After reshaping the landscape of sustainable viticulture in Italy with his “Resistenti Nicola Biasi” project and earning accolades for emblematic wines like Vin de la Neu, Friulian oenologist Nicola Biasi embarks on a new international chapter with the launch of Progetto Mosella.
A New Vision for a Classic Terroir
This project is not merely geographical but also philosophical, technical, and visionary. Its aim is to interpret Germany’s signature grape variety, Riesling, in the context of climate change, viewed through the lens of sustainability and innovation.
The heart of this initiative is located in Briedel, in the upper Mosel region, just a few kilometers from the Belgian border. Here, in 2023, Biasi, together with biologist Martina Casagrande—a long-time collaborator at Nicola Biasi Consulting—acquired a 3,000-square-meter vineyard planted with Kerner and Riesling. The two varieties, vinified separately, produced distinct and interesting wines. However, it was the Riesling—interpreted in a dry style more akin to the Rheingau than the classic Mosel canon—that became the centerpiece of the project.
“Innovating while respecting tradition: this is the principle that guides our every choice,” comments Nicola Biasi. “Today, even in the Mosel, thanks to low yields and precision agronomic management, it is possible to produce dry Rieslings of great balance and depth without relying on residual sugar. It is a tangible response to a changing viticulture in a changing climate.”
The 2023 Vintage: A Singular, Unrepeatable Cru
The 2023 harvest yielded a unique, unrepeatable wine, singular in its identity and story. This is the only bottling produced from the old vineyard’s grapes; immediately after the harvest, the site was completely replanted. That cru, in that specific form, will never exist again.
It is a rare bottle that tells the story not just of a place, but of a moment: a dry, clean, essential Riesling that breaks from the Mosel’s off-dry tradition to offer a more direct, saline, and vertical profile, perfectly in tune with Nicola Biasi’s oenological vision.
The Future Vineyard: Tradition Meets Trailblazing
The new vineyard, which will bear its first fruit in the coming years, is planted with 50% Riesling and 50% Johanniter, the variety behind the celebrated Vin de la Neu. This novel pairing paves the way for a blend of great potential: on one hand, the mineral elegance and longevity of Riesling; on the other, the sustainability and adaptability of Johanniter, a variety capable of withstanding extreme climatic conditions with a drastic reduction in vineyard treatments.
A Proven Commitment to Sustainable Viticulture
Tradition and innovation, terroir and technique, memory and vision: Progetto Mosella is more than just a new wine. It is tangible proof that even in the most classic heartlands of European wine, it is possible to conduct research and propose virtuous, forward-thinking models.
Progetto Mosella now joins the constellation of projects spearheaded by Nicola Biasi, who has already been honored with the Sustainable Viticulture and Oenology Award 2025 by DoctorWine and the Special Award for Sustainable Winemaker of the Year 2025 by Gambero Rosso. These awards recognize the value of a body of work that does not simply produce great wines, but conceives of them as vehicles for real, tangible, and measurable change.
From Val di Non to the Mosel, spanning the ten territories of the Resistenti Nicola Biasi network, oenology becomes a powerful instrument for innovation, culture, and sustainability.