Grape: Dolcetto
Region: Piedmont, Italy Farming: Organic
Ferdinando Principiano is producing world-class elegant and natural wines, with a watermark of traditional Barolo terroir. Ferdinando started in 1993, with 7 hectares from his father and grandfather; he now owns and farms 21 hectares. All farming is uncertified organic, but he goes way beyond the normal organic practices and is obsessed with preserving or creating the conditions for biodiversity in and around his vineyards. This includes buying adjacent forests, and creating a pond at the base of his Boscareto cru that acts as a home for migratory birds, and a chorus of frogs. He works the vineyards by hand, including the use of a scythe, as we’ll see described below in a moment. All cellar work is low intervention. We think it’s a positive sign that such a serious traditional producer such as Principiano makes such a sprightly wine such as ‘Dosset,’ the local Piedmont word for Dolcetto. Ferdinando Principiano likes for drink chilled down a bit.