Alberici

Amilcare Alberici dresses in green coveralls and socks and sandals. He has farmer hands. He smiles often. He speaks Italian sotto voce with short spaces between syllables. Alberici’s daughter Arianna is more direct, emotive, easier to follow. Arianna plays the viola, which isn’t surprising. She is a creative, positive force at the estate. Her family are all heart: they exude sincerity.

The Casalone farm is on a floodplain of the Po River in Reggio Emilia, close to a nondescript highway overpass. The area is called Pianura Padana, the nearest town is Gualtieri. The nickname of their little hamlet is “Giardino” or garden. A short row of blue beehives sits in the driveway, in front of low trellises of Lambrusco Salomino and Fogarina vines. Eleven hectares of vines surround the estate’s small cluster of buildings: house, cellar and barn.

The red and black flag on the Fogarina label are the colors of Italian anarchists, a dedication to the memory of family friend Luigi Veronelli, who encouraged Amilcare to produce La Fogarina. This abandoned vineyard of 60-year-old vines was brought back to life by Alberici and his cousin Joseph Caleffi, beginning with the 2002 vintage. The duo even had to get Fogarina officially listed with the regional registry of permissible grape varieties: it was nearly extinct.

Alberici’s wines are hard-wired to make you happy: I can’t see how a person could miss their appeal. They are a mood changer and absolutely the thing you want when sitting down with a pizza or some meaty snacks at 5pm (or 1am!) – Jay Murrie, Piedmont Wine Imports