Guia Winery – Old Vines and Heroic Viticulture in the Heart of Valdobbiadene
Guia Winery – Old Vines and Heroic Viticulture in the Heart of Valdobbiadene, Veneto, Italy
In the steep, sun-drenched hills of Guia, one of the most revered crus in the Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG, lies a small winery entirely dedicated to the expression of old vines and heroic viticulture. This landscape—enshrined as a UNESCO World Heritage site—is the birthplace of Prosecco Superiore and home to generations of families who have preserved the region’s intricate patchwork of steep vineyards and ancient vines.
Guia Winery was founded in the 1980s by Mario Buso, whose roots in viticulture stretch back through his parents, Bortolo and Rina, both born into farming and winemaking. Today, the winery, Edoardo Buso at the helm, cultivates 22 hectares of vineyards, including 4 hectares of historical vines that are more than 60 years old—planted in traditional cappuccina style (The name “cappuccina” refers to the arched shape of the vine canes, which resemble a hood or cape, like a Capuchin monk’s cloak) and still tended by hand. These vines are a living testament to the viticultural heritage of the area, producing wines of striking finesse, aromatic complexity, and surprising longevity.
The winery’s vineyards appear in the original Napoleonic cadastral maps and have been officially registered in Italy’s vineyard database since the 1950s. Each vintage, grapes from 12 small parcels are harvested and vinified individually to capture the nuances of their micro-terroirs. Only in December, three months post-harvest, are the wines tasted and blended into three cuvées—Extra Dry, Brut, and Extra Brut—each reflecting a different interpretation of the same village. This site-specific approach is what defines the winery’s style: poised, precise, and profoundly rooted in place.
The flagship wine, Incipit – Rive di Guia, comes from the estate’s oldest vines. These heritage plantings, with their rare and heterogeneous Glera clones no longer commercially available, bring depth and structure to the wine. Yields are kept intentionally low to respect the natural balance of these old plants, and the vines are managed without forcing production, ensuring their longevity and health.
Conegliano Valdobbiadene is a region that prizes the continuity of tradition, especially in the face of modern pressures. Its “Rive” vineyards—steep, labor-intensive, and often only accessible on foot—are symbols of a viticulture shaped by resilience, craftsmanship, and place. In this spirit, Guia Winery recently acquired an additional 6,000 square meters of historic vineyards in the hills of Guia, reaffirming its commitment to protecting old vines as both genetic and cultural heritage.
As the Buso family puts it: “The historic vineyards of the Rive in Valdobbiadene are living proof of a century-old, heroic viticulture. Their wines are internationally recognized for their finesse and aromatic depth, and for telling the story of this land—one harvest at a time.”
