Sustainability
Always very attentive to sustainability, we vinify in a three-level underground cellar using the gravity method, moving grapes, must and wine from one level to another without using pumps, avoiding to stress the wine. Furthermore, the thermal inertia of the underground walls avoids the artificial conditioning of the internal temperature in the cellar.
We keep the humidity constant, lowering it by triggering a natural ventilation planned in the design of the cellar and increasing it with the activation of a small waterfall.
We are aware of receiving precious gifts from the Earth and for this reason we are committed to preserve and enhance the natural resources present reducing environmental impact and ecological footprint, while promoting biodiversity.
Gravitational underground cellar
To minimize the impact on the environment and the surrounding landscape, the new winery was designed with a gravity-based winemaking method with three underground levels. This allows us to avoid the use of electric pumps to shift the wine.
Furthermore, the conditions of hygroscopicity and isolation of the soil naturally maintain the optimum temperature and humidity for the aging of the wine, without wasting energy.
Solar panels
Part of the cellar roof is covered with solar and photovoltaic panels and their annual production satisfies the company's needs.
Severina's Natural Oasis
Around the cellar there is a natural oasis that helps to preserve the microclimate and biodiversity of the place by protecting insects, especially bees and earthworms, which contribute to pollination and the regulation of harmful parasites in the vineyard. This aromatic garden is managed with care and tireless passion by Nonna Severina, born in 1930.
Water, a supreme gift
Feeding the pond, watering the plants in the gardens and cooling some rooms are just a few examples of how we use and enhance a precious asset such as rainwater.
To allow for this, a system of gutters has been created that makes rainwater flow into a single huge underground tank capable of holding over 200,000 liters. Its depth allows to maintain a low temperature even in the hottest months.
Zero Km Barrels: Return to the origins
Recently, wine producers buy their barrels from distant companies that use wood from territories that are not necessarily local, as we mostly do, buying them from Austria and Switzerland.
Long time ago, however, in this area there were coopers who built barrels with chestnut or oak wood. For this reason, for a decade, we have started with an ambitious project, trying to go back to the origins. The project is to make a wine using oak wood grown on the Cascina Chignalungo farm, selecting, seasoning and delivering the best plank to the coopers for the processing and construction of the barrels.
It is a long and expensive process, which requires a lot of effort, but the satisfaction of being able to refine our wine in native wooden barrels grown a few meters away from our vineyards fully satisfies Pietro's effort and dream.
Experimental Vineyard
The Alfa vineyard is the place where we experiment with different vine management techniques, from the various pruning techniques to the selection of the different Nebbiolo clones.
Vineyards
Most of the vineyards are located on the land of the "Cascina Chignalungo", where the vineyard has been there for centuries, also found on the Napoleonic map. We own other lands in Lessona, historically planted with vineyards (Crarolo, Chioso del Bosco, Berra, etc ..)
The training system is Guyot with about 4800 plants per hectare.
We use horse manure to fertilize and, sulfur plus copper for an "integrated and supervised battle” to avoid the use of pesticides in the management of the vineyards.
The particular orographic conformation of the soils offers natural drainage, avoiding any type of root asphyxia.
Pietro further reduces the production of grapes authorized by the Disciplinary, aiming to productions that do not go beyond 40 quintals per hectare. From June-July he thins out the newly formed clusters thus allowing the plant to concentrate colors, flavors, aromas on the remaining clusters.
The harvest, always belated, generally in October, is carried out with the hand harvesting of the bunches in boxes of maximum 10-12 kg.
Supervulcano
In the heart of the Western Alps lies the fossil of a Supervolcano showing its deepest parts.
About 300 million years ago, there was only one continent on Earth, Pangea. Exactly in this period a volcano exploded, erupting an immense amount of material and releasing an energy equal to 250 atomic bombs.
Between 60 and 30 million years ago the same processes that formed the Alps lifted and rotated the part of the earth's crust in which the exploded volcano was, highlighting its power system, up to about 30 km of depth. This is a unique case in the world! It can be seen in an area that includes Valsesia and Valsessera, up to the edge of Lake Maggiore.
Since September 2013 the Supervulcano area, which includes the Alto Piemonte, has been part of the Sesia-Val Grande Geopark, officially recognized by UNESCO.
