Matteo Correggia: An Amazing Winery in Piedmont Italy

Visiting a vineyard is a must for your time in Italy.

What?

You don’t love wine?

I don’t understand.

Just kidding…

However, I still think it’s a great idea because wine is so much a part of the Italian culture and history.

And if you’re traveling to the Piedmont region then you need to stop by Matteo Correggia Winery.

These wines are delicious and the tour and tasting are fabulous.

Let’s start with some basics.

 

Where is Matteo Correggia?

Matteo Correggia Winery is located near the town of Canale in the Cuneo province of Piedmont.

It’s about 30km southwest from Asti and 17km northwest of Alba.

This vineyard is located in what is called the Roero region.

What does this mean?

Well, most of the wine produced in Piedmont comes from the areas around Asti and Alba.

The Tanaro River, which runs just south of Asti, is kind of a natural division between the Roero region and the Langhe region which is to the south of river.

Basically, the soil is different so the wines from Roero will have different characteristics from those in the Langhe.

Now these are just some broad differences as there are small micro areas that influence the grapes and thus the wines even more.

The main difference is that Roero is lower in elevation than the Langhe.

And since this area was once under water, this means that the Roero growing region has sandier soil.

Okay.

Enough of the technical stuff.

 

The vineyards

Matteo Correggia has 20 hectares of vineyards that they directly manage.

The setting is beautiful with the tasting room and house in the valley and the hills filled with rows and rows of vineyards around it.

I took a walk through the vineyards after my tour and tasting and the views from up higher are stunning.

One thing you’ll notice is — due to the sandy soil — the vineyards are covered in grass.

These are plowed in autumn and then Mother Nature takes over allowing that grass to nurture the soil.

Another thing to note is that Matteo Correggia Winery is organic.

The Correggia Family firmly believe in working in tandem with nature and not against it.

They believe in sustainability and offering their customers the best wine possible without the use of anything that can be harmful.

I love this!

 

History of Matteo Correggia

So let me back up a bit to give you a brief history.

Matteo Correggia is a family run winery as many are in Europe.

Matteo Correggia founded the present day winery when he inherited the land from his father in 1985.

At the time, the wine was mostly produced for the family — so nothing to write home about.

But Matteo had a vision to make the wines of Roero more well-known.

So he joined up with some of the dominate wine-makers of the late 1980’s who were making Barolo and who are known as the Barolo boys — only Matteo is not making Barolo but other wines such as Barbera and other wines from the Nebbiolo grape (which is the grape that does make Barolo).

However, he’s making wines in his own style that suit the soil of Roero.

And he’s doing a great job.

Tragically, Matteo died at a young age in 2001 while working in the vineyards.

But his wife, Ornella; his son, Giovanni; and his daughter, Brigitta; carry on the tradition along with the rest of their extended family.

So his memory lives on.

 

The tour

Giovanni Correggia, who is now one of the wine makers and the son of Matteo, took me on my tour through the cellar.

I love seeing the steel tanks where the wines have their start and then wooden barrels in rooms that are almost cave-like.

I can smell the wine beginning to take form as I wander about the oak barrels.

Yes.

It’s a happy place!

It’s not a long tour and he didn’t take me into the vineyard which most tours don’t do anyway.

But it gave me a sense of their process and I always enjoy seeing these areas.

 

Tasting the wines

The tasting room is a lovely, bright room and just big enough to accommodate about a dozen people.

I was surprised at how many different wines Matteo Correggia creates.

I was familiar with a couple of their wines, but had no idea they had such a wide variety.

Naturally, I wanted to try them all but knew that wouldn’t be a good idea.

Giovanni let me pick a few and also made suggestions for my tasting.

He gave me some background and technical information on each wine I tried without going on and on.

I appreciate it when someone just lets you take your own time to sip and truly taste the wine, making some of your own observations.

This may sound strange, but it’s also nice to simply have that moment — you and the wine.

Anyway…

I opted to taste a few unusual wines such as the Arneis from La Val dei Preti vineyard (a recent addition to the lineup).

Arneis is one of the few white wines from the region.

This one has a hint of salt to it which I kind of liked.

Another more unusual wine I tasted is Anthos which is made from the Brachetto grape.

The Anthos is a light bodied red wine that has a hint of rose petals.

It was delightful.

Then I moved onto some of my favorite grapes — Barbera and Nebbiolo.

Matteo Correggia Barbera d’Alba is definitely a good wine but the Marun — the more aged Barbera — is even better in my opinion.

For me though, I loved the wines made from 100% Nebbiolo.

The Roero is one I had tasted before and have always enjoyed.

It’s kind of the signature wine of Matteo Correggia as it brings in the sandy soil that makes the Roero the Roero.

I also tasted La Val dei Preti and Ròche d’Ampsèj.

Both are single vineyard wines but, since the vineyards are in different areas, they are quite different.

Ròche d’Ampsèj had more licorice-like flavor to it with a hint of violet.

I might describe it as bold.

La Val dei Preti was a bit softer and some would say more “elegant.”

It was the one I bought — definitely my favorite.

I opened it at Il Gioco dell’Oca — where I was staying — and shared it with Rafaella who commented on how good it is.

 

Final thoughts on Matteo Correggia Winery

I highly recommend a visit to this vineyard.

It’s a beautiful location, the wines are excellent and the tour and tasting are wonderful.

If you’re a wine afficianado then you might enjoy comparing the wine of Roero to the wines of the Langhe.

Equally delicious, just different.

Put it on your list!

 

Disclaimer: I was a guest of Matteo Correggia Winery so my tour was discounted. However all opinions are my own.