Elisa Semino did not inherit a winery so much as she invented one. When she wrote her oenology degree thesis on Timorasso in 1996, the grape was almost gone from Piedmont's Tortona hills. By the following year she had planted her first vines. Today La Colombera is one of the defining addresses for this variety.
Backstory
Elisa's grandparents Pietro and Maria rented the Vho farm in 1937, growing wheat, chickpeas, and alfalfa. Her father Piercarlo began making wine for family and friends in 1980 and eventually sold his first bottles under the La Colombera label in 1998. Elisa, trained at Piacenza's oenology school, joined forces with her father and later her brother Lorenzo to rebuild the estate around Timorasso. The first Timorasso harvest was 2000; the flagship single-vineyard Il Montino debuted in 2006.
The Region
La Colombera lies near Tortona in the Colli Tortonesi, a subzone of Piedmont that runs along the border with Liguria. The hills here produce a style of white wine -- structured, mineral, age-worthy -- that has little precedent elsewhere in northern Italy. Tortona itself gives its name to the unofficial appellation Derthona, now the internationally recognized shorthand for Timorasso from this zone.
Vineyards and Farming
The estate spans 23 hectares, with an additional 10-hectare parcel acquired in 2017 near Sarezzano. Soils are clay with chalky limestone and marine fossils, sometimes with a surface layer of sand. No herbicides or pesticides have been used for more than fifteen years. Farming is organic in practice, though not certified. Piercarlo manages all field work alongside Lorenzo.
Winemaking
Timorasso grapes are soft-pressed without maceration and fermented with native yeasts in stainless steel at controlled temperatures, then aged on fine lees in steel for nine months with regular battonage. Only copper fungicide is applied in the vineyard; minimal sulfur is added before bottling. The red wines, Barbera and Croatina, see partial time in barriques.
The Wines
The portfolio centers on Timorasso: Derthona (multi-parcel) and Il Montino (single vineyard) are the pillars. Bricco Bartolomeo is a lighter Cortese expression. Reds include Rampana (Barbera) and Suciaja (Croatina). A new amphora-aged Timorasso, Santa Croce, represents the estate's most recent direction.
