When Nadia Curto urged her father, Marco, to bottle wine with their family name, he resisted. Although proud of his fruit, he knew that Barolo has always been one of the most difficult wines in the world to perfect. It’s mercurial and moody; the requisite Nebbiolo grapes are thin-skinned and tannic, and wines take years to develop. Marco was getting older, and this change was an Everest to him… but Nadia persisted. She worked long, hard days in the Piemontese sun, talking to her father and ultimately earning his respect. When her uncle, the legendary Barolo producer Elio Altare, invited her to work for him, she leapt at the chance. With a new library of knowledge at her fingertips, Nadia came away enlightened, and Marco finally embraced her vision. Today, father and daughter continue to work side by side, with Marco overseeing the fields and Nadia the winemaking. Now, she says with a smile, “we have a fantastic equilibrio”.

Hailing from the town of La Morra, known for its elegant reds, Curto’s wines cut a razor’s edge between traditional and modern. Their roots are classic, but most vintages are quite approachable and can be enjoyed sooner than many other Baroli. They have great structure, yes, but also stunning aromatics and sophisticated, earthy layers. Behind this overall style is Nadia’s simultaneous devotion to the past and the present. Under Elio Altare’s guidance, for example, she learned how to make wine organically, joining the ‘green experience’ movement in Piedmont and even getting rid of traditional filtering by using little-known methods of thermo-shock. In a nod to the region’s changing climate, she also uses a short rotary fermentation (considered modern and a bit controversial!) to soften her tannins and deliberately showcase the fruit. No one can deny the results of this approach are stunning: powerful Barolo with a palate that lingers for days and a marked yin-yang balance.