The drive to Masiero’s winery is not for the faint of heart. Located on top of a volcanic basalt hill in Lesseni, a satellite wine region of Soave, the only way up is via a series of switchbacks that each possess a certain “you’ve got to be kidding me” quality. The soils, iron-rich and dark, alternate with the picture book spread of the Venetian plain - up to 80km of visibility on a good day. It’s unbelievably evocative, and halfway up, it becomes really clear that you’re in absolutely gorgeous red wine territory, what with the basalt and the elevation and the searing wind and sun. Franco Masiero obviously thinks so too - quasi retired at this point, he is undeniably proud of nothing so much as the work he and his daughter Giulia do with Merlot. Here, the once-gallic interloper has become deeply domesticated; the entire family considers it basically autochthonous at this point, akin to Gargenaga (which originally stems from Greece) or the fiery Tai Rosso, which, as far as anyone knows, is from these hills.

Franco’s first foray into winemaking was in 2000 vinifying ½ hectare of pinot noir, “just for fun.” Pinot noir isn’t really the grape for the Veneto, but it was enough of a proof of concept for Franco to go nuts and start purchasing vineyards and planting vines of his own. Currently, the family works with 6 vineyards with a total of 10 ha divided into two soil types: collebericci,a volcanic base with mixed limestone and clay, and the pure, local Selva di Trissino basalt the winery is built on. The largest, by far, is Saint Urbana, an ancient trellised vineyard on an abutting hillside, which the family began restoring in 2014. Planted in the early 1900s, the vineyard was originally given to Garganega, Pinot Grigio, Tai Rosso, Merlot, Chardonnay and Cabernet Franc on collebericci. In the intervening years, the Chardonnay has been replaced by Durella, while the proportion of Tai Rosso has crept up via replanting older vines. All of the vineyards the family works with are strictly biodynamic, and they’re a part of a local biodynamic consortium.


While Franco laid the roots of the winery, it’s his daughter Giulia who has really shaped Masiero. Since officially coming on board after finishing her studies in 2014, Giulia has been a tireless advocate for natural winemaking, autochthonous grapes, and the music of Bruce Springsteen (The label for Lazaro is, in fact, pulled from the cover of The Rising). Keenly analytic and curious, Giuila’s winemaking has become deeply dialed in and hyperfocused on bringing out the best from each input into the eventual bottles. She harvests up to seven times per season, to ensure that each variety is at peak ripeness, and then each variety from each vineyard is vinified separately. Vinification and elevage for the majority of wines take place in old foudres or cement tanks, with the notable exception of the jaw dropping 100% Gargenaga Lazaro which is vinified and raised in marble tanks, which resemble nothing so much as ancient tombs (fitting for the name). Sulfur levels are low, as Giulia prefers to use time in barrel and bottle rest to stabilize wines. When added, it’s generally only for wines where freshness is an imperative, and never more than 40ppm introduced with enough time for the wine to recover before bottling.


The wines Giulia produces are some of the best in Northern Italy, especially her ethereal reds. Under her guidance, Merlot sheds its baby fat and dials up its tension in the single vineyard Campo di Calco, trading the plush and jammy for slinky and lingering. It feels a lot like a thinking person’s wine, but halfway through the bottle, you realize you’ve just been thinking “yummy :) “ for 20 minutes. Her Urban blend, from fruit pulled from Saint Urbana, is grippy and crunchy, with just a touch of Cab Franc fuzz to anchor the whole thing together. Notably, despite being the estate’s entry level wine, the current release is 2019, which speaks to Giulia’s “cook until done” mentality and the seriousness of the winery. Finally, the Lazaro is an exercise in minerality, a wine that feels hewn from living rock, layers of crystalline structure over a core of ripe, almost late-harvest fruit that keeps the wine centered on being delicious and not just really interesting. We feel incredibly lucky to have these wines and to tell Masiero’s story and are sure that you all will become believers very soon as well