More about Daniele Ricci

Timorasso nearly vanished from the hills of the Colli Tortonesi. Daniele Ricci is one of the growers who helped bring it back, and then kept pushing to see what else it could do. His wines run from classic, mineral Derthona to Timorasso macerated on its skins for months and aged in amphora.

Ricci farms Cascina San Leto in Costa Vescovato, in Piedmont's far southeast. His grandparents, Carlo and Clementina, bought the land in 1929 as a mixed farm of vines, livestock and wheat. Like his father, Daniele spent years working away from the farm (as a toll collector on the Milan–Serravalle motorway) before throwing himself into Timorasso, alongside pioneers such as Walter Massa, at a time when only a few hectares of the grape were left. Today he works with his wife, Loredana, and their son, Mattia, who runs the dining room at the farm's Sunday-only lunches.

The vineyards are certified organic and sit on Tortonian marl, a soil Ricci likens to the Langhe's. In the cellar he uses native yeasts, no clarification and very little intervention, with long skin contact for some cuvées and plenty of patience before release. Alongside the many faces of Timorasso there are reds from Barbera, Croatina and Nebbiolo. The wines are spicy, textured and surprisingly refined: Timorasso with real personality.