Italy's Rising Stars: Marche's Contrada Contro & Piedmont's Vaira Aurelj
Italy’s wine landscape is full of producers quietly redefining what their regions can be. Join owner of importer Vine Farmer Jace Chaffee for a deep dive into two rising stars whose wines share an unwavering belief in vineyard expression, thoughtful farming, and a powerful sense of place.
We’ll begin in the rugged Monti Sibillini of the Marche, where Andrea Polidoro’s Contrada Contro is taking a radically terroir-driven approach to Italian wine. Founded in 2019, this remarkably young project has already emerged as one of the most compelling new names in Italian white wine. Andrea farms high-elevation, old-vine vineyards in and around Gualdo, including extraordinarily rare parcels of 130–150-year-old, own-rooted vines trained up maple trees—an ancient system of viti maritate, or “married vines.”
Rather than organizing his wines around grape varieties, Andrea bottles individual contrade as they are actually planted in the vineyard: historic field blends that capture the character of individual sites and preserve a disappearing piece of the region’s viticultural heritage. His farming is organic and biodynamically influenced, with cover crops, no plowing, and an extraordinary emphasis on preserving old vines, he employs equally unconventional techniques, including his “stem lasagna” pressing method, layering ripe stems between skins and must to build phenolic and tannic structure in white wines without relying on skin maceration.
For Jace, Contrada Contro represents something bigger than a promising new producer. Andrea is challenging the varietal-first approach that has come to define so much of Italian wine and instead asking a more fundamental question: what happens when you let the land speak first? His wines offer a glimpse into a forgotten corner of Italy while simultaneously pointing toward the future of Italian wine.
From the Marche, we’ll travel north to Vergne, Piedmont, and the tiny family estate of Vaira Aurelj, founded by brothers Francesco and Giacomo Vaira. Working just 4.35 hectares at roughly 450 meters in elevation, the brothers take a decidedly hands-on approach to farming, with organic practices, cover crops, no pesticides, and biodynamic trials. Their philosophy is straightforward: great wine begins with the work done in the vineyard.
The resulting wines are wonderfully individual expressions of Nebbiolo, including the eccentric Controcorrente, made from a rosé mutation of Nebbiolo, and Fuori Zona, crafted from Nebbiolo grown just outside the Barolo DOCG boundary. In the cellar, the Vairas favor a similarly low-intervention approach, with native fermentation, gentle extraction, used oak, minimal sulfur, and wines bottled unfined and unfiltered.
Together, Contrada Contro and Vaira Aurelj offer a fascinating look at the new generation of Italian growers—producers working outside the spotlight, questioning convention, and showing just how much remains to be discovered in Italy.
If you love finding the next great producers before everyone else does, this is a MasterClass you won’t want to miss.
Featured Wines:
Contrada Contro
2025 Case Sparse Malvasia Bianca di Candia Blend
2024 Contrada Contro Trebbiano Blend
2024 Contrada Tomassucci Malvasia Bianca di Candia Blend
2024 Biordi Sangiovese Blend
Vaira Aurelj
2024 Barbera d’Alba
2024 Langhe Nebbiolo
2024 Controcorrente
2024 Fuori Zona
$25 ticket price includes 1.5 hr tasting of wines and cheese & charcuterie boxes by Baker's Best. Space is limited. All wines will be available for purchase with special event night discounts. Please email chelsea@gordonswine.com if you have any allergies at least 48 hours before the event.
TICKETS CANNOT BE REFUNDED WITHIN 48 HOURS OF THE EVENT.
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PICK UP YOUR WINE FROM MAIN ST. ON THE EVENING OF THE EVENT, PLEASE LET THE WINE DEPARTMENT KNOW AT LEAST 24 HOURS IN ADVANCE BY CALLING (781) 893-1900 EXT. 130 OR EMAILING DAILYFLASH@GORDONSWINE.COM.
EVENT QUESTIONS? PLEASE EMAIL CHELSEA@GORDONSWINE.COM
