Cantina Laiolo Reginin, Calici di Natura

Arriving at Paolo's is always like coming home.
Whether you've known him for years or are visiting his estate for the first time, the moment you cross the threshold of his cantina you immediately sense that typical feeling of familiarity and warmth that only rural farming culture can still convey.

A dynamic and attentive producer of wines typical of the Piedmontese territory, his estate is a splendid example of balance between production innovation and respect for tradition. We are in Vinchio (AT), in the heart of the Barbera d'Asti DOCG production zone, where the narrow hills and steep slopes provide an ideal home for this grape variety whose roots run deep in the historical memory of this land.
The estate, founded by his father Guido about seventy years ago, was taken over in the late 1990s by Paolo, who made all the precious teachings he had received his own, managing from the very beginning to leave his personal mark on the wines produced – wines that, in a continuous and steady qualitative crescendo, have distinguished themselves for quality and finesse.

The "philosophy" applied at the estate does not follow the standard canons of organic farming, but rather a kind of self-imposed discipline that the Laiolo family has chosen to embrace, aimed at respecting the land and the wine. As a result, no GMO vines are used, nor herbicides or desiccants in the vineyard. In the cantina, only the indigenous yeasts present on the grapes at the time of vinification are allowed to act, no added fining agents are used, and the use of sulfur dioxide is kept to the bare minimum – all of this to give the consumer the opportunity to appreciate all the typical characteristics of a natural product.

The wines that emerge from this cantina are a classic example of how a person's balance can be reflected in what they produce.

There are 7 hectares under vine, from which a total of approximately 30,000 bottles are produced across the various types.
The flagship wines are undoubtedly his barbere: "La Mora", a fresh and youthful barbera that sees only steel before bottling; "Da Sul" (which in Piedmontese dialect means "Alone"), which after vinification spends several months in Tonneaux before being bottled; and "Suris" for lovers of complex barbera enriched by the aromas of wood aging. But the same care and attention are also devoted to the other types of wines produced, such as freisa d'Asti, cortese, and grignolino – the latter whose very name, "L'Intruso", and its label evoke all the originality of this wine.
Almost a personal adventure and challenge for Paolo that deserves a special mention is certainly the classic method sparkling wine obtained from the spumantizzazione of barbera – a grape variety that, due to its intrinsic characteristics, adapts surprisingly well to this process. A little gem still unknown to the general public, but one that the most attentive and curious palates will be able to fully appreciate.

The estate is housed in the historic family building; the vinification area features all the characteristics needed to control the production process, while the barrels and bottles of the new vintage, arranged in an orderly fashion in the aging and refinement cellar, express all the allure of a vintage just beginning its journey.
But the true heart of the estate remains the tasting room – a "warm" and welcoming space where the wines reveal themselves slowly to those with the right spirit to understand them.