Caluso Passito

About this wine

This is a Caluso passito made from 100 percent Erbaluce, produced by the Gnavi family using traditional grape drying before pressing. The wine opens with intense aromas of dried apricot, orange peel and chestnut honey, followed by notes of toasted almond and a hint of warm spice. On the palate it is rich and viscous, yet kept in balance by bright natural acidity and a slightly bitter, savory finish. Vinification typically involves slow pressing of the dried berries and extended aging in oak or barriques, which brings gentle vanilla and nuttiness to the texture. The style is age worthy and often shows deeper coppery amber hues and more tertiary honeyed notes with time.

About the grape

Erbaluce is an ancient white grape native to the Canavese hills around Caluso, with written records back to the early 1600s and a long local tradition of making both dry and dried grape passito wines. In the Gnavi Caluso Passito it is cultivated on moraine derived, well draining soils and tended in the traditional pergola Canavesana training system on sun exposed crests at moderate elevation, which helps preserve the high natural acidity the variety is known for. For this passito the best bunches are hand harvested and left to dry naturally in cases through the winter months before pressing and extended aging, a technique that concentrates sugars and flavors while keeping the variety s bright acidity.

Quick facts

• 🏺 The Gnavi family has produced Caluso Passito across five generations, and the cellar still sells tiny, collectible batches tied to family history.
• 🌾 Their passito grapes are traditionally left to dry on straw or mats in attic-like rooms for up to five months, a hands-on ritual that concentrates sugars and color.
• ⏳ Giorgio/Carlo Gnavi will sometimes skip making a Passito entirely in a poor year — they only release it when the best, amber-ripe bunches meet their strict standards.
• 🧱 Unlike many sweet wines aged in wood, Gnavi often ages the Passito in neutral concrete tanks or cement vats to preserve pure dried-fruit and honey aromas.
• 📜 One of Gnavi’s prized Passito bottlings is called Revej, produced “alla vecchia maniera” and kept as a long-aged Riserva sometimes released only after eight or more years.

Palate profile

Producer

The Gnavi family winery traces its roots in Caluso, Piedmont where the family has vinified the local Erbaluce grape for generations. Dott. Corrado Gnavi was a prominent family member, he contributed to regional winemaking knowledge and published practical texts on cellar work. The estate became known for its Caluso Passito and for experimenting with sparkling and still expressions of Erbaluce, while maintaining traditional pergola training in the vineyards. Today the Cantina Gnavi operation continues in the town centre, combining family tradition with modern tasting and visitor facilities.