‘Sgarbarto’ translates to ‘rude’ in Italian, and – in case the butt-waggling pup on the bottle’s label didn’t tip you off – this wine is Silvia’s cheeky take on a regional tradition. The Oltrepò Pavese has a long history of sparkling wine production, including large plantings of Pinot Noir (Italy’s largest, in fact) and Chardonnay (to a lesser but still prominent degree), destined, as in Champagne and Franciacorta, for metodo classico bottlings. Folks make fabulous champenois-style wines here with a thoroughly Italian flair (Silvia’s in-laws at Castello di Stefanago included); Silvia has opted for a more punk-rock (or rustic, take your pick) version of things. Her Chardonnay sees a few days of skin contact before bottling, with the addition of reserved must to kick-off secondary, in-bottle fermentation. ‘Sgarbato’ may seem a little uncouth or brash at first (don’t mind the haze, as a pet-nat this sees no disgorgement), but really it’s just joyful, exuberant you might say. Sunny and savory, reeling with a fruity/floral melange of apricot, lemon oil, orange blossom, dried apple rings, and jasmine complemented by whiffs of wild herbs and a yeasty/bready tang, all carried finely on a wave of perfectly free-spirited fizz.
The brains, brawn, and beauty behind Emilia Pennac is Silvia Giani, a big-hearted rabble-rouser whose zero-zero wines are just as infectiously charming as they are impeccably made…and who also happens to have the cutest labels in the game. Having taken ownership of her parents' small property, Silvia set about crafting wines in their tiny cellar, drawing inspiration, understanding, and technical guidance from her husband’s (Jacopo Burrafald of Castello di Stefanago) hands-off approach to wine and her father’s farming practices. As she puts it: “My childhood has the taste of must, the sound of the clicking of the scissors, the scent of grape flowers. For over forty years my family has produced high quality grapes which were then delivered to the local wineries. My father has always had a lot of respect for the environment and for the vineyard, adopting a type of agriculture very similar to organic farming but without certification. Following in his footsteps, I undertook the organic path with an increasingly attentive eye towards biodynamics and biodiversity. ‘Home’ wine has always been made with indigenous yeasts, spontaneous fermentations, low sulfur, no filtration. I have maintained this great tradition, the only variable being no addition of SO2 if the year was favorable and if I listened carefully to the needs of my vineyards! My wine is made by itself: I choose the grapes, I follow the steps, but the rest is magic, pure enchantment, the expression of a year of work.”