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LaNunsiò wines are Family Estate wines, produced by Azienda Agricola Giorgio Chiorra in Nizza Monferrato, Asti, Italy. The family winery is owned by Carla and Giorgio Chiorra. The Chiorra family has been involved in the wine and wholesale olive business in Nizza Monferrato since 1912.

While continuing the olive business, Giorgio and his wife Carla, a school teacher, were drawn by an attraction of the old family vineyard and its produce and their desire to return to their roots and enjoy the life in the countryside.

To help them achieve their dreams, they have been able to utilize the lovely family vineyards of the Annunziata Estate, where Carla was born and grew up. The gently sloping hills surrounding Nizza Monferrato, where Carla’s parents Rina and Pietro Zaccone still live, provide a optimal growing area for the Barbera grape.

The family home and cantina are proudly featured on the labels for the LaNunsiò Barbera D’ Asti and LaNunsiò Vignotto wines. Previously this Estate, of about six hectares, sold their wine in bulk to consumers and businesses. However, with the help of expert and experienced enologists, they began the “LaNunsiò” project in 1994, producing their own bottled wine.

Today they produce LaNunsiò Barbera D’ Asti, LaNunsiò Ideale Barbera D’ Asti Superiore and LaNunsiò Vignotto a blend of 50% Cabernet and 50% Barbera. The Annunziata (" LaNunsiò" in the local Piedmontese dialect) Estate is found in the community of Nizza Monferrato (Asti, Piedmont) Italy. The high quality of it’s wines is in large part due to the special characteristics of the soil. The unique nature of these soils has shaped the destiny of this specialized agriculture: dry, lean soil which is thirsty for water and particularly suitable for grape-vines, ensures qualitative value of the fruit that they bear.

The hills on which the Barbera grapes grow are Tertiary and, therefore relatively young. Being of sedimentary marine origin there are no rock formations. The soil is made up of chalk, clay, and sand all of which are neutral or sub alkaline and it is, therefore, extremely suitable for vine-cultivation. These are the different elements which give the vines their strength and subtle variations which are to be found in the various wines, including Barbera.

The estate boasts old vineyards with vines ranging from 10 to sixty years old which are planted on about six hectares.

It is on these hills, stretching from Nizza Monferrato to Vaglio Serra and on to Vinchio d’ Asti and Rocchetta Tanaro, that the Barbera grapes find the most suitable terrain and growing climate. The microclimates also have proven very suitable for growing cabernet sauvignon.

A gentle, mild autumn, with dewy mornings and considerable changes in temperature between day and night allows the grapes to be harvested in optimum conditions. Then follows the slow evolution of the plant as it passes through the freezing winter with heavy snow falls on the hills; a slow and fairly rainy spring is followed by a hot dry summer.

The experienced vine growers know that the best grapes are grown only on hilly land and on the sunniest slopes, so the valley bottoms and the less favorable slopes normally are dedicated to growing other crops.

In the DOC Barbera D’ Asti, none of the vineyards are located on flat land; this fact makes the area unique among the Italian wine-producing regions. Because of a strict tradition and respect for the particular suitability of the land, it is considered an error to plant vines below a certain altitude; on the highest hills they may go up to, or exceed 300 meters ; where working the land becomes extremely difficult and mechanization often proves impossible. This is, however, the only way in which the local vine growers wish to cultivate the wine. The LaNunsiò vineyards have a southerly exposure and are situated halfway up the hillsides, at about 190 meters above sea level.

The wine making processes in LaNunsiò are truly traditional. No herbicidal, fungicide or other non organic materials are used in the vineyards or during the process of making the wine. LaNunsiò will soon be classified as an organic vineyard by the Italian government Great care is taken to harvest the grapes only when they are perfectly ripe, without haste and with the patience to return again and again to the vineyard to pick only the ripe bunches. The stages of vinification are followed in the traditional manner, and the wines of this area are not put on to the market until the following year. In the case of the Ideale Barbera D’ Asti Superiore, the wine is matured for more than six months in wooden casks or barrels and then in the bottles. In fact, after being bottled, it is still necessary to allow for some further aging for these wines to achieve the perfect taste and balance.

Every year the LaNunsiò Winery produces about 48,000 bottles of Barbera d’ Asti, 4,000 bottles of Vignotto, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Barbera D’ Asti and starting in 2001 about 9000 bottles of Ideale Barbera D’ Asti Superiore. All grapes used in the LaNunsiò wines are grown within the estate and the wine is produced within the LaNunsiò cantina.

The love for their wines and the care and attention with which they treat them, is guarantee by numbering and control of each individual bottle. All wines are made in the traditional manner: by alcoholic fermentation and by ensuring the must/wine remains in contact with the- grape skins for a period of 10 to 12 days at a temperature of 27°C- 30°C. Constant attention is given each day until the perfect moment is found to end the alcoholic fermentation. The classic style of Barbera D’ Asti is traditional, full bodied and satisfying on the palate; grand and impressive, able to hold its head up in any comparison with the world’s other great red wines, proud of its age. The Ideale Barbera D’ Asti Superiore comes from the oldest vineyards, is hand picked and has no difficulty competing for the approval of modern tastes.

Continuous finishing, with malolactic fermentation take place:
- for the Barbera D’ Asti, partly in 25-hectoliter Slovenian oak casks and partly in 225-liter Allier French-oak barrels; for Ideale Barbera D’ Asti Superiore only new small and medium barrels are used for six to fifteen months aging depending on the vintage.

-for " Vignotto "only in new, 225-liter Allier French-oak barrels.
After bottling, all wine is allowed to further mature in bottles prior to selling.

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