Discover the Mirù brand: here’s our interview!

The Azienda Agricola Mirù is one of the most important wine-growing entities in the province of Novara. It is located in Ghemme, a small municipality in the province of Novara, in Piedmont (here you can see all the excellent Piedmontese products). Some writings even trace the name Mirù back to 500, referring to an ancient family of winegrowers, whose descendants are still producers of the interesting wines of the Novara hills. It is an activity that has been passed down from generation to generation until today.
In fact, today it is managed by Marco Arlunno, who has been running the Mirù company since 2009, founded in 1978 by his father Eugenio, who is still present and active in the vineyard and cellar, continuing the family activity that existed before the years of industrial boom.

The passion for vines is a family legacy. Marco Arlunno found his through his aunt Bruna Zecchinato, a woman of wine, who passed on to him the love for the land and for wine. From her, he learned the taste for transforming grapes into quality wines and eventually became a winemaker.
Today, the Azienda Agricola Mirù can count on 10 hectares of meticulously managed vineyards, with care, dedication, and passion.

Thanks to natural cultivation methods and careful refinement work, the wines of the Azienda Agricola Mirù can rightly be placed among the best Italian wines, appreciated both in Italy and abroad. The wines are characterized by the right sugar and alcohol levels and good fixed acidity, which contributes to enhancing their aromas and preserving them over time.

We love these realities, these producers of unique, certified, and award-winning delicacies: they are true treasures embedded in our Peninsula among seas and mountains and in the most remote streets of villages and countryside. We do not just focus on living their products, but we want to discover more closely the protagonists of this brand. That's why we sent some questions to those who manage communication with us.

Stay with us to learn about the Azienda Agricola Mirù: read the responses!
 

• Who are we talking to?
  I am Marco Arlunno, Owner and Winemaker.
   
• Is the company family-run? How many generations and from what year, exactly?
  The company has been family-run for 2 generations, since 1978.
   
• In what year was the company founded, and who was the founder? What was the founder's background or what was their professional working branch if different from the current one?
  The company was founded in 1978 by Eugenio Arlunno, who was a sales agent in the wine sector.
   
• What is the real reason or triggering fact behind the birth of this company, and when did it happen?
  The inheritance of 3000 square meters of Nebbiolo was the triggering factor.
   
• What is your relationship with the land of origin and its uniqueness? And why do you want to convey this through your products?
  The territory of Alto Piemonte and specifically Ghemme is unique due to its pedo-climatic conditions, with sub-acid soils rich in clay that confer austerity, depth, and elegance, especially to wines made from Nebbiolo and Vespolina grapes. The love for our land and the passion for the world of wine are the stories that are described through a glass of Mirù wines.
   
• What was the first product you created?
  During my studies at the University of Milan, I decided to use the Uva Rara grape variety to produce a red wine from Stramatura grapes, which is now vinified only in the best years.
   
• What product do you consider to be your "flagship" today?
  The Ghemme DOCG Riserva is definitely the most important wine we produce; in recent years we have moved towards creating true crus to enhance this denomination and identify individual vineyards:
  -Ghemme DOCG Vigna Cavenago;
  -Ghemme DOCG Vigna Carelle.
   
• And what product has most carried the beating heart, philosophy, and soul of the company throughout its history?
  Certainly the Ghemme DOCG classico produced from multiple Nebbiolo vineyards in the same municipality in the province of Novara.
   
• Let’s talk about today: how much has the company grown since its founding? Can we have some numbers?
  I took over from a woman in the wine sector, my aunt Zecchinato Bruna, in 2009, and we have gone from 7 to 10 hectares of vineyards.
   
• At the moment: more tradition or more innovation?
  I believe that the combination of innovation/tradition is the path we have been pursuing for years… At the viticultural level, we have increased planting densities; the new plantings aim to reduce yields per hectare, and we have maintained “integrated and guided pest control” in collaboration with the Agricultural faculty of Milan to improve research in the field. In the cellar, we have invested in technology such as temperature-controlled steel tanks and micro-oxygenators that assist in the processes of transforming grapes, but we have kept large barrels for aging, which enhance our wines while fully respecting tradition.
   
• What has been the most important evolution of the company to arrive at what it is today?
  I believe that the precision viticulture we are trying to achieve with targeted investments in viticulture is the most important evolution.
   
• Speaking of the future: what tomorrow awaits the company? Is any change or new evolutionary process planned?
  Our goal is to achieve increasingly higher quality standards for our wines, trying to enhance each vineyard with individualized management to exalt the peculiarities of the grapes and the Alto Piemonte territory.
   
• Do you plan to create new products?
  Yes, in 2022 we will launch a new cru of Ghemme DOCG; the first production year will be 2017, and the name of the vineyard registered with the Region of Piedmont will be: Vigna Carelle.
   
• Having focused on Spaghetti & Mandolino, how important is online sales for you, what has your relationship with this sales channel been in the past, and how do you see it in the future?
  Online sales are certainly a channel that is rapidly expanding, and we will try to follow it closely. In the past, we always neglected it, but we are obviously trying to develop it.
   
• Value: what has it been, what is it today, and what will it be in the future for your company?
  Our company is relatively young; it was established at the end of the Seventies during the peak of the Italian economic boom. Today it is still a family-run entity, and in the future, we will strive to maintain these conditions, which are the fruit of passion and love for our work.

S&M