The Wines of Gaja

Join us as we speak with Gaia Gaja, of the renowned Gaja Winery in Italy’s Piedmont region. Having worked at the winery since she was a child, Gaia is the fifth generation of her family to be involved in the winery, and even had a wine named in her honor (Gaia & Rey Chardonnay) by her famous father, Angelo Gaja. Angelo is credited with several innovations in winemaking, including the use of barriques – the 225-liter French oak barrels for aging Barbaresco, the production of single vineyard designations, and he planted Piedmont’s first Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc vineyards. Founded in 1859 by Giovanni Gaja, the winery now owns 250 acres of vineyards in Piedmont’s Barbaresco and Barolo districts. In 1994, the Gajas acquired their first wine estate in Tuscany, Pieve S. Restituta in Montalcino. The property’s forty acres of vineyards produce two Brunello di Montalcino wines: Sugarille and Rennina. In 1996, the Gaja family purchased a second property in Tuscany, Marcanda, located in the Bolgheri district in the commune of Castagneto Carducci. New plantings of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, as well as Cabernet Franc, Syrah and Sangiovese, cover 250 acres and a state-of-the-art winery was completed on the property in 2002. Beginning in 1996, all of Gaja’s single vineyard wines have been labeled Langhe Nebbiolo D.O.C. Sponsor: North Berkeley Wine: www.northberkeleywine.com Show #156 (48:29 min 22 MB)

More info: www.graperadio.com