Together with her two siblings, Gaia Gaja runs the famous Gaja winery in Barbaresco. In this interview, she talks about tradition and anti-conformism, changing consumption, and new projects.
Gaia Gaja runs the Gaja winery in Barbaresco together with her siblings Rossana and Giovanni. Founded in 1859, the winery achieved worldwide fame under her father Angelo and was later expanded to include vineyards in Montalcino, Bolgheri, and on Mount Etna. Gaia has been working at the winery since 2004 and took on the role of international ambassador early on. Stylistically, she favours elegance, tension, and aromatic precision. In doing so, she is continuing her father's vision and at the same time writing the next chapter of one of Italy's most important winegrowing families.
You are one of the most influential women in the Italian wine world. How did you manage to step out of the shadow of your famous father Angelo?
Gaia Gaja (pauses briefly): If I'm honest, I'm still very much in his shadow. The Gaja winery has been associated with his strong personality since 1961. When the three of us took over the management from him, it was a major turning point. Before, he decided everything on his own, now we communicate as a family. As I was the first to join the winery around 20 years ago, many people see me as his successor. But my sister Rossana and my brother Giovanni are just as active in the company and we make all the important decisions together.
Has your father retired completely or does he still give advice?
Gaia Gaja: We discuss a lot and my father doesn't hide his opinion. But his suggestions are always so anti-conformist that everyone else cringes. (laughs) So we argue with him, but later we often realise that his seemingly absurd ideas work. That's sometimes frustrating for me because he considers things and possibilities that I don't see straight away.
Does that mean he is still visionary?
Gaia Gaja: Absolutely. Even though he no longer travels the world and therefore doesn't experience sales first-hand, he has a great entrepreneurial flair that is often useful. The same goes for the vineyard: his experience more or less saved the harvest last year. 2024 was cold and damp, it rained constantly and the grapes didn't ripen properly. He urged us to thin out several times and was right in the end.
You seem more like a traditionalist than an anti-conformist. Are appearances deceptive?
Gaia Gaja: Maybe I'm a little more conservative than my father, but he always made it clear to all of us how important it is to leave the mainstream and think differently about viticulture. If you want to shape the future, you have to throw clichés and entrenched traditions overboard. In other words, you have to be a bit crazy.
What was the topic you discussed most as father and daughter?
Gaia Gaja: For example, whether we should switch to biodynamic viticulture or not. I was in favour, he was against. But in the end I realised that we shouldn't follow a preconceived protocol or philosophy. Viticulture itself is already very regulated and we favour individual solutions. Nevertheless, the soil and biodiversity take centre stage for us.
Historical bottles: Gaia's great-grandfather was already bottling Barbaresco
Luca FumeroWhat do you do for this?
Gaia Gaja: We take an interdisciplinary approach and work together with geologists, geneticists, botanists and beekeepers. Around 20 years ago, we planted cypress trees in the Barbaresco vineyards—based on our winery in Bolgheri—to attract birds and thus increase biodiversity. Since last year, we have also been planting trees in the vineyards in Serralunga d'Alba. The topic of agroforestry is becoming increasingly important in order to make the monoculture of wine more resilient and to positively influence the microclimate.
How have your Barbaresco wines changed since you joined the company?
Gaia Gaja: Our wines have had to move with the times. On the one hand because the climate has changed, and on the other because the world of wine is constantly changing. Today, we intervene much less in the cellar and are more careful and gentle with wood. The wines of the 1990s were much more characterised by wood. Sure, it was fashionable, but it was also what the Nebbiolo grapes needed at the time. The acidity was higher, the tannins greener and harder, you needed the wood. That is no longer necessary today. Today, we leave the wines on the skins for longer, sometimes more than two months, but pump them over less often and extract them more gently.
How do you notice this in the wines?
Gaia Gaja: The Barbaresco wines are more accessible than in the past because the grapes are riper, less acidic and the Nebbiolo tannins are generally softer. Today, we have to protect the wines from micro-oxidation so that they retain their character with ageing. This is why we have also changed our barrel suppliers. We are now increasingly focussing on barrels from Austria and Eastern Europe rather than France.
Do you think that today's wines can mature just as well?
Gaia Gaja: I am very confident, precisely because we have adapted so many details in the vineyard and in the cellar. Of course, they are ready to drink more quickly than before, but I am sure that they will last a long time because we treat them differently from the outset.
What specifically have you done in the vineyard to counteract climate change?
Gaia Gaja: Over the past 20 years, we have helped the vines to adapt to the increasingly extreme climate. For example, we now work according to the Simonit & Sirch method of pruning. We also rely on individual cover crop between the rows of vines, as this allows us to lower the temperatures in the vineyard. Our vines are on average 60 years old and we will soon have to replace some of them. Using mass selection, we have selected and propagated Nebbiolo vines that are particularly resilient to heat and drought stress. They are real fighters who have shown that they can cope particularly well with all adversities. These are our vines for the future.
The Gaja brand is one of the most famous names in the wine world.
Luca FumeroGaja now produces wine in four top wine-growing regions: Barbaresco, Montalcino, Bolgheri, and Etna. Which terroir fascinates you the most?
Gaia Gaja: Well, Etna is so special that you simply have to love it. But everything works differently there. You can't compare it with other growing regions. 2024 was warm and dry there and yet the wines are lean, almost unripe, while cooler vintages produce the more opulent wines. It's crazy!
I have a special connection to Ca' Marcanda in Bolgheri because I took my first steps in the company there twenty years ago. It was still in its infancy back then and I was able to shape its development myself. I grew with it. I also appreciate Ca' Marcanda because you can make wines there that don't conform to the stereotypical image of Bolgheri. They are very elegant and delicate.
Montalcino, on the other hand, is fascinating because there are so many different altitudes, orientations and soils—and because it is surrounded by forest. The area is much more diverse than the Langa. In 2020, we bought a vineyard there at 620 metres. If we have the opportunity to go higher, we'll take it.
Have you also invested in higher vineyards in Piedmont?
Gaia Gaja: In 2017, we bought some land at 650 metres, in the Alta Langa, around 20 minutes from Barbaresco. I am sure that these vineyards will make a name for themselves in a few years' time. In the past, the grapes didn't ripen properly there, but with climate change, these sites are becoming more and more interesting.
What do you want to produce there?
Gaia Gaja: Mainly white wines. We have planted Timorasso, Erbaluce, and Incrocio Manzoni, among others, and want to experiment with them. This growing region is very promising. The wines there are so fresh and acidic that no acidification is necessary in the cellar—not even in very hot years. With Chardonnay, we can carry out malolactic fermentation without losing freshness.
To what extent does the Barbaresco location still characterise the identity of all wineries today?
Gaia Gaja: In order to emphasise each winery and its brand, I changed the labels of our Tuscan wines some time ago and removed the name Gaja from the front. And I took some criticism for it. From a commercial point of view, it is very brave to no longer display the Gaja name prominently. But the name is too closely associated with Barbaresco and in future I would like the other wineries to express their own identity more strongly.
Gaja's headquarters in the centre of Barbaresco is a place of pilgrimage for wine fans
Luca FumeroHow do you feel about the current demonisation of wine by institutions and the press?
Gaia Gaja: I reject extremism of any kind. The world is full of fundamentalists, there is only black or white. For us Europeans, wine has a different status than for Americans, for example. In our culture, moderate wine consumption is part of life. We have to defend this conviction.
What must wine be able to do for you today?
Gaia Gaja: For me, it is important that our wines evoke emotions. That they are drunk at special moments. Wine connects and creates friendships. Sitting down at a table together, eating and drinking, that's joie de vivre.
You talk about special moments because your wines are fine wines. What about everyday wines?
Gaia Gaja: I don't always just drink expensive wines, especially not my own ones. In restaurants, I like to order Grignolino or Dolcetto, but also Lambrusco, which my father also loves. Chianti is also one of those wonderful, simple wines that should never be missing from my cellar. Anyone who regularly drinks good everyday wines will appreciate a Barolo and Barbaresco much more.