Wines of Andreola and Frasca La Guaragna
Notes and thoughts on wines from two Northern Italian producers
Welcome back to Notable, where I share notes on interesting wines from recent tasting. In the last few weeks I’ve participated in virtual events with producers from the Veneto and Piemonte, so I have an excuse to use geography as today’s organizing principle.
Not that the wines, or even the geography, are much alike. Italian wine is vigorously territorial; a two-hour drive deposits one into an entirely different vinicultural context. Italian Risorgimento, even a century and a half later, remains notional.
Let’s start in Valdobbiadene, with three wines from Prosecco DOCG producer Andreola, founded in 1984 by professional cyclist Nazzareno Pola and now led by his son. Then we’ll head west to Nizza Monferrato to taste a white blend and three Barberas, including two from the newish Nizza DOCG, from Frasca La Guaragna.
Andreola
Pro cyclist Nazzareno Pola used some of his winnings to finance his hobby of growing and making wine in his hometown of Valdobbiadene. By 1984, the activities had turned into a vocation, and he gave his fledgling project his mother’s surname, Andreola. In 2010, his son Stefano took the reins, bringing on winemaker Mirco Balliana. They currently farm 110 HA of vines at 300–550m elevation. In the cantina, they use only free-run juice, selling the rest on the bulk market. This gives them clear liquid that needs no fining or filtration, preserving Glera’s delicate flavors. They make about 1 million bottles annually, all DOCG.
26° I° Rive di Col San Martino Extra Brut Valdobbiadene DOCG 2025
11.5% ABV | About $25
Dubbed 26° I° (or “Twenty-sixth First”) in a nod to the winery’s 26th anniversary, when Stefano took over from his father, and the first establishment of Conegliano-Valdobbiadene as a DOCG. It’s 100 percent Glera, a zero-sugar wine, lean, austere, with a quiet fragrance of green pear and powdery flowers. It feels saline, with firm acidity and a bitter back note that nonetheless yields more ripe green fruit. It’s my favorite of the three Andreola wines.
