Ask Fausto Cellario to describe his wines and he reaches for the word celebration. At Poderi Cellario in Carrù, on the quieter western edge of the Langhe, he and his wife Cinzia make natural wines from indigenous Piemontese varieties that feel lighter, fresher, and more joyful than the region's monumental reputation might suggest.
Backstory
The Cellario family has farmed this corner of Piedmont for three generations. Fausto and Cinzia are the third to tend the land and the first to bottle and export it under their own name with natural wine convictions at the forefront. They inherited a strong foundation — hazelnut groves, woodlands, and thirty hectares of vineyard spread across five distinct sites — and rebuilt the winery around biodynamic principles, indigenous yeasts, and minimal additions.
The Region
Carrù sits in the southern Langhe, in the Dogliani subzone that is spiritual home to Dolcetto. It is a less fashionable address than Barolo or Barbaresco, which suits the Cellarios perfectly: land prices allow for careful, low-intensity farming rather than yield-maximising monoculture, and the calcareous soils reward the light-skinned indigenous varieties they favour.
Vineyards and Farming
The estate spans 30 hectares across five sites in the southern Langhe, with the Dogliani plot — spanning parcels in Novello and Monforte — regarded as the crown jewel for Dolcetto. Fausto and Cinzia work exclusively with indigenous Piemontese varieties and manage all the vineyards biodynamically, following lunar phases not only in the vineyard but also at bottling. The estate generates its own photovoltaic energy and produces no waste that leaves the property.
Winemaking
Fermentations proceed with indigenous yeasts; sulfur is added only at bottling, and only when Fausto believes it is strictly necessary. The wines are bottled unfiltered and unfined. Many of the whites and reds come in one-litre bottles — a democratic gesture that keeps the per-glass cost low and encourages sharing at the table.
The Wines
The range includes pétillant naturel wines, frizzante reds and whites, and still expressions of Dolcetto, Barbera, Nascetta, and Moscato Giallo vinified dry. Il Baffone — a sparkling blend named after the moustached gentleman on the label, Cinzia's father — is the most playful entry in the lineup. The Barbera Sabinot shows what depth the estate can produce when the mood demands seriousness.
