Massolino

Origins: Giovanni Massolino and the first documented sale

Before establishing the estate, Giovanni Massolino moved from Monforte d’Alba to Serralunga d’Alba to work as a farm labourer. There he met Camilla, whom he wished to marry. Because the conventions of the period required a prospective husband seeking to marry into a landowning family to possess property of his own, Giovanni worked until he could acquire a small vineyard.

The family archive records the sale of a 750-litre barrel—known locally as a butal—to another winery in 1896. This transaction marks the formal beginning of the Massolino family business. The original Langa farm combined fruit and vegetable cultivation, livestock and the sale of wine in bulk.

Giuseppe Massolino and the transition to bottled wine

Giovanni passed the estate to his son Giuseppe. Under Giuseppe, production gradually shifted from bulk wine towards bottled wine. In 1934 he joined other local producers at the founding of the body that became the Consorzio di Tutela Barolo, Barbaresco, Alba, Langhe e Dogliani. He also began selling a small quantity of bottled wine.

Giuseppe combined estate work with service to the Serralunga community and guided the business through a difficult period in Italian history. His contribution established the basis for the estate’s later expansion.

Barolo DOCG Classico was first produced in 1947. Its blending of Nebbiolo from several vineyards preserves the historical local practice of creating one Barolo from complementary sites.

Vigna Rionda and Parafada: 1956–1967

In 1956 the family received its first parcel in Vigna Rionda from Matilde Ornato, aunt of third-generation siblings Renato, Giovanni and Camilla. The inheritance created a lasting association with the cru and prompted the transition from the name “Massolino Giuseppe e Figli” to “Azienda Agricola Vigna Rionda Massolino.”

In 1957, Giovanni Massolino—born in 1940 and not yet of legal age—pressed to acquire approximately one hectare in Parafada despite the difficult economy and his father Giuseppe’s reservations. His mother Caterina supported the plan and signed the contract required for a minor. The uncultivated ground was ploughed, American rootstocks were planted directly in the field, and Nebbiolo was grafted onto them. The surviving old Parafada vineyard was planted in 1961.

The Vigna Rionda holding expanded in 1967 through the acquisition of important parcels from Sabino Bruno. The agreement required Giuseppe to transfer a vineyard beside Bruno’s house and add a substantial cash payment. The transaction made the family one of the larger owners on the hill and reinforced the use of Vigna Rionda in the estate’s name.

Margheria was acquired during the 1970s. At the time, the estate’s Barolo still followed the classical practice of blending Nebbiolo from several vineyards, including Vigna Rionda. In 1977 Luigi Veronelli discussed Giuseppe Massolino’s wines from the 1970 and 1971 vintages and drew attention to their origin in Vigna Rionda, although that vineyard name was not yet displayed on the label.

The first single-vineyard wines

The 1982 vintage produced the first Barolo DOCG Vigna Rionda Riserva vinified solely from the individual MGA. The third generation—Renato, Giovanni and Camilla—was then running the estate. A graphic-design studio was commissioned to create a special label bearing the Piedmontese wording “SÖRI VIGNA RIÜNDA”; sörì denotes a sunny exposure in the local dialect. Vigna Rionda Riserva subsequently became a wine made only when blind tastings showed that both the vintage and the wine met the estate’s standard for an authentic expression of the cru.

Margheria followed as a separately bottled Barolo with the 1985 vintage.

In 1986 the family bought seven further Vigna Rionda parcels, nearly 2 hectares in total, from Gianni Ravinale. Ravinale, a teacher, mayor of Serralunga and childhood friend of Renato, agreed to sell because of the relationship between the families. Giovanni and Renato committed most of the family’s accumulated resources to the purchase after extensive internal discussion. Vines were planted in the upper western section in 1986 and 1987.

The last addition came in 1990, when parcel 17 was acquired from Rosa Giudice. This completed the present Vigna Rionda holding of approximately 3 hectares within the MGA’s total 10.24 hectares. The same year, twenty-year-old Franco Massolino joined the estate full-time after studying oenology at the Umberto I School in Alba.

Parafada was first bottled separately from the 1990 vintage. During the 1990s, siblings Franco, Roberto and Paola joined the family business as its fourth generation, contributing new technical knowledge, organisational development and longer-term planning while working with the preceding generation.

White wines, Moscato and further selections

Franco proposed an estate Chardonnay despite the family’s historical concentration on red varieties. His father and uncle Renato eventually approved an experimental project. Seven rows were selected in a cool site, and the first two barriques were made from the 1992 vintage without an external consultant. That initial wine completed full malolactic fermentation and matured entirely in new French oak. Subsequent experimentation progressively moved the style away from its original oak-dominant profile towards greater freshness, balance and finesse.

Giuseppe had planted Moscato in Serralunga in the late 1970s, but the family initially sold the fruit because it lacked both the specialised equipment and sufficient experience to make the wine. The fourth generation produced the first estate-bottled Moscato d’Asti in 1993. Later investment in vineyards and technology brought the entire production process into the Serralunga winery.

Barbera d’Alba Gisep was created in 1998, the year Giuseppe died. Its name is the Piedmontese form of Giuseppe and honours his role in the estate’s growth. The selection is made only in suitable vintages.

Expansion beyond Serralunga

The family acquired Parussi in Castiglione Falletto in 2006, its first Barolo vineyard outside Serralunga d’Alba. The site enabled the estate to compare Nebbiolo grown in different geological and microclimatic conditions. The first Parussi vintage was 2007.

In 2015 a new winery was completed opposite the historical family house in central Serralunga. To respect the village’s historic and urban fabric, it was constructed entirely underground. The building provides stable environmental conditions for vinification and maturation and includes spaces for tastings and hospitality.

A Riesling project began with the 2017 vintage, using the estate’s highest vineyard at approximately 530 metres in Monforte d’Alba.

At the end of 2018 the family found suitable vineyards in Neive after searching for many years. The opportunity arose through Bernardino Gastaldi, a longstanding friend and grower with parcels in Albesani, Serraboella and Starderi and no family successor. An agreement allowed Massolino to work those vineyards. The first Barbaresco and Barbaresco Albesani were produced from the 2019 harvest. A dedicated cellar was built inside the Barbaresco production area, following the functional model of the Serralunga facility.

Recognition and recent developments

In 2020 the winery entered Italy’s register of Marchi Storici di Interesse Nazionale, which recognises trademarks used for at least fifty years by businesses historically connected with Italy.

The Black Label Vigna Rionda project was introduced in 2022 with the 2016 vintage. The designation is reserved for individual Vigna Rionda Riserva vintages judged to possess exceptional longevity and character. The 2020 vintage became the second Black Label release in 2026.

In spring 2024 the family leased more than 2 hectares in Bricco Ambrogio MGA at Roddi, planted mostly to Nebbiolo with smaller areas of Barbera and Chardonnay. Rather than create another single-MGA bottling, the Nebbiolo entered the multi-vineyard Barolo beginning with the 2024 vintage, extending that blend across Serralunga d’Alba, Castiglione Falletto and Roddi.

The estate works across the Barolo and Barbaresco production areas and additional Langhe sites. Soil composition, exposure, climate and vine age are treated as decisive factors in the character of each wine, particularly with Nebbiolo, whose aroma, flavour and colour can change with small differences even within a single vineyard.

The named MGAs form five distinct site expressions. Vigna Rionda, Margheria and Parafada lie in Serralunga d’Alba; Parussi is in Castiglione Falletto; and Albesani is in Neive. Additional vineyards include sites in Monforte d’Alba and Alba and a leased parcel in Bricco Ambrogio MGA at Roddi.

Vigna Rionda occupies an amphitheatre-like hillside with south to south-west exposure and marly limestone soils. Massolino’s approximately 3 hectares represent the largest individual holding within the 10.24-hectare MGA. The combination of soil and microclimate is associated with wines of structure, complexity, depth and long maturation.

Margheria’s limestone soil contains more sand than the estate’s other Serralunga subzones. Together with its south-westerly exposure, this supports a combination of Serralunga structure with mineral character and greater elegance.

Parafada faces due south on a ridge naturally sheltered from wind and severe weather. Its steep, compact, calcareous ground is poor in organic matter. The vineyard’s geological and morphological conditions, together with old vines and declining yields, produce particularly concentrated fruit.

Parussi occupies the crest of a hill in Castiglione Falletto with exposures ranging from south-east to south-west. Its marly, clayey limestone contains more clay and organic matter than the estate’s Serralunga crus, encouraging vine vigour and giving the wines robust tannic structure.

Albesani lies at approximately 230 metres in Neive and faces south-west. Its clayey, marly limestone and mature vines are associated with an expression combining purity, elegance and body.

The estate’s highest vineyard is in Monforte d’Alba at approximately 530 metres. Its climatic conditions help preserve the freshness and acidity sought for Riesling. In 2024 the family also leased more than 2 hectares in Bricco Ambrogio at Roddi, a well-tended vineyard facing almost entirely south.

Vineyards are managed with close attention to the requirements of each site, ridge and growing season. Guyot is the principal training system in all five individually described MGAs.

The estate uses protective hail nets. Besides limiting hail damage, their slight shade can reduce sunburn during hot seasons. Measures used under drought conditions include careful canopy and vegetation management, green harvesting to reduce the crop, cultivation of the soil around vine bases, and management of grass between rows to limit evapotranspiration and preserve residual moisture.

During flowering and fruit set, the team monitors vine health and the uniformity of flowering plot by plot. Shoot thinning is performed manually to improve airflow. Downy mildew and powdery mildew pressure is monitored, while targeted soil management supports moisture retention and root health.

Yield is adjusted when conditions require it. The old Parafada vines are naturally becoming less productive, and the estate also uses deliberate low yields and grape selection for wines such as Barbera d’Alba Gisep. Harvest timing is decided through family discussion, with senior members Giovanni and Renato contributing their accumulated experience.

The estate began using irrigation only after authorities relaxed the former denominational prohibition during the severe drought cycle discussed in 2023. No organic, biodynamic or other farming certification is identified.

The winemaking approach varies by variety and site while retaining an emphasis on limited intervention and preservation of fruit and terroir.

The 2015 Serralunga winery was built completely underground opposite the historical family house. Its design protects the historic appearance of the village while providing stable conditions for fermentation and maturation. It includes oak fermenters, large ageing casks, cool dark bottle cellars and visitor spaces. A smaller dedicated facility within the Barbaresco production zone follows the same functional model.

Nebbiolo intended for Barolo undergoes long fermentation and maceration in oak vats at approximately 30°C. Classic Barolo, Margheria, Parafada and Parussi mature in large oak casks for up to 30 months, followed by bottle maturation in dark, cool cellars. The estate particularly associates its classic Barolo with large Slavonian oak. Vigna Rionda Riserva receives up to 42 months in large oak barrels and a further 24 months in bottle; it remains at the winery until its sixth year. Only vintages passing blind assessment for quality and fidelity to the cru are released as Vigna Rionda Riserva.

Classic Barbaresco receives medium fermentation and maceration in oak vats at approximately 30°C, then up to 18 months in large oak barrels and further bottle ageing. Albesani receives a longer fermentation and maceration, up to 18 months in large oak and approximately 12 months in bottle.

Langhe Nebbiolo receives approximately 15 days of fermentation and maceration before more than one year in large oak. Barbera d’Alba ferments for 10–12 days in stainless steel at approximately 30°C, completes malolactic fermentation and matures briefly in steel. Barbera d’Alba Gisep ferments for about 10 days at approximately 30°C in oak vats and matures partly in French-oak barriques and partly in large Slavonian casks for up to 18 months. Dolcetto undergoes temperature-controlled fermentation and a 7–9-day maceration in stainless steel, followed by malolactic fermentation and several months in stainless steel and cement.

Chardonnay is partly vinified and matured in barriques, larger casks and cement. It remains with the fermentation lees for approximately 12 months and receives at least another six months in bottle. The initial 1992 experiment underwent full malolactic fermentation and matured entirely in new French oak; the method was subsequently refined towards greater freshness and balance.

Riesling is vinified in stainless steel and remains with its fermentation lees for 8–10 months before racking and bottling; part of the wine matures in terracotta amphorae. Moscato ferments in large pressurised autoclaves to retain its varietal aroma. Since the 2024 vintage, Moscato has been closed exclusively with screw caps following years of comparative closure trials.

Following the 2024 harvest, macerations were completed, wines were racked and most malolactic fermentations finished before the wines entered barrel maturation.

Massolino defines its objective as producing precise wines that express fruit and terroir clearly. Its guiding idea is to elevate what is already present in the grape rather than add to it. Minimal intervention, an essential cellar approach and meticulous vineyard care are intended to preserve the distinctions created by soil, exposure, vine age, microclimate and vintage.

Nebbiolo is treated as especially sensitive both to its place of origin and to human intervention. Differences between neighbouring vines can lead to meaningful changes in colour, aroma and flavour; the estate’s task is to interpret rather than erase those variations.

Tradition remains the structural reference point: classic Barolo and Barbaresco combine multiple vineyards, while the crus preserve the individual voices of particular hills. Experimentation is nevertheless continuous. Methods are refined season by season, but the family rejects abrupt stylistic revolutions. Each harvest is approached as a distinct story and an opportunity to learn.

The family also separates quality decisions from market expectations. Single-vineyard releases must represent their sites convincingly, and Vigna Rionda Riserva is omitted when the vintage does not achieve the required complexity. The 2018 Vigna Rionda, for example, was not released.

Long-term continuity is framed as a responsibility shared between generations. Respect for the land, fidelity to Serralunga, family cooperation and the transmission of the estate to future generations form the social dimension of this philosophy.