Fontanafredda
Born in 1858, Fontanafredda is the product of a love story, between the first King of Italy, Vittorio Emanuele II, and Rosa Vercellana, to whom the future monarch gave the land where the winery stands today as a gift, as a token of his love. The couple had two children: Maria Vittoria and Emanuele Alberto, and it was Emanuele Alberto that founded the winegrowing estate, helping to make the name of Barolo internationally famous.
Fontanafredda has always been a pioneer of great innovations. In 1886, the first Barolo was sent overseas. Years later in 1964, Barolo Vigna La Rosa was born, becoming the first Barolo to indicate the vineyard on the label. In 2006, Fontanafredda became an Olympic wine to commemorate the XX Olympic Games in Turin and it was around about this time that a path to raise awareness of the need for sustainability began.
The big change came in 2008, when Oscar Farinetti and Luca Baffigo bought Fontanafredda, bringing it back under Piedmontese ownership after 77 years. Right from the start, the new goals were quality, sustainability and hospitality. In 2017, after 160 years, American magazine ‘Wine Enthusiast’ named Fontanafredda “European Winery of the Year”.
2020 marked the birth of a new Fontanafredda, better than before and more respectful of our planet. Being green is reflected in all the daily choices made by Fontanafredda. Water is reused in a conscious way, collected in the lake and purified with the help of the plant purification system in the Village, where mobility is also sustainable, thanks to the use of electric forklifts, which will be joined by the first bio-methane tractors in the vineyard as of the 2021 harvest.
By 2022, the energy of the Fontanafredda Village will be self-produced from renewable sources, reducing the business's environmental impact. Lastly, all the elements that make up the packaging of the wines are natural and respectful, in a word, green. From the glass, which is 85% recycled and can be used and reused into infinity, to recyclable and sustainable corks, which are of plant origin, through to the FSC and PEFC certified labels and cardboard, helping to fight the deforestation of our planet.
Fontanafredda's philosophy is to fully emphasise the character and personality of each individual wine, resulting from the interaction between the grape variety, the environment and human intervention. Work on the soil and in the vineyard involves the controlled grassing technique, completely abandoning the use of synthetic fertilisers and herbicides, and making Fontanafredda an organically certified bio-natural reserve covering an area of 120 hectares.
The impact of sulphur dioxide in wines has been reduced for years now, bringing it below the threshold, and fermentations are carried out with native yeasts. In accordance with tradition, the 19th century cellars house large French and Croatian oak barrels used for ageing Barolo and the great red wines of the Langhe.
“The Booths Barolo is a sustainable wine which espresses perfectly Fontanafredda’s eco-friendly vision developed over the years. The leading role that Fontanafredda assumes in this process guarentees the preservation of the unique soil characteristics that gift us extraordinary products such as the Nebbiolo grapes used for Barolo.” Giorgio Lavagna, Chief Winemaker.
