Vigna Rionda | Barolo MGA
Vigna Rionda (officially Vignarionda) is without doubt one of the most legendary MGAs of the Barolo appellation. The ridge lies on the southern side of Serralunga d'Alba, with south- to southwest-facing slopes between 260 and 360 metres in altitude, on the calcareous marl of the Lequio Formation.
Yet location and soil explain only half of why a Barolo from Vigna Rionda is so different from other Barolos. In its youth it is often austere and reserved, sometimes even strikingly light in colour. Not necessarily powerful, but taut and linear without ever being simple. It is a wine that needs time and keeps opening up over the years.
A bit of history
In the early 1930s the Opera Pia Barolo began selling off its large vineyard holdings plot by plot. In the same period many families laid the foundations of the wineries we know today. The large central part of the hill came into the hands of the Canale family in 1934. It was Bruno Giacosa who, with his Barolo Collina Rionda, definitively established the myth of this hill.
The owners
Luigi Pira owns the westernmost part of Vigna Rionda, where the slope almost turns the corner. This gives the plot the most westerly sun exposure of the entire MGA, catching mainly the afternoon and evening sun. It is also the only large holding that has never changed hands since 1930; only the highest part was added in 1979. Between 1996 and 1999 the family turned a series of small plots with rows following the contour lines into one continuous vineyard with rows running straight up the slope. Apart from Regis, Pira is the only one in Vigna Rionda planted this way.
Ettore Germano owns part of the old Canale vineyard in the heart of the hill. After Tommaso Canale died in 2010, the property passed to his cousins. Sergio Germano and Guido Porro, both related to the Canales, kept the western part; Ester Canale Rosso (Giovanni Rosso) got back the plot that had once belonged to her father. Around 2011 these vineyards were replanted.
Other owners of this remarkable vineyard include Massolino (with the largest holding in the MGA), Oddero and Luigi Oddero (since 1981, split in 2006), Giacomo Anselma, Regis and Pierangelo Ferretti of Terre del Barolo.
Our neighbour
For us, Vigna Rionda is simply our neighbour. We live on the little country lane that leads to the vineyard, and from our terrace we look out over the small ciabot, the vineyard hut, at the top of the slope. From our house and garden we also see the neighbouring MGAs Marenca and Margheria. Every season we watch the vineyards change, from the first green in spring to the harvest in autumn.
| Municipality | Serralunga d'Alba |
| Exposure | south/southwest |
| Size | 10.24 ha |
| Altitude | 260-360 metres |
| Soil | Lequio Formation |
| Wineries | Luigi Pira, Germano Ettore |
View our Barolo Vigna Rionda here: Luigi Pira - Barolo Vigna Rionda DOCG 2021.
