Marco Petterino is about as reclusive as winemakers get. He tends fewer than three hectares in one of Piedmont's oldest Nebbiolo appellations, releases his wines nine or ten years after harvest when most of his neighbors have long since shipped theirs, and lets the wine speak without any marketing apparatus behind it. The result is a Gattinara that tastes like time itself was an ingredient.
Backstory
The Petterino family has cultivated vines in Gattinara across four generations, maintaining a scale that has always prioritized quality over volume. Marco carries that tradition forward with his father Giancarlo, holding a total of 2.5 hectares spread across several parcels, some of the most coveted land in the appellation. His production is approximately 1,300 cases per year, making Petterino one of the smallest producers in a DOCG that is itself one of the smallest in Italy.
The Region
Gattinara sits in the Novara-Vercelli hills of Alto Piemonte, at the northern edge of Piedmont's Nebbiolo growing zone. Unlike the Langhe to the south, Alto Piemonte's soils are largely granitic and porphyritic, with reddish minerality from iron oxide-rich sands. The elevation and cooler climate stretch the growing season, giving Nebbiolo—locally called Spanna—a more perfumed and fine-grained character than its Barolo counterparts. Gattinara received DOCG status in 1990, recognizing its historical position as one of Italy's great red wine appellations.
Vineyards and Farming
Marco's holdings sit in three of Gattinara's most sought-after crus: Permolone, Castelle, and Guardie, all southwest-facing slopes that receive optimal afternoon sun. The soils are granites, porphyries, quartzites, and ferrous minerals that give the wines their characteristic reddish hue and saline backbone. Farming is traditional and attentive, with hand harvesting and the careful parcel management that small-scale viticulture demands.
Winemaking
Fermentation lasts approximately fifteen days in traditional vessels. The wine then moves into large 25-hectoliter botti for three years of oak aging, followed by a minimum of six months in stainless steel, where it clarifies naturally without fining or filtration. Bottling marks the beginning of a further wait: Marco does not release his wines until nine or ten years after the harvest, long past the DOCG minimum. The result is a wine that arrives already well into its evolution.
The Wines
Marco produces a single wine: Gattinara Riserva DOCG, 100% Nebbiolo from his three cru parcels. The wine shows the classic Alto Piemonte profile of dried roses, iron, and earth, with the granitic minerality that separates Gattinara from its Langhe cousins. Recent releases include the 2015 and 2018 vintages, both of which arrived at market with a decade of age already in their favor.
