Claudio Alario

The family’s early vineyard work

Before establishing an independent business, Matteo Alario worked as a sharecropper in La Morra, managing vineyards devoted to Barolo. The family was already planting Dolcetto at Sorì Costa Fiore during the 1950s.

The 1960s brought substantial change to the Langhe. The aftermath of the two World Wars was followed by industrialisation, which drew workers from the countryside toward Alba, Turin and Milan. Although Matteo had opportunities to move elsewhere, he remained in the area because he believed in the land’s potential.

1963: Matteo establishes the family farm

In 1963 Matteo left sharecropping to establish his own business. He purchased vineyards in Diano d’Alba, the municipality where the family winery remains based.

1988: the Alario Claudio label

Matteo’s son Claudio continued the family’s commitment to vineyard work. Encouraged by the first signs of growing interest in Langhe wines, he set up independently in 1988 and produced the first vintages bearing the Alario Claudio name. Dolcetto di Diano, Barbera and Nebbiolo formed the initial range. Sorì Costa Fiore supplied Claudio’s first bottled wine, while the estate also records 1988 as the first vintage for Barbera d’Alba Superiore Valletta and Nebbiolo d’Alba Cascinotto.

The development of the single-vineyard range

A historically important Dolcetto parcel at Sorì Montagrillo was planted in 1990. In 1995 Riva Rocca in Verduno produced the family’s first Barolo.

The estate gained the opportunity to make wine from the Sorano MGA in Serralunga d’Alba in 2000. Its first declared Barolo Sorano vintage was 2004.

Claudio had sought a parcel in Sorì Pradurent for decades, aware of the quality historically associated with the site. The vineyard was established in 2003 using mass selection from the family’s other two Dolcetto vineyards. Its first harvest and the first vintage of Dolcetto di Diano d’Alba Superiore Sorì Pradurent followed in 2006.

The Barolo range expanded again with the 2022 harvest, the family’s first vintage from a parcel in the Cerretta MGA of Serralunga d’Alba.

The next generations

The third generation sees its responsibility as honouring its predecessors while preserving the vineyards and family patrimony for those who follow. A fourth generation of the Alario family is already involved in the work.

The vineyards occupy eight named sites in Diano d’Alba, Verduno and Serralunga d’Alba, at elevations from 300 to 450 metres. Every wine is tied to a single vineyard, with the individual sites selected for their historical significance and their capacity to express distinct soils and microclimates.

Diano d’Alba

The Diano d’Alba holdings include three Dolcetto Sorì, the Valletta Barbera vineyard and the Cascinotto Nebbiolo vineyard.

Sorì Montagrillo lies at 300 metres with south-easterly exposure and abundant direct sunlight. Its mixed soils contain a substantial sandy component and are described as marl and sand.

Sorì Costa Fiore occupies the highest part of a natural amphitheatre at 350 metres. Its south-westerly exposure combines with marl-rich soil, significant limestone layers and a small clay component.

Sorì Pradurent is the highest named parcel, at 450 metres, with south to south-westerly exposure. Tufaceous veins mixed with a substantial limestone component define its soil.

Valletta also reaches 450 metres and faces south to south-west, receiving the sunlight considered necessary for Barbera. Its soil combines sand and clay.

Cascinotto is at 400 metres, one kilometre from the village of Serralunga d’Alba, though within the municipality of Diano d’Alba. Its soil is poor in sand and rich in limestone and marl.

Verduno

Riva Rocca is a southerly exposed parcel at 350 metres. Its marl-and-sand soil has a distinctive presence of chalk in the subsoil, a feature that differentiates the site from other crus in Verduno and broadens its tannic spectrum.

Serralunga d’Alba

Sorano occupies a slope facing Castiglione Falletto at 300 metres. Its south-westerly exposure and silt-and-clay soil are associated with structure and pronounced tannins.

Cerretta lies at 400 metres, close to the village of Serralunga d’Alba. Its Lequio formation is rich in limestone and silt. The combination is associated with breadth, firm tannin and longevity.

Vineyard work is organised around frequent passages through each parcel to monitor the vegetative cycle in every season and determine the necessary action. The family describes its approach as allowing nature to follow its course while respecting the vineyards rather than applying a fixed intervention programme.

All of the named vineyards have vines at least 25 years old, with several parcels exceeding 40 or 60 years. Every site is trained to Guyot. Crop thinning is used when required to reduce the quantity borne by each vine, but its timing and extent are decided vintage by vintage in response to the season. The family is prepared to sacrifice part of a crop when it considers this necessary for quality. Valletta is deliberately kept at low yields, while the old vines at Sorì Costa Fiore naturally crop below the production regulations’ limits.

Mass selection from Sorì Montagrillo and Sorì Costa Fiore provided the plant material for Sorì Pradurent. At Riva Rocca, the best bunches are selected and the vineyard is tended with particular precision. The estate’s viticultural objective is to preserve the distinctions among the individual vineyards and their microclimates.

The cellar’s work begins when the grapes arrive and continues until the finished bottles leave the winery. The evolution of the fruit and wine is monitored throughout, with particular attention to detail, cleanliness and aromatic and visual clarity.

Each wine is kept connected to one vineyard of origin. Cellar decisions follow the conditions of the individual harvest rather than a predetermined formula, so vintage differences are retained instead of being standardised.

Ageing is treated as a central stage. The family has narrowed its barrel supply to a small group of selected coopers with whom it has worked for approximately two decades. Every barrel is tasted several times per month. After bottling, every wine remains in the estate cellar for at least one full calendar year, allowing youthful edges to soften before release.