The winery is located in the municipality of Albenga (province of Savona) in the Italian region of Liguria. It was founded in the 1960s by Agostino "Pippo" Parodi and his wife Bice. From the very beginning, they were passionate about the white wine variety Pigato, which was still unknown at the time. The estate developed into a pioneer of this variety and the Ligurian wines of the Riviera Ligure di Ponente. For these achievements, the winery received the Slow Food Award in 2003 for outstanding services to global gastronomic culture. Today, the business is run by daughters Ivana and Brunella Parodi and their families. Daniela Serra is the responsible oenologist.
Vineyards & grape varieties
The vineyards cover around 5 hectares of vines on sandy, clayey and calcareous soils in the area around Albenga on the right bank of the River Neva. The Mediterranean microclimate with mild winters, hot summers and cooling sea breezes creates ideal conditions for slow grape ripening. The white wine variety Pigato (4 hectares) and the red wine varieties Rossese and Granaccia (Garnacha Tinta) are cultivated. Pigato grapes are also purchased from 2 hectares. The older vineyards are trained using the albarello system, the younger ones using the cordon system. The vineyards are cultivated in an environmentally friendly, sustainable manner with a particular focus on promoting biodiversity.
Vinification
The grapes are harvested selectively by hand. Pigato undergoes short cold maceration and gentle pressing before the must is fermented at low temperatures in stainless steel tanks. The destemmed red wine grapes undergo maceration, whereby the cap is repeatedly broken up by pumping over and adding oxygen.
The Pigato grapes are fermented spontaneously with the vineyard's own yeasts. Ageing takes place mainly in stainless steel to preserve freshness and primary flavours, with some red wines also aged in wooden barrels.
Product range
This includes various DOC white wines and red wines Riviera Ligure di Ponente Pigato and Rossese as well as the IGT wine Colline Savonesi Granaccia. The house's premium wine is the DOC Riviera Ligure di Ponente "Pigato La Palmetta", whichcomesfrom selected grapes from special parcels.Every year, 60,000 to 70,000 bottles of wine are produced and a large proportion of this is exported (for example to Australia , Japan and the USA).
Picture: Azienda Massaretti
