Matteo Correggia
Appellations
History
Matteo Correggia inherited his family's farm and vineyards in Canale, in the Roero hills north of Alba, in 1985 at the age of 23, taking over from his father Giovanni Battista Correggia. At the time Roero was a largely promiscuous agricultural area growing mixed crops and bulk wine for local and family consumption, its Nebbiolo and Arneis overshadowed by Barolo and Barbaresco across the Tanaro river. Matteo set out to prove that the sandy Roero soils could produce serious, terroir-driven wine, cutting yields and farming his vineyards organically. His work drew the attention of Roberto Voerzio and Elio Altare, leading Barolo producers of the same generation, who encouraged him and brought him into what became known as the Barolo Boys circle, of which he was the only Roero-based, non-Barolo member.
In 1987 Correggia released his first single-vineyard bottlings: Marun, a pure Barbera from a hilltop parcel in Canale, and La Val dei Preti, made from 100 percent Nebbiolo, which importers and critics credit as Roero's first cru-designated wine. That same period he also began producing Anthos, an unusual dry, still red wine made from Brachetto, a grape normally used for the sweet, sparkling Brachetto d'Acqui; because the wine falls outside any Brachetto appellation rules for a still, dry style, it is labeled under the broader Langhe DOC. In 1989 Correggia met the Uruguayan-born, Roero-based artist Coco Cano through the newly formed Slow Food association, and Cano began designing the estate's labels, a collaboration that continues today. His flagship wine became Roero Riserva Roche d'Ampsej, from an old, previously abandoned vineyard in the Rocche wedged into the Roero badlands near Pecetto, which he restored and which is now split into four separately vinified parcels.
Matteo Correggia died in 2001 in an accident while working in his vineyards, at age 39. His widow, Ornella Costa Correggia, took over management of the estate with help from family friends in the Piedmont wine world, including Elio Altare and Giorgio Rivetti of La Spinetta, and built a team that today includes winemaker Luca Rostagno. The couple's son, Giovanni Correggia, joined as winemaker and now also serves as export manager. Under Ornella and Giovanni the estate has continued to farm organically, expanded the range with additional bottlings such as an Alta Langa DOCG sparkling wine (Severina) and a Langhe Sauvignon Blanc, and has kept Roche d'Ampsej and La Val dei Preti as its benchmark wines.