Bonarda di Gattinara

The Story

Bonarda di Gattinara is one of Italy's most misunderstood grapes — not because it's obscure, but because its name is borrowed. Known botanically as Uva Rara (meaning "rare grape," a reference to the loosely-clustered bunches rather than scarcity), this Piedmontese variety has played a supporting role in Gattinara DOCG for centuries, permitted up to 10% alongside the dominant Spanna (Nebbiolo). While Nebbiolo provides the power — iron tannins, tar and roses, ferocious acidity — Bonarda di Gattinara contributes something subtler: aromatic lift, rounded fruit, and a softening influence that makes young Gattinara approachable before its decade of aging does the heavy work.

The grape is native to northern Piedmont and Lombardy, with documented plantings across the provinces of Novara, Vercelli, Biella, Asti and beyond. It also appears in Ghemme DOCG and Lessona DOC blends, always in the background, always polishing the rough edges of harder varieties. Winemakers treasure its perfumed bouquet — soft, medium-bodied with violet and floral notes — even as they keep it firmly subordinate.

Gattinara itself has an ancient pedigree: vineyards date to Roman times, and Cardinal Mercurino Arborio (1465–1530), born in Gattinara and chancellor to Emperor Charles V, carried the wine to the courts of Europe. The phylloxera crisis and a catastrophic 1905 hailstorm nearly erased everything. Clemente Travaglini revived production in the 1920s, and Gattinara earned DOC in 1967 and DOCG in 1990. Today, Travaglini, Antoniolo and the Giacomo Conterno–owned Nervi estate are its most celebrated names. Antoniolo, founded in 1948, was the first to bottle single-vineyard crus from the DOCG. Their old vines of Bonarda di Gattinara and Vespolina still grow alongside Nebbiolo in their volcanic-soil plots, though some estates bottle 100% Nebbiolo without blending at all.

Insider Story

The great scandal of Bonarda di Gattinara is that it shares a first name with grapes that are entirely unrelated to it. "Bonarda" is applied to at least seven distinct varieties across northern Italy: Croatina (in Lombardy's Oltrepò Pavese, where it's called Bonarda Rovescala), Bonarda Piemontese (a separate true Piedmontese variety linked to Turin since the 1790s), Douce Noir (the Savoyard grape that conquered Argentina), and Uva Rara itself.

The Argentine "Bonarda" chapter is the most dramatic case of ampelographic mistaken identity in the modern wine world. For decades Argentina claimed Bonarda as its own second grape after Malbec — over 19,000 hectares, a pillar of national identity. But in 2006–2008, DNA profiling definitively proved that Argentine "Bonarda" is in fact Douce Noir from Savoie, France. The same grape grows in California as Charbono (brought by Italian immigrants who likely received it mislabeled). Argentine producers, not wanting yet another French-named grape in their portfolio, chose to keep the Italian-sounding "Bonarda Argentine" as an official name anyway — cementing the confusion for another generation.

Back in Italy, even experts confuse Uva Rara with Bonarda Piemontese. The key distinction: Uva Rara (Bonarda di Gattinara/Bonarda Novarese) is primarily a blending grape in Piedmont and Lombardy. Bonarda Piemontese is a standalone variety, more tannic and structured, once associated with Turin. They are genetically distinct. In Gattinara, when a label says up to 10% "Bonarda," they mean Uva Rara — not Bonarda Piemontese, not Croatina, and certainly not Douce Noir.

Technical Deep Dive

Uva Rara (Bonarda di Gattinara) is a mid-to-late ripening variety with loose, open bunches — the likely origin of the "rara" (rare/sparse) description. The loose cluster structure reduces disease pressure but also limits berry-to-berry skin contact and color extraction. The grape is susceptible to powdery mildew (oidium) and millerandage, a flowering disorder that causes uneven berry sizing within the bunch.

In the vineyard, Gattinara sits on volcanic soils — porphyry-rich, mineral, low in organic matter — with high acidity and dramatic thermal amplitude. This environment suits Nebbiolo but stresses softer varieties. Bonarda di Gattinara thrives here in supporting quantities; its perfumed aromatic compounds survive the cool nights while its lower tannin structure doesn't compete with Nebbiolo.

In the winery, Gattinara regulations mandate a minimum 2 years wood aging (3 for Riserva) plus additional bottle age before release. The Bonarda di Gattinara component is typically co-fermented or blended after fermentation; no producer uses it as a standalone varietal wine in Gattinara. The grape contributes: floral aromatics (violet, peony), soft mid-palate texture, red fruit (cherry, raspberry), and reduced perception of Nebbiolo's tannin bite without masking its characteristic tar-and-rose profile. At 10%, it functions like a seasoning — present and identifiable to experienced tasters, but architecturally invisible.

Winemaking at top estates like Antoniolo uses large Slavonian and French oak casks (25–35 HL), avoiding new oak that would mask terroir. Nervi-Conterno (post-2018, under Roberto Conterno) uses lengthy fermentations and neutral Slovenian oak, aging 3–4 years before release. The result: wines that compete directly with Barolo and Barbaresco on ageability, despite significantly lower market recognition.

Industry Secrets

Gattinara is one of Italy's most undervalued DOCG appellations relative to actual wine quality. The zone has fewer than 120 hectares under vine — smaller than a single large Barolo producer's holdings. Total production is a fraction of Barolo. Yet top bottlings from Nervi-Conterno and Antoniolo regularly outperform Barolo at the same price point in blind tastings. The Bonarda di Gattinara component is rarely discussed in tasting notes; sommeliers who know its role often describe it as the "ghost in the machine" of Gattinara's softness.

The volcanic soil story is unique: Gattinara is reportedly the only known place where Nebbiolo grows on volcanic (porphyry) soils. The mineral salinity and iron content from these soils give Gattinara Nebbiolo a distinct iron-and-spice note absent from the calcareous limestone soils of Barolo and Barbaresco. Bonarda di Gattinara, grown in the same soils, absorbs these minerals but contributes its fruit-forward softness as counterbalance.

Since Giacomo Conterno's purchase of the Nervi estate in 2018, collector interest has surged. The Conterno name — the most respected in Barolo — instantly elevated Gattinara's profile. Bottles released post-2018 under Nervi-Conterno fetch $70–$95 per bottle at retail; the same wines pre-Conterno traded under $30. This represents one of the fastest-appreciating name-lift stories in Italian wine.

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