Francesca Diliberto, founder and winemaker of Azienda Agricola Diliberto, knows firsthand the community it takes to build a winery from the ground up. Yet her wines — Langhe Nebbiolo, Freisa, and Barolo — remain deeply personal expressions of her history, her character, and her convictions. Originally from Piemonte, Francesca grew up surrounded by the region’s winemaking heritage, even though her own parents were not winemakers. Her grandfather, however, made Grignolino and Barbera each year in Monferrato, near Mongardino, to share with the family. Some of Francesca’s earliest memories are rooted in the vineyard during harvest season when weekends were spent picking grapes with her family. The spirit she captures in her wines today — nostalgia, youth, vibrancy, and tradition — pays homage to those formative moments of her childhood.

Francesca first learned the industry through years of working service in London, holding positions as a sommelier and wine buyer while living in the city for more than a decade. Hooked by the wine trade, she later returned to Italy to work on vineyards in Sicily and France before returning home to Langhe. Her first solo vintage was in 2024, although not without the help of the region’s other young winemakers. Originally a negociant project, Francesca sourced Langhe Nebbiolo From La Morra and Freisa from Barbaresco, which she vinifies nearby in the cellar of (our friends!) the Maffrei brothers.

From day one, it has been Francesca’s priority to use only organically certified, biodynamic, and regenerative practices in the vineyard and in the cellar. Harvest is completed by hand, after which grapes are destemmed, half crushed, and half fermented whole. Malolactic fermentation is carried out in stainless steel with remontage performed twice daily, followed by long elevage in cement for both. These young wines, lifted by exuberant expressions of red fruits – currant, plum, tart cherry – and perfumed by notes of lilac and violet, are rooted in a rich, stony minerality. Nebbiolo and Freisa are sourced from parcels over 300 meters above sea level with soil composed mainly of clay.

As her project swiftly grows, Francesca continues to stay true to her winemaking philosophies. In 2025 Francesca will add Barolo to her portfolio, grown nearby in silt. Grapes were destemmed and crushed, then fermented in stainless steel, followed by a long elevage in barrel. This year also marks Francesca’s first vintage year using her own grapes harvested from the half-hectare plot she’s renting in Cerviano-Merli. 

While Francesca’s growth in the region may seem inevitable — a reflection of her determination, curiosity, warmth, and grit — her approach to agriculture is rooted in intention. The vineyard’s logo encapsulates this duality perfectly: a red crown crane, one of the world’s largest cranes, symbolizes longevity, Francesca’s wish for her project and for the wines. In the illustration, the crane is looking toward the moon, a nod to the lunar cycles that guide biodynamic agriculture.

Everything Francesca does in the vineyard is done using a biodynamic approach. She pays deep respect to the flow of each plant’s sap, to the soil, to biodiversity and to using regenerative practices that help maintain a healthy ecosystem. For Francesca, thoughtful winemaking is the result of thoughtful farming. We are thrilled to join Francesca as she continues to grow. We are certain that this is just the beginning.