‘On its release, it seemed outright futuristic.’ They’ve done it once, now could Gaja do it again for Piedmont’s whites?

With the release of the 2023 vintage, Gaja’s ‘Gaia & Rey’ Chardonnay turns 40 – a symbolic milestone for a pioneering wine. It was the first white produced by the renowned Barbaresco winery, the first Chardonnay to be born in the Langhe, and the first Italian white wine to undergo malolactic fermentation and ageing in barrique.

The wine’s label combines the name of owner Angelo Gaja’s grandmother, Clotilde Rey, and that of his firstborn, Gaia, born in 1979 (the very year the Chardonnay vineyard was planted in Treiso), representing the company’s roots and its future.

On its release, it seemed outright futuristic.

Find out more about the evolution of Gaja’s Gaia & Rey Chardonnay

In the Langhe at that time, farmers couldn’t even pronounce the word Chardonnay, while Piedmont was just beginning to make its name thanks to Barbaresco and, above all, Barolo.

In Italy, white wines were considered simple products for immediate consumption and by the end of the spring they would all be sold out.

‛But I believed that the Langhe region offered the right characteristics to produce a complex, long-lived white,’ recalls Angelo Gaja. ‛What inspired me was my meeting with Robert Mondavi, who wanted to make great white wines in Napa Valley, emulating Burgundy. I liked his open-mindedness and resourcefulness.’

Gaia & Rey was released quietly as a table wine, but it quickly built a loyal following, especially abroad, surprisingly complementing the sumptuous Gaja reds. Today, it is included in the Langhe DOC. Given its success, other producers in the Langhe began to consider following in its footsteps.

How it started

According to a report by the Nomisma research institute on Italian consumer perception, Piedmont is the leading Italian region for the production of quality red wines, the fourth for sparkling wines, but only sixth for still white wines.

Asti DOCG is by far the highest production Piedmontese wine (90 million bottles per year of sparkling wine and Moscato d’Asti), and numerous other districts are driven by white wines, such as Gavi, Roero Arneis, Erbaluce di Caluso, and Derthona Timorasso.

This perception is largely influenced by the success of Barolo and Barbaresco, but it could change. ‛We believe the future of wine lies at higher altitudes, and we see it as whiter,’ Gaia Gaja beams.

She’s referring to her family’s latest business project: the acquisition of 30 hectares of land in the municipality of Trezzo Tinella, mostly planted with Chardonnay and Sauvignon – grape varieties with which Gaja boasts solid experience (in addition to Gaia & Rey, the winery produces Sauvignon Alteni di Brassica and the Chardonnay-Sauvignon blend, Rossj-Bass).

Trezzo Tinella is located a few bends above Barbaresco, just enough to rise from 300 to 600 metres above sea level and benefit from a decidedly cooler microclimate. The soils alternate between sand and stone.

‘It’s a virgin place for viticulture, which is why we’re extending the experimental phase.’ For his part Angelo Gaja knows well that a terroir isn’t created overnight and confirms that he’s in no rush.

In the meantime, the Gaja family’s investment could inspire others to follow in their footsteps and help improve Piedmont’s reputation as a white wine region.

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Broadening horizons

‛It was the late 1980s, I had recently graduated from the Alba School of Oenology, and a friend and I pooled our funds to buy a bottle of Gaia & Rey. It was a revelation! Shortly afterward, I decided to plant a few rows of Chardonnay in my vineyard,’ says Sergio Germano, who owns a winery in Serralunga d’Alba and is currently president of the local producers’ consortium.

‛The Langhe wine scene is dominated by the native Nebbiolo, but white wines can carve out a space as a complement to the company’s range, or as a basis for comparison with foreign wines,’ he continues.

‘The desire for innovation is a good sign; it shows that the region is dynamic, although I don’t think the great Piedmontese reds are ready to give up their crown,’ reflects Chiara Boschis, a Barolo producer.

Germano agrees but acknowledges that ‘in the face of climate change, we need to be ready to rethink paradigms.’ After all, he already produces a high-altitude Riesling in Cigliè, outside the Barolo area.

A true alternative?

So, could the white wine, considered merely ‘a complement to the range or a challenge to foreign markets,’ become an alternative to traditional red wines? ‘Sometimes Gaia & Rey succeeds where our reds cannot.

‘In the 1984, 1994 and 2002 vintages we gave up producing the Barbaresco crus because the Nebbiolo hadn’t ripened to perfection, but Gaia & Rey was exceptional, a true alter ego of our reds,’ Gaia reasons.

‘Chardonnay adapts better to extreme climates; it doesn’t suffer from the swings between very cold and very hot vintages, and the phenolic ripeness of its skin is less decisive than in red grapes,’ she continues.

With its rich array of white grape varieties and a fortunate morphology (Piedmont literally means ‘at the foot of the mountains’), the region seems poised to broaden its horizons.

Chiara Boschis, too, has ventured into producing a few bottles of white wine for the first time from Nascetta grapes, an ancient Langhe variety now favoured by local winemakers.

Maybe Angelo Gaja’s belief is spreading: ‘We must learn to look at the present not with the eyes of yesterday, but with those of tomorrow, to have an open mind toward the future.’

At the same time, however, he preaches calm and composure, as his rural culture taught him: ‘Senza fretta,’ – no rush…

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