Campogrande

CAMPOGRANDE

The Campogrande winery is located in the historic center of Riomaggiore, with terraced vineyards clinging to cliffs above the sea, framed by a landscape as breathtaking as it is rugged. It is in this dramatic setting that this small wine venture was born, led by one of the figures who helped bring global recognition to the Langhe region: Elio Altare. A pioneer of modern viticulture, Altare revolutionized Barolo in the 1980s with the use of barriques. In 2008, he embarked on a new project, acquiring two hectares of forested land in the inland area of the Eastern Ligurian Riviera with the help of his friend Antonio Bonanni. On this small plot, only native Ligurian grape varieties are cultivated today: Bosco, Albarola, Vermentino, Canaiolo, and Ciliegiolo. These grapes give rise to wines with strong personality and a deeply rooted local identity. Campogrande’s viticulture is defined as truly heroic: the steep vineyards are often inaccessible to machinery, and all work must be done by hand. These challenging conditions help preserve the unique microclimate in which the vines thrive. The most important vineyard is the one that gave the winery its name: Campogrande is the largest plot and sits at the highest point of Serra hill, where the terraces wrap around the slope and seem to plunge into the sea. Once abandoned due to the difficulty of working the land, the vineyard was restored in 2005.