Aimone Giobatta Vio his wife Chiara, and daughters farm the impossible. Their vineyards in Albenga cling to terraces so steep that landslides are an annual guarantee. The Mediterranean crashes below, sending salt spray up the cliffs, while the mountains behind block the worst storms. It's farming on a knife's edge, where one wrong step means a calamitous fall.

The Giobatta family has been doing this arduous, thankless farming for generations, but it wasn't until 2000 that they started bottling their own wine. Before that, their grapes disappeared into the anonymous blends of larger producers.

Despite sitting right on the ocean, these cliffs have zero marine sediment—mostly schist and quartz shot through with veins of iron. It's mountain soil that overlooks the sea, creating what locals call a “terroir of contrast.” These 1980s era vines cling to the Earth while their leaves get blasted with Mediterranean salt spray. The result is wine that tastes like both mountain herbs and sea breeze.

Bio Vio was among the first in Liguria to go biodynamic in 1989, back when it was considered crazy rather than cutting-edge. They farm their Marixe and Vallette vineyards like a garden, not a factory. Native yeasts only. Twenty-four hours of cold maceration to extract those ethereal aromatics. Four months on the lees for texture. Then straight into bottle—no oak, no shortcuts, just pure Ligurian Vermentino and Pigato, its speckled biotype.

This wine has little to no internet presence because the family doesn't need one. Everything they make gets snapped up by the restaurants along the Riviera who know that nothing pairs with local octopus and calamari like Vermentino and Pigato. We managed to lock down 21 cases through sheer persistence and a bit of begging.

WHY YOU'LL LOVE IT

• Explosive Aromatics: That mix of lemon pith and wild herbs—sage, thyme, rosemary, oregano—announces itself from across the room, and it’s utterly transporting to the cliffs of the Ligurian Riviera.
  

• Texture Without Weight: Thanks to those 40-year-old vines and careful lees work, this has the mouthfeel of a serious white without any heaviness. Citrus, sea spray, and the intoxicating terpenes of the macchia (garrigue) are all here—substantial and refreshing.
  

• Biodynamic Passion: You can taste the vitality in this wine, made with respect for the earth and this unique biome that contributes way more than its share of gastronomic delights to the world.
  

• 100% US EXCLUSIVE: No big-box, grocery, or restaurant presence. No marketing. Just 21 cases that made it to America because we wouldn't take no for an answer. 

HOW TO SERVE IT

• Ice cold presentation at 42-45°F in a simple white wine glass is perfect.
  

• Drink it now through 2026. While it has the structure to age, there’s no need to wait.
  

• Pair with simplicity in mind: Fritto misto, of course. Grilled whole Branzino with lemon and herbs. Kumamotos, freshly shucked. Or even Avgolemno soup on a cold night when you want to take a magic carpet to the Italian Riviera.