Can you really have a Barolo as a house wine? Of course you can! To find the perfect red wine, we went to Italy´s most sought after wine region, Piedmont (again :-). Here we teamed up with Piedmont´s best cooperative, Terre del Barolo, to get hold of the best nebbiolo grapes from the fantastic vintage of 2016. The grapes included in the wine comes from three growers in three different villages: Serralunga d´Alba, La Morra and Monforte d´Alba – and we know exactly which vineyards the grapes come from. Mixing several different vineyards in your house wine barolo is a traditional way to achieve a good balance. In our first edition, the grapes from La Morra contribute with perfume and elegance, while Monforte and Serralunga stand for strength, structure and roughness. We would like to believe that the wine is peaking right now, but that there also is potential for at least another ten years of storage!

The grapes and the process
Nebbiolo grapes are left to soak with the skin for 20 days to leach out the taste, color and tannins. The wine is then stored in large oak barrels, so-called ”botti”, for at least 18 months. These huge old oak barrels give no taste to the wine but they let the wine breathe gently throughout the storage process. After storage, the wine is bottled where the storage continues until the day you pull out the cork.

Food and drinking tips
Barolo is best enjoyed together with food. Even though we like to categorize it as an elegant wine, there is an underlying structure and roughness that needs to be taken care of. The easiest way to do this is with uncomplicated food in season where salt and fat are important components. The rule that ”large” wines need simple food is applicable here. Try classics like tajarin pasta, butter and truffles or why not a simple risotto with summer mushrooms?
At the time of writing (May 2022), and for another year or so, Barolo DOCG 2016 is in a very good drinking phase. Given the age of the wine, it may need some breathing in the carafe before serving it in a large burgundy glass. If you have the wine in a wine cooler or a wine cellar, the temperature there, usually around 13 degrees, is perfect for corking immediately. It’s better that you serve the wine a little too cool so you can follow the temperature rise in the glass. The optimum temperature for our barolo is 16-17 degrees.

Terre Del Barolo is a quality-driven cooperative in Piedmont that consists of 300 winegrowers with over 600 hectares of vineyards. The cooperative has wineries in some of the best locations such as La Morra, Castliglione Falletto and Serralunga d’Alba, which makes it possible to buy high quality wines. Each individual vineyard is vinified individually and 100 percent traceable to each grower. Terre del Barolo also has a good reputation for paying its members well for their grapes.

Our house white wine should move you mentally to an outdoor restaurant by the Mediterranean and be as fresh and mineral as a spring stream! That was where our aim was set when we started looking for what would be our first own white wine launch. When we found the cool grape arneis and a passionate grower named Giovanni Almondo we knew we had hit the spot. The Almondo family lives in Montà in the northern part of Roero, which is part of Piedmont. Here, in the sandy soils, the otherwise fairly hard-grown green grape arneis thrives. Over the years, Giovanni has become an expert in producing crispy and mineral-driven white wines from various vineyard locations. Our wine comes from a six-hectare vineyard with older vines called Bricco delle Ciliegie. The age of the vines along with the soil provides a perfect mix of elegant citrus perfume, mineral salt, hazelnuts and refreshing acids.

The grapes and the process
The vineyard where the grapes grow is located about 400 meters above sea level and the soil here consists of 60% sand, 25% clay and 15% limestone. After harvesting, pressing and fermentation, the wine is stored for 10 months in a 95% steel tank and 5% unroasted barriques, so as not to "color" the wine in any way. The oak barrels help to round off the acid in the wine a bit.

Food and drink tips
Roero Arneis is a brilliant all-round wine. In other words, it works just as well to have a glass on the balcony in the sun or while you cook as for more festive events with elegant dishes. In Piedmont, the wine is often served as an aperitif or with classic vitello tonnato. If it is hot outside and the grill is running, we suggest whole dorado, lemon and asparagus. Serve the wine directly from the fridge and let it rise a few degrees in the glass. It is actually an excellent idea to store this type of serious Arneis for a few years, but we guess that it will run out before you even think about it :-)

The Almondo family lives in the northern part of Roero in Piedmont. In addition to the fantastic grape Arneis, asparagus, peaches and strawberries are also grown here. The 15 hectares of vineyards that the family owns have the best conditions for arneis to thrive and express its personality: A calcareous and sandy soil, perfect drainage and cool winds that blow from the French Alps. Stefano Almondo, who takes care of the vineyards, describes ”The Almondo Style” as follows: ”a style composed of impressive aromas, fragrance and minerality”.

What would a basic collection with house wines be without a rosé? Our first rosé launch comes from Provence in France. Approximately midway between Nice and Marseille, we find the producer Figuiéres, which is run by the Combard family. The vineyards are managed organically and the focus is entirely on making different styles of rosé wine. Our wine belongs to the healthy and mineral type that we like to drink with mist on the glass for the summer lunch under the parasol. A wine that you should always have in your home, in the fridge of course!

The grapes and the process
The wine is made from a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Cinsault and Grenache grapes, grown in clay soil. The grapes are left to soak with the skin for three hours to give color and just the right amount of character. Then fermentation and storage in a steel tank takes place, before bottling just in time for spring.

Food and Drink Tips
This type of lively and brightly colored rosé wines from Provence is best consumed one year after harvest. After all, it is the flirty perfume blend of peaches, strawberries, flowers and herbs we want. Together with fresh acid and a little bittersweet bite in the aftertaste, it goes great with food, especially different salads that you dress with olive oil and flake salt. Of course, it’s also a perfect match with local classics such as Salad Niçoise and Salad Céasar.
Bon appetit!

In the heart of beautiful Provence, between Marseille and Nice, we find the Figuière property run by the Combard family. When Figuière’s founder Alain Combard started the company in 1993, his goal was to make as good rosé wines as he had previously done when he co-founded and Domaine Laroche in Chablis. Today, the company is run by Alain´s three children. They have 84 hectares of organically grown vineyards with slate soil, sun exposure and proximity to the coolness of the Mediterranean. In 2020, Figuière was named winemaker of the year in France´s largest wine guide "Guide Hachette".