Blog: Marco Porello
Piedmont

The Roero is an area of uniform, scenic character. It lies between the course of the Tanaro River to the south, the provinces of Asti and Turin to the south-east and to the north, and the state road 61 to the west. The Roero hills form the last western spurs of the Asti hills and extend successively to the left of the Tanaro river. The territory shows homogeneous geo-morphological characteristics and a cultural identity due to its turbulent history. The Roero includes 24 villages, one of which - Cisterna - belongs to the province of Asti. The region also includes part of the territory of Alba, which lies on the left bank of the Tanaro River. The original and wild nature with its flora and fauna together with the impetuous beauty of the 'rocche' (castles) make this region one of the most unspoiled of Piedmont. The Roero is an area rich in economic resources: here are produced the renowned wines Arneis, Roero, Nebbiolo, Moscato, Dolcetto and Favorita. The fertile valley of the Tanaro, from Bra to Govone, is cultivated with vegetables; besides, this land produces other products such as the pears 'Madernassa' of Vezza d'Alba, the asparagus of Montà, the chestnuts of the villages of the 'Rocche', the peaches of Canale, honey, mushrooms and truffles.

The Marco Porello winery is still a family business, without any growth ambitions or world market airs. This attitude is part of the company's philosophy, focusing on the essentials instead of wandering far and wide. And what could be more essential for a winery than to produce good wines? Of course, Marco is neither shy of the future nor backward-looking - because a lot has been invested in the farm during the last few years and many things have been modernized. Much more important than the material investments, however, are the intangible ones, i.e. those based on manpower and passion: Marco and his helpers spend 2,000 hours a year working in the vineyard - and that's per person. This effort is necessary because high-quality grape material is the best starting point for good wines. In addition, all grapes come from Marco Porello's own vineyards and are not bought in - as is common with larger producers. As a result, Marco Porello retains control throughout the rearing, processing and production process and limits the number of bottles available each year (which is guaranteed not to be a disadvantage). In this way, all the individual parts come together to form a holistic approach, Marco Porello's philosophy.

The Arneis grape variety is one of the oldest in Piedmont, rediscovered only a few years ago. The zone of origin is the Roero, the traces of discovery go back to the 16th century. This Roero Arneis is produced from 100% Arnei grapes, which is not a given. The vineyards are steep and sandy, facing east. The grape harvest is in mid-September, it is done by hand and in small crates, each harvest is freshly pressed every day. The 4 hectares of planted vineyard reach on average only about 6,000 bottles. - Gerardo [TS02/23]