Nomoya – The Windy Place

There is this beautiful saying: “The pessimist complaints about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; and the realist adjusts the sails.” It takes character, vision and courage (tanto coraggio!) leaving your country and everything you know behind to pursue a dream in unknown territory. Moving from Italy to South Africa is no small feat as it requires a paradigm shift in culture, food, and winemaking traditions. But this didn’t stop Attilio Dalpiaz, an experienced agronomist and Michela Sfiligoi, a winemaker and marketing professional. Instead, they transplanted their hearts, vines, and passion in South African soil, led by its unique terroir, especially in the Paardeberg and Paarl areas. After 17 years in South Africa and producing award-winning wines here, they are confident and comfortable working in its unique viticultural environment, adjusting their sails as they work with different local and Italian grape varieties. And this is what enticed them to start Nomoya Wines in 2021 in partnership with Talia Engelbrecht – a young, passionate viticulturist.

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Nomoya World is a new partnership between people passionate about agriculture, wine and culture: Attilio Dalpiaz, Michela Sfiligoi and Talia Engelbrecht.

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The maiden vintage of Nomoya wines reflects each partner’s unique skill set, whether it’s winemaking, agricultural consulting, marketing, or viticulture.

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The Nomoya brand is built on integrity, quality and respect for nature, people, and the land they work. The result is delicious and characterful wines telling a story of a unique place.

“Chi può dire di no alla pizza e allo Chenin Blanc? È cibo per la mia anima!” – Georgio Meletiou.

And Georgio is right; who can say no to a delicious glass of Chenin Blanc and a slice of proper pizza? Food for the soul!

TIPS FOR MATCHMAKING NOMOYA OLD VINES CHENIN BLANC WITH ZUCCHINI, TOMATO, BASIL AND BUFFALO MOZZARELLA PIZZA

The art of pairing pizza and wine is not overloading your pizza with different elements; this only confuses the wine and your palate.
Zucchini is a gently flavoured, earthy vegetable. If you allow the vegetable to maintain its crunch, it will excite your palate and enhance the wine’s fruit.
The Chenin Blanc is poised on a bright acidity and will pair beautifully with the Chenin Blanc. Make sure you get good caramelisation on the tomato so that it is both sweet and tart to highlight different facets of the wine.
Basil will again hero the wine. Like fennel, parsley and thyme, the coolness of these fresh herbs elevate the fruit in white wine. This wine is delicate to start with; it will coax out the floral notes and fruit sweetness without being overpowering. Add the basil when your pizza comes out of the oven as cooked basil can impart a trace of bitterness, and wilted basil is nothing to look at.
When it comes to the base, texture adds to the overall experience. You preferable need a thinner crust so that the richness of the dough don’t thin down the wine and that a crusty element leaves you salivating for more.
Buffalo mozzarella is there to impress your guests, elevate the experience and add a creamy element for the wine to glide over your mouth. All the ingredients in the paring is subtle and will let the wine have the final say.
Be creative with slicing your zucchini or deep-fry some basil leaves for extra texture.

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Our Experience

Michela Sfiligoi might be an Italian who rerooted in South Africa in 2004. Still, you can teach her nothing about the whims of nature and how it impacts a wine – especially with the scorchingly hot days the Cape Winelands experienced in February. Yet, while making Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc her our family winery in Gorizia, in the region of Fruili, Italy, she never imagined moving to South Africa.

I met Attilio and Michela when they planted the first Vermentino in clone from Sardinia in the Paardeberg-Swartland area in 2014 and bottled it under the Ayama label. They even named the vineyards after the people who planted that day. Again, Serendipity brought me back on their path, this time being married to Georgio, who also hails from Italy. Our connection reignited around a table with Michela’s home-cooked mushroom risotto, rabbit, and hands down the best tiramisu ever! The reason for our visit was to discover their new venture, Nomoya Wines, and their partner Talia Engelbrecht and it reignited my respect for them.

Visiting South Africa on holiday to become South African farmers is quite impressive, also having planted tomatoes, artichokes, asparagus and more.

“As our country of origin or any other where wine culture is valued, we find the same inspiration in the diversity of soil, climate and cultures. It is a universal language if you love growing grapes and making the best wine you can. Nevertheless, the years connected us to the land we worked on and made us who we are now. We married here, and our wonderful son was born in Paarl, speaking better Afrikaans than Italian!

One of their new projects is their maiden vintage of Pinot Bianco in South Africa. In February, they harvested a mere four rows on the Uitkijk farm in Voor-Paardeberg.

“It is like a pilgrimage after making my first Pinot Bianco in 1988 Collio, a winemaking region in the northeast Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia.

I get fresh, green apples when I put my nose in Pinot Bianco. Judging by the grapes we harvested, it might be a fatter style, and we might only get 1000 bottles, but it is a great start. I am very optimistic about this!”

Working alongside Talia for five years and seeing her grow into viticulture reinforced their idea of starting a new company and partnership. With their sail adjusted in a new direction with Nomoya Wines, this trio is ready to take on new ventures. Talia explains: “Nomoya is more than just a wine brand, and our vision is to give rise to new and exciting varieties in South Africa. We source our grapes from producers whose focus is on producing quality grapes and who are passionate about their land and people. As a result, our range will constantly offer something new amongst our classic wines, benchmarked against top wines across the globe.

Winemaker Sheree Nothnagel makes the Nomoya Wines at Riebeek Cellars, someone Michela believes can capture their vision and has the talent to back it with consistent quality.

Who doesn’t love pizza?

The Nomoya Old Vine Chenin Blanc 2021 is a classic example of this varietal, with its roots solidly anchored to produce balanced wines. Made from vines planted in 1982, it also carried the Old Vine Heritage Seal. We enjoy how the wine entices you with subtle aromas before it warms up in the glass with more fleshy aromas leaping out. The core of the wine is this basket of yellow plum, ripe lemons, cling peaches and chunks of cinnamon-dusted pineapple. All these vibrant fruits are hedged with crushed herbs, rock flint and wet earth. As you swirl the wine, top floral notes of sweet pea and Lilly also lingers on the surface.

Lean lemon zest fills your palate and settles with a pithy texture, adding volume to the wine. Governed by its zippy acidity, the wine is gently balanced with more citrus flavours on the palate. The wine is bright with a long, saline finish – the perfect partner for a vegetarian pizza. Buanisimo!