A wine that breaks the mould. In more ways than one. We are talking about Vinarancio by Roberto Ghio. Curious? Then let us begin with “Caricalasino”, an almost forgotten grape variety that Ghio decided to rescue from extinction among the hills of Bosio. Vinarancio is born precisely from this choice – a successful gamble that brings to the glass a white wine capable of behaving like a red, challenging the conventions of Piedmontese winemaking. We are in Alto Monferrato, just a step away from the Ligurian border. Here the soil is poor, rocky and difficult to work. In the past, farmers loaded the few harvested grapes onto donkeys to transport them along the steep local paths. This is where the curious name of this native grape variety comes from. Roberto Ghio, an artisan winemaker deeply connected to his land, chose to treat this grape with an old-fashioned approach. Vinarancio is an organic wine that does not seek the easy path of immediate freshness, but instead focuses entirely on depth and the character of an extreme terroir. Vinarancio is a skin-contact white wine – or “orange wine” – that rediscovers the value of time and prolonged contact with the grape matter. Caricalasino is a white grape variety with thick skins rich in aromatic compounds and tannins. It is precisely this characteristic that allows Ghio to experiment with maceration, transforming simple grape juice into a wine of impressive structure, capable of ageing gracefully with surprising ease. Harvest takes place in mid-September and is carried out strictly by hand in order to preserve the integrity of the fruit. After destemming and crushing, the must remains in contact with the skins for around 15 days. This crucial stage extracts colour, complex aromas and the tannic texture that forms the backbone of the wine. Once fermentation is complete, Vinarancio rests for a full year in stainless steel tanks and completes its journey with a further twelve months of bottle ageing before release. In the glass it shows an intense golden colour, almost amber, illuminated by orange reflections. On the nose, notes of dried apricot and candied orange peel emerge first, followed by hints of medicinal herbs, chestnut honey and a balsamic touch of resin. On the palate it is enveloping, almost textural. The mineral savouriness typical of the Bosio soils merges with a light yet pleasant tannic sensation that cleanses the palate beautifully. Already excellent today, this skin-contact white wine has remarkable ageing potential thanks to its production method. It can evolve gracefully for 8 to 10 years, transforming fruity notes into more complex hints of dried fruit and sweet spices. This is a wine that does not fear ageing – in fact, it benefits from it.