Who makes it
Sigurd Wongraven has developed and sold wine in Norway since 2009, alongside his work as singer and songwriter in Satyricon. His first releases were a Langhe Rosso and a Barolo made with a low-intervention producer; the range now moves between dry Pfalz Riesling, grower-sourced Champagne and Piemonte reds. That structure leaves the grape and region visible on each label, while Wongraven’s role is to select components and shape the finished wine with partner winemakers.
Wongraven began by researching wineries for a proposed wine book. The book was never finished, but the research turned into a working wine project, beginning with Langhe Rosso and Barolo. From an initial 1,500 bottles, the project expanded into several regions and later exceeded one million litres in annual sales. The growth did not turn the wines into one uniform house style: Champagne is assembled from purchased base wines, while Piemonte and Pfalz keep their regional grapes and appellation cues in view.
Where it grows
There is no single Wongraven village to learn. Champagne supplies vins clairs—still base wines—from growers; Pfalz supplies Riesling from classified Grosse Lage vineyards; Piemonte supplies Langhe wine and a single-vineyard Barolo from Monvigliero. Each origin changes the bottle in a practical way: Riesling brings dry citrus-led acidity, Champagne base wine is blended before its second fermentation, and Barolo centres on Nebbiolo’s tannin and long ageing.
The documented sites are specific without being presented as a farm map. Black Label combines several Pfalz Grosse Lage vineyards, while Barolo Monvigliero comes from one named vineyard and the larger-volume Langhe Rosso is made through a family-owned cooperative with access to leading regional vineyards. Combining Pfalz sites means Black Label cannot carry the usual Grosses Gewächs designation, so its label describes a blend rather than one classified vineyard.
How it is made
The cellar
Wongraven works with partner winemakers on viticulture and vinification, while keeping the final blend in his own hands. In Champagne, selected vins clairs are blended and handled at a winery in Charly-Sur-Marne for bottling, maturation, disgorgement and labelling; that sequence turns still wines from growers into a finished sparkling bottle.
The Barolo Monvigliero 2018 follows a slower route. It spent three years in large old barrels before blending, then received further barrel and bottle ageing before its spring 2023 release. Large old wood allows Nebbiolo’s cherry fruit, savoury notes and tannin to develop without making overt oak flavour the main feature.
What they make
The Pfalz wines show two versions of Riesling. Morgenstern Riesling 2024 is 100% Riesling, positioned as the direct dry-white expression of that part of the range; floral, citrus and stone-fruit notes sit over brisk acidity and a dry finish. Morgenstern Riesling Black Label 2022 draws from Grosse Lage vineyards and was released in only 500 bottles. Blending those sites sacrifices the GG designation, but creates a wine built from several top-tier sources rather than one vineyard name.
Piemonte supplies both red and rosé. Langhe Rosso is the larger-volume red made with cooperative support, while Senza Compromesso Piemonte Rosato 2023 gives the range a lighter-coloured, fruit-led counterpoint. At the more structured end, Barolo Monvigliero 2018 is a single-vineyard Nebbiolo with extended ageing, carrying more tannin, savoury depth and length than the earlier-drinking regional wines.
Wines to try
First bottle
Choose Wongraven Morgenstern Riesling 2024. It is 100% Riesling, with floral, citrus and stone-fruit character, dry acidity and a clean finish. It also makes the project’s method easy to see: a Pfalz grape and region remain clear in the glass, while the finished wine comes from Wongraven’s blend-making work with partners. Drink it with lightly spiced seafood, roast chicken or salty fried food, where the acidity can keep the palate fresh.