Spectacular ruins of a Roman pillar were dug up in the vineyards in 2000, sculpted out of the local limestone ‘pietra di Cantoni’. Cantine Valpane of Ozzano Monferrato with its vineyards & crops was first documented/mapped in 1794, but it wasn’t until 1902 that Pietro Arditi’s medical/veterinario family from Torino bought this Monferrato Casalese cascina of 24ha (10.5ha vineyards), installing state-of-the-art cement tanks in the 1930s. The first commercial label appearing in 1991, when Pietro joined his zia Lydia, who actively managed the estate until her mancanza in 2002, having taken over from her father & fondatore Pietro Giuseppe Arditi (“Giuspin”).
The cascina lies on the breezy coll that effectively links Monte Rosa & Cervinia with the Ligurian Alps & Genova, on the crossroads of four comuni: Cellamonte, Sala Monferrato, Treville, & Ozzano Monferrato. The terreno here is a ‘caotico complesso‘ of marne sant’agata fossili & argilla at circa 260m asl; the Grignolino vines lying on the marne sant’agata soils, while the Freisa favours the ‘pietra di Cantoni’ limestone soils. The name of the vineyard is ‘Euli’, after the German for owl, as Pavia nearby was the capital of the (German) Longobardo kingdom during the Middles Ages. The 10.5ha made up of Barbera, Grignolino, & Freisa. Pietro has always farmed organically, as he consumes his own produce, & maintains a beautiful prato/meadow in the heart of the natural anfiteatro.
In their fine 18th century, naturally insulated cellar, Pietro uses cement & stainless steel for vinification, giving the wines plenty of time in bottle prior to release. He makes one, 100% Grignolino del Monferrato Casalese, two or three Barbera del Monferrato (Superiore), & a fine Freisa del Monferrato. His Barbera del Monferrato Superiore ‘Valpane’ is blended with 15% Freisa, & is the only wine that sees oak.
Halfway between the Basso (Roero & Langhe) & Alto Piemonte, just to the east of Torino, lies the spectacular fifty-five hectare region of Albugnano DOC, centred on the comune of the same name at its apex of 549m asl. The terreno here is ancient Miocenic arenaria, argilla, calcareo, gesso (gypsum), plus a scattering of greenstone/igneous ‘pietra di Serpentite‘ from Mte Monviso. The region is spread over four comunes of the Alto Monferrato: Albugnano, Pino d’Asti, Castelnuovo Don Bosco, e Passerano-Marmorito.
It was Evasio (Roggero), born in 1850, & his son Prospero, who planted the first vines (Barbera & Freisa) at the end of the 1800s; the wine in those days being delivered in a barrel (“butalin”/botte di legno) by Prospero to private customers on the back of his cart (‘cartun’/carro). Alas, during the 1920s the Roggero vineyards were destroyed by phylloxera, forcing Mario, back from the war, to replant in the post-war years. Their first vineyard of Nebbiolo was planted in 1969. Mario replaced the cart with a second-hand van, with which to transport his wine, now in demi-john (damigiana), to thirsty customers in Torino. Since the 1980s, Bruno & his fratello Marco have continued Mario’s legacy, & were among the founding fathers of the new Albugnano DOC in 1997.
The Roggero family now farm 7ha in the Albugnano frazione of Vallana, of which 1.5ha at circa 380m asl is devoted to Nebbiolo for making Albugnano DOC. They also grow local variety Montanera (Dousèt Vej), Grignolino, Friesa, Barbera, & Viognier.
And since 2017, Bruno’s son Mauro has taken over responsibility for the wines, having graduated in enologia e agronomia, while in 2023 his sorella Marina joined him as ‘Marketing Direttrice‘!
The Albugnano DOC disciplinare allows the addition of 15% Freisa/Barbera/Bonarda in the final wine. In 2023 they began ageing their 100% Nebbiolo, Albugnano DOC ‘Bric Carvè’ (Bricco Carnevale) in 20HL botte grande for the first time, while their Albugnano DOC ‘Il Giglio’ 2023 blended 93% Nebbiolo & 7% Freisa.
Located in the Monferrato Casalese comune of Vignale Monferrato, NE of Asti, the family cantina of Carlo Santopietro takes their name from the single vyd Il Mongetto that lies in the frazione of the same name. The vineyard sits on a block of marne sant’agata fossili, rich with limo (54%), argilla calcareo (31%), & sabbia (15%), with an alkaline pH of 8.0; detto ‘franco limoso agrilloso’, it appears to be the perfect environment for growing Grignolino. The cantina is also famous for their old vine Barbera, grown on the single site Guera. Plus they have a small plot of Malvasia di Casorza, a red grape.
Bottling began in 1979, with Carlo Santopietro joining the family business in 1982. They have 10ha of vines, divided up between four vyds in the comune of Vignale Monferrato: Il Mongetto, Rudifra’, Guera, & Solin. Vinification takes place in cimento, using selected yeasts for security, the Grignolino skins being racked off after a week, along with the infamous vinaccioli, with fermentation completed without, while the Barbera is affinato in barriques, some new.
Carlo looks for full phenolic maturity in all his fruit, not least Grignolino with its plentiful ‘grignole‘ (seeds), facilitated by the calcareo soils, & assisted by low pH (minerally) must. Since 2007, working alongside Carlo is the talented enologo, Dott. Umberto Lucano. They make circa 6k bts/anno of Grignolino del Monferrato Casalese, closed with sughero & DIAM; however in 2023 the Grignolino harvested was destroyed by hail. Carlo also makes a tiny quantity of metodo classico from Grignolino vinificato in bianco, which enjoys 26 mesi on its fine lies prior to release.