The winery of Cantalupo is the property of the Arlunno family, who have long been vineyard owners and grape growers in the beautiful rolling hills of Novara, tucked north of the Po River valley and south of the Alps. Officially, these are the back roads of Piemonte, but in fact, they are great hunting grounds for superb wines that offer outstanding value. However, while the region that includes Ghemme and its slightly better-known neighbor, Gattinara, is not particularly well-known today, its historical wine-producing roots are deep, as there is evidence that grape cultivation in this area predates the Roman empire. The climate here is not dissimilar from that around Alba where the Nebbiolo grape reaches its apogee in the wines of Barbaresco and Barolo, with warm summers and foggy autumns allowing Nebbiolo to again produce lovely wines. Located so close to the alpine peak of Monte Rosa, which is the second-highest mountain in all of Europe, the soils of Ghemme are not rich by any stretch of the imagination, and the corresponding wines are elegant and medium-full in style.