Barbacàn is Angelo Sega and his sons Luca and Matteo. This diminutive winery is a unique artisanal antiestablishment in the heart of the Alps, an extraordinary chain of mountains in northern Italy. On these peaks, with vertiginous inclines and steep terrain, their work can be summed up in one word- heroic.

They grow and collect Nebbiolo, Chiavennesca, as the locals call it, from their 7 hectares of vineyards in San Giacomo di Teglio in Valtellina on the border of Switzerland in the Italian Alps. The Sega men are grower-producers, the vanguard of Valgella with a passion stronger than the mountains they work in. It is not easy land to work, nor does the climate assist. Steeply terraced vineyards 450+ meters above sea level involve tremendous amounts of hard, back-breaking work to obtain and maintain 'heroic viticulture' as the Italians call it. Their strength, passion, and hard work are evident from the vineyard to the bottle.

The wines are the most honest imaginable, respectful of the terroir and vintages. At Barbacàn, neither chemicals nor industrial yeasts are used, and no fining or filtering of wines, with tremendous attention to every detail (one must when there are minimal interventions in the cellar), delivering phenomenal wines of finesse, flavor, and elegance.

“We are farmers in the Alps, we preserve the pluralism of our ancient native vines and the cultural identity of traditional agronomic practices. In our wine, we express the vintages with their oddities and their balances, always different and always unpredictable. Every season we repeat ancient gestures, carrying on the identity of an Alpine people that has always been linked to the cultivation of Chiavennasca”

All this equals one of the very few 100% natural winemakers in Valtellina who are now certified organic by Valoritalia.