Le Terre di Stefano Massone

Family beginnings

Stefano Massone entered the culture and traditions of Gavi during childhood, when he began accompanying his father and following his example. This early experience established his connection with vineyard work and the hills of the denomination.

Forty years among the vineyards

Over a period described as 40 years, Massone developed an estate comprising 15 vineyards in six municipalities of the Gavi DOCG area. The holdings encompass contrasting sites and soils, ranging from pale, limestone-rich ground to red clay. This diversity became a central element of the estate’s approach: the different vineyard positions spread exposure to adverse weather and support continuity of quality from one growing season to another.

The estate’s Cortese grapes are vinified in a modern cellar. Massone continues to present his work as a daily, season-by-season commitment to his vineyards and winery.

The estate is associated with Gavi in southern Piedmont’s Monferrato area, where rounded hills rise in succession toward the Apennine Mountains. Vineyards alternate with woodland and fields in a landscape identified with Cortese.

Air arriving from the Ligurian Sea contributes to the growing environment. The estate’s 15 vineyards are distributed among six municipalities of the Gavi DOCG area, creating variation in position and soil. Their ground ranges from pale, limestone-rich soils to red clay. The geographical spread also reduces the estate’s overall exposure to localized adverse weather.

Vineyards in the municipality of Gavi used for Gavi DOCG del Comune di Gavi occupy hilly terrain at approximately 250–300 metres above sea level. Their soils combine sandy and calcareous structures with clay fractions. The broader six-municipality source area used for Gavi DOCG Masera is characterized by calcareous structures accompanied by clay fractions.

Vineyard management is presented as careful, professional and closely tied to the changing seasons. The estate works with 15 differently positioned vineyards across six municipalities. This distribution is used as a form of risk management: adverse weather affecting one location need not affect every site in the same way. Attention to the individual soils and positions is directed toward growing Cortese of consistent quality.

Cortese from the estate’s vineyards is vinified with particular care in a modern cellar. For Gavi DOCG del Comune di Gavi, the production approach includes selecting the best grapes harvested within the municipality of Gavi.

Stefano Massone presents wine as the result of nature, the seasons and sustained human effort. For him, opening a bottle recalls the scents of each season as well as the work and passion involved in repeatedly crossing the hills that form his working world. His relationship with the estate is rooted in childhood, family continuity and a commitment renewed day by day and season by season.

The practical expression of this outlook is close attention to the vineyards and deliberate use of their differences. Contrasting soils and positions are treated as complementary resources, while the distribution of vineyards across several municipalities helps moderate weather-related risk and pursue consistent quality.