Matteo Correggia, Roero Arneis - 2023

Fast Facts:

Winemaker(s): Ornella & Giovanni Correggia
Region: Canale → Roero DOCG → Piedmont → Italy
Varietal(s): Arneis
Terroir: South facing vines, ancient marine sandy soils with silty clay subsoil, 280-330m elevation
Serving Temp: 45-55°F

Matteo Correggia took over his family's land in Canale in 1985, when Roero was still mostly "bulk wine" country. While these plots north of the Tanaro River had the terroir for something especially interesting, nobody had really committed to proving it yet. Enter Matteo. He fell in with Elio Altare and the Barolo Boys, a tight circle of producers across the river who were making wines with more precision and personality than the region had seen before, and brought that same energy back to Roero. In 1987 he released La Val dei Preti, the region's first single-vineyard Nebbiolo.

Tragically, Matteo died in a tractor accident in 2001. His wife Ornella took over the operations, later bringing in their son Giovanni as winemaker and export manager. Ornella pushed further: introducing organic and biodynamic farming, committing to low-intervention winemaking, and tightening focus to estate fruit only. The winery today is a direct expression of what Matteo started and what his family has continued to build with serious love.

The Arneis is where Correggia tends to hook people who've never thought much about Piedmontese whites. Arneis, which translates from Piemontese as "little rascal," is notoriously difficult to work: it drops acidity fast as it ripens, leaving winemakers chasing a moving target. The Correggia approach is to harvest in two passes, the first for brightness and tension, the second a week or two later for fuller fruit, then blend them together. Brilliant! Fermentation and aging happen entirely in stainless steel, with lees contact for four to six months to add body and a bit of creaminess. Estate vines in Canale root into ancient seabed, sandy marine soils that hold acidity beautifully and give the wine that clean mineral lift you keep tasting forever.

Why'd we pick it?

Roero never quite gets the credit it deserves, partly because Barolo is right across the river hogging all the attention. Correggia is the reason serious wine people pay attention to Roero at all, and the Arneis is the most approachable entry point into what they're doing. This is a wine that overdelivers on every level.

Field Notes

• Tastes like: White peach and honeydew with citrus zest, chamomile, and almonds. Super clean and citrusy, with a mineral snap on the finish.
• Serve it: cold! Straight from the fridge, then let it warm up a bit as you down the bottle.
• Food pairings: I'm thinking about a spring pea and ricotta crostini with good olive oil and some sort of pickly thing. Garlicky linguine with spot prawns, lemon and herbs etc etc. Also perfectly happy next to a bowl of fresh snap peas.