I had the good fortune to speak with Francesca Poggio from Il Poggio d Gavi last week on Instagram Live! She has been running her winery in Piedmont since the early 2000s. We talked about how she grew up in MIlano but later moved to live near her family winery. The family was originally from Genova and like many families from the area, they summered in the hills in the Gavi region. She started in the industry later in life when she was around 39 and credits Le Donne del Vino for helping her to get started and to prosper. Her family owned a winery and there’s an amazing picture of her and her great- grandfather on the website. Today she runs the winery with her team and her husband and daughter Georgia.

We spoke about how close she is to the sea and to Liguria. I hadn’t realized how close they were but the incredibly salinity and minerality on the wines absolutely made me think of the seaside. I found them refreshing and beautiful and thought they would be perfect with grilled fish, pasta dishes or vegetable pies typical of Liguria. Interestingly she said Ligurian cuisine which is partly vegetable based was often the best paring for these lovely wines made from the Cortese grape.

I was lucky enough to receive a couple of samples to taste. I was reminded how much I have always like Gavi wines. Francesca also explained to me the differences between Gavi and Gavi di Gavi wines.

This very historic wine hasn’t gotten the attention I think it deserves in the US but I suspect that will change. These wines are exactly what people are looking for today, whites that are versatile, refreshing, can be long lived and are made from indigenous grapes. Wines from Gavi can be labeled Gavi di Gavi DOCG They have a consortium since the late 1990s.

The Gavi DOCG includes 11 comunes in the province of Alessandria. These wines come in four styles still, sparkling, spumante and Riserva. They often taste of white fruit and floral notes and have a bitter almond note on the finish. The soils in the area are a mix of clay, alluvial soils and other types. The area is impacted by the winds from the Mediterranean.

The winery has not had many guests this year because of Covid restrictions but has generally hosts lots of events including yoga retreats and has a wine relais where people can spend a few days. Her sister also works at the winery and helps with the wine relais. We also discussed her family’s second passion, golf, which they all play. They are so involved in golf they list the best local courses in the area on their website.