ArPePe Terraze Retiche di Sondrio Pettirosso 1999

The Valtellina Valley in Italy's northern region of Lombardy: famous for curing Bresaola and Chiavennasca. The latter is the local name for Nebbiolo, and grown here at the foothills of the mountainous border with Switzerland in an interesting microclimate where alpine influences meet the Mediterranean, it results in bright cherry-scented wines, all hand-harvested due to the perilously steep slopes that hinder access to any machine aid.

Valtellina producer, ArPePe was founded in 1984 by Arturo Pellizzatti Perego, but his family have been making Nebbiolo delle Alpi (of the Alps) for 5 generations. This expansive family history, not to mention the necessity to do everything a mano (by hand) has given rise to the family philosophy of patience. Il giusto tempo di attesa translates to "the right waiting time" and ArPePe use this in all they do, from the 1500 hours they clock to cultivate a single hectare, to the time spent aging the wines in old barrels, cherry casks and concrete: they say everything takes "as long as it takes".

So take il giusto tempo to look through the collection of graceful and charming alpine Nebbiolo from the Valtellina Superiore DOCG, with the family-owned patiently tended vineyards spread across Sassella, Grumello and Inferno and see what time will tell.