It would be a stretch to call Balbiano an ‘urban winery,’ but only a small one. The estate sits just outside the town of Chieri, a mere 20 kilometers east of central Torino. Melchiorre Balbiano founded it here in 1941, farming and trading grapes before securing his wine wholesale license. In the post-war years, his son Franco took over, swapping a chemistry career for the cellar. He modernized the operation, moving to a 19th-century farmhouse, introducing bottled wines, and sending them well beyond Piedmont. As president of the Freisa di Chieri and Collina Torinese consortium, he championed the native Freisa grape, raising its profile through research and advocacy. In 2003, the third generation — Luca Balbiano — restored the historic vineyard at Turin’s Villa della Regina, creating Vigna Villa della Regina, Italy’s only DOC wine grown within a city. Today, 22 hectares of vineyards in Collina Torinese yield benchmark Freisa alongside Barbera, Bonarda, and Malvasia. Balbiano remains rooted in its hills, now shaped by three generations, just across the river from downtown Torino and a grape’s throw away from the famous Mole Antonelliana.
Freisa is a close relative to Nebbiolo, and like it, has a long and often noble history throughout Piemonte as both a solo and a blending grape. In recent decades though it’s often been relegated to making fizzy, slightly sweet (“amabile”) everyday wines, which can be charming but maybe not much more. Balbiano is one of a handful of producers who still make a freisa classico – i.e., vinifying it dry and treating it with the same seriousness as its more prestigious cousin. Raised on the historic urban vineyard of Villa della Regina, grapes see long fermentation in stainless steel and aging in 500-liter French oak tonneaux. Aromas unfold gradually: wild raspberry and dried rose petals mingle with pink pepper and a subtle mineral thread of crushed stone, evoking the calcareous soils and centuries of vine roots. On the palate, vibrant red fruits are sculpted by bright, energetic acidity and supple yet precise tannins. Layers of forest floor, tobacco leaf, and graphite emerge with aeration, adding nuance without overshadowing the fruit. The finish is long and contemplative, leaving a whisper of bitter cherry and saline minerality. This is Freisa elevated — an elegant, intelligent wine that balances finesse with the unmistakable character of its place, old-school while still being fresh and lively, a wine of gravitas but not weightiness. It deserves decanting for an hour or two and a Burgundy stem.