-temperature fermentation are followed by malolactic fermentation and approximately seven months in French oak. Tirage initiates the second fermentation in bottle, followed by about 30 months on the lees. The Pas Dosé expression receives no dosage.

The future Mango-grown Alta Langa base wine is likewise planned for fermentation followed by oak maturation and at least 30 months in bottle before release. Bottle ageing is a visible and established part of the cellar’s work.