Of the fewer than 200 people in the world who carry the Rovellotti name, 66 live in and around Ghemme. That concentration of family and place tells you everything about this estate: it is not a brand or an investment, but a living continuation of one of Piedmont's oldest winemaking lineages, operating today from a 10th-century fortified compound that Antonello Rovellotti is the only winemaker still permitted to use.
Backstory
The Rovellotti family settled in Ghemme no later than the late 15th century, and they have made wine there ever since. The estate is rooted in the Ricetto di Ghemme, a walled medieval compound built in the 10th century to protect the village and its wine. Antonello and his brother Paolo formally established the modern winery together, and Antonello has led its development since, working from a labyrinth of tiny underground cellars beneath the Ricetto's ancient stones. Since the 1980s he has collaborated with the Faculty of Agriculture at the University of Milan to eliminate all chemical use in his vineyards, a project that began decades before organic certification became commercially meaningful.
The Region
Ghemme sits in the Alto Piemonte, the northern arc of Piedmont's wine country, along the Sesia River about 80 km northeast of Turin. The region is distinct from the more famous Langhe: cooler, foggier, and built on volcanic soils left by an ancient volcano whose remnants form the dramatic backdrop to the vineyards. Ghemme DOCG, one of only two DOCG zones in Alto Piemonte, requires wines to be made primarily from Nebbiolo, here called Spanna. The wines are known for their haunting perfume, translucent colour, and extraordinary capacity to age.
Vineyards and Farming
Rovellotti manages 15 hectares across four named parcels. Chioso dei Pomi and Costa del Salmino are devoted to Nebbiolo and Vespolina for the Ghemme DOCG wines; Valplazza grows Nebbiolo for Colline Novarese; Valle d'Enrico holds Erbaluce for a rare passito dessert wine. The soils are volcanic, mineral-rich, and exceptionally well-drained. Farming aims for zero chemical inputs, a goal Antonello has pursued systematically since the 1980s with support from agricultural researchers. Yields are naturally low, and the old vines of the Baraggiola subzone provide concentrated, complex fruit.
Winemaking
Rovellotti ages its wines in large, decades-old wooden botti stored in the ancient underground cellars of the Ricetto. This traditional approach softens Nebbiolo's tannins gently without imposing wood flavour. Fermentation uses indigenous yeasts, and additions in the cellar are minimal. Antonello's team includes enologist Mario Ronco and agronomist Michele Vigasio, who bring technical precision to an operation rooted in generational knowledge. The wines are not filtered and show the kind of sediment and variation that come from working without chemical stabilisation.
The Wines
The range includes Ghemme DOCG from the Chioso dei Pomi parcel, Ghemme DOCG Riserva Costa del Salmino for extended aging, Colline Novarese Nebbiolo, a Colline Novarese Rosso blending Nebbiolo with Vespolina, and a passito white from Erbaluce. The Riserva is among the most compelling and affordable long-aging Nebbiolo wines available, offering the haunting mountain-violet perfume and firm structure of the Alto Piemonte at a price that the Langhe cannot match.
