The end of the year brought an exciting new domain, NOAH, to our portfolio as we continue to expand our work in Italy. Andrea Mosca and Giovanna Pepe Diaz established NOAH, named after their son, Francesco Noah, in 2010 when, seeking to satisfy a mutual longing to work the land, they purchased 4.7 hectares of vineyards in and around the village of Brusnengo. Andrea, an architect by trade, gave up his practice as he and Giovanna committed themselves totally to their two “NOAHs”! They are currently renovating a farmhouse and cantina in Brusnengo where they will both live and produce their wines.

The NOAH project comprises vineyard sites in three distinct terroirs: Costa della Sesia, Lessona and Bramaterra, with a major emphasis on the latter appellation, a little- known zone with a capacity to produce formidable wines. The name Bramaterra is believed to originate from the Italian words “bramare” which means “to long for” and “terra” meaning “the land”. A tiny appellation of approximately 28 hectares that are spread throughout several communes (Brusnengo, Masserano, Curino, Roasio, Villa del Bosco, Sostengo and Lozzolo), there are no more than a handful of producers of Bramaterra. The landscape is distinguished from that of its closest neighbor, Lessona, by its red volcanic soil known as porphyry. Like Lessona and the other exalted appellations of the Alto Piemonte, the dominant grape of Bramaterra is Nebbiolo which is leavened with a dose of Croatina and/or Vespolina, both of which can add brightness and nuance to broaden the palate. Bramaterra has a characteristic wildness and freshness with accompanying tannins that provide structure for long aging. Its neighbor, Lessona, has a markedly different profile, one of greater elegance and less brooding tannins, a difference explained by the transition to a sandier soil composition in the Lessona district.

The NOAH estate is split between 3.5 hectares in Brusnengo which produce Bramaterra and Costa della Sesia and 1.2 hectares in Lessona. In Brusnengo, the vineyards are in two sectors: Mesola and Forte. Within Mesola there the separate lieux-dits of Diana, Mussa Alto, Mussa Basso and Nuovo Impianto which is a new pIn Lessona, the vines are planted to the Vigna del Monte site. The vines are now approximately twenty years old and the first wine to be produced as Lessona by NOAH will be from the 2014 vintage.lanting dating from 2013, effectively re-establishing an ancient vineyard site. From these sites, the grapes harvested are used to make the Bramaterra wine. Then, there the Aina, Vallone and Carazzo parcels the grapes from which produce the Costa della Sesia wine.