The Coppo family vineyard is one of the jewels of the region. The great wines of the Piedmont region from Barolo, Barbaresco and the Barbera from Coppo are feted by wine lovers from New York to Tokyo. The Coppo family history intertwines with the development of the city of Canelli, which in the early nineteenth century had already established itself as the capital of Italy’s famous sweet sparkling wine - Moscato (Muscat). In the early 1980’s, the Coppo family embraced the cultivation of the Barbera, the other native grape of the region. Today the vineyard is run by the four brothers - Gianni, Roberto, Piero and Paulo, who split their efforts between the viticulture, the wine-making, the national market and the export market. I first met the Coppo brothers at Vinitaly in Verona in 1998. I fell in love with the maturity, the ripeness and the velvety palate of their Barbera and decided to import it to the French Market for the company for which I worked as a wine-buyer at that time. The quality of the wines impressed the difficult and nationalistic French palate and the wines made their entrance in famous Michelin starred restaurants’ wine lists, such as Alain Ducasse.
The 56 hectares of the vineyard are pruned by the Guyot method and the vines are planted in terraces at 250 metres altitude in chalky soil. Riccardo Cotarella, the famous Italian flying wine-maker, is the vineyard consultant and his personal touches include constant research into the optimum maturity of the fruit, combined with the well balanced aging in wood barrels. Today Wine Story is very proud to be the official UK importer of the Coppo wines who, like our French vineyards, are sensitive to the preservation of their environment. What I particularly like about the Barbera from Coppo, in addition to their quality, is their variety. For example, the Avvocata can be appreciated as an everyday light easy drinking-wine and the well-structured great cuvée Pomorosso can be kept for special occasions.
