Quiet passion, dedication, and pride for his local grape varieties are what defines the work of Claudio Mariotto, the third generation Mariotto to officially produce wines on his family’s estate. Nestled in the southeast corner of Piemonte, the estate was initially founded in the early 1920s’ by great-grandfather Bepi, though Claudio’s ancestors had been growing grapes and making wines in the Colli Tortonesi for generations prior. Today, Claudio and a few other hardy, local compatriots (many of whom we’ve featured in the annals of wine club before) have become part of a staunch line of defense that sees them plucking a small subset of hyper-native, local varieties back from the brink of extinction, eschewing lucrative pursuits driven by the success of more locally famous and international varieties in an effort to preserve these ancient native specialties.