Nino Negri is in Chiuro, in Lombardy's Valtellina, and it works mainly with Nebbiolo, which people here call Chiavennasca. The winery sits in Palazzo Quadrio, a 15th-century palazzo. The Duke of Milan gave it to Stefano Quadrio around 1400, and he dug the cellars that still run through four floors below the building. The company was registered with the Chamber of Commerce in Sondrio in 1925, and Gruppo Italiano Vini bought it at the end of the 1970s.
The Valtellina has five named areas: Sassella, Grumello, Inferno, Maroggia and Valgella. Nino Negri makes single-vineyard wines in three of them. Vigna Sassorosso is 11 hectares on a south-facing morainic hillock in Grumello. Vigna Ca' Guicciardi is 10 hectares of steep slope in Inferno, with white rock veined with quartz. Vigna Fracia is 7 hectares in Valgella, the historically coldest part of the valley.
The vineyards are terraced with drystone walls, and everything is harvested by hand. For Sfursat 5 Stelle, a Sforzato di Valtellina DOCG, the grapes dry naturally for about three months before vinification.
Not tasted yet
I haven't reviewed a wine from Nino Negri yet. They're on my Top 100 list, which is built from awards.