This post is also available in: Italiano (Italian)

Ceretto wineries were born in Alba, in the 1930s, thanks to Riccardo Ceretto. Three generations of winemakers have thus always worked for producing worldwide acclaimed outstanding products.
The company owns several vineyards and wine cellars, for red, white and dessert wines like Bricco Asili, Bricco Brocche, and Tenuta Monsordo Bernardina. The vineyards are organically farmed avoiding unnecessary exploitation of the natural resources, while being constantly monitored according to sustainable development management.
The organic and, in some cases, biodynamic techniques were strongly desired and eventually implemented by Alessandro Ceretto, who in 2010 decided to upgrade the whole production system and eventually obtained a prestigious certification for the 2015 harvest.

– Cantina Bricco Asili

A small chateau-cellar, built within the vineyard, at the top of the Asili hill, in the village of Barbaresco. Built in 1973 by the Ceretto family, it produces exclusively the two families of Barbaresco: Bricco Asili, in Barbaresco, and Bernardot, in Treiso.

– Bricco Rocche winery

Located in Castiglione Faretto, in the heart of the Barolo D.O.C.G., it was built in 1982 with modern architecture features in complete harmony with the surrounding landscape. It exclusively produces Barolo, using the 27 acres of vineyards located in the municipalities of La Morra, Serralunga, Castiglione Falletto, and Barolo. In 2000, it was enlarged, with the addition of the futuristic “glass cube, which represents a monument to Barolo wine. Designed by architects Luca and Marina Deabate and by Polar Glass of Turin, this sculpture is made of glass without a frame, featuring sharp edges and a solid base: it most certainly conjures a metaphor of the very best features of Barolo.

– Monsordo Bernardina Estate

Purchased in 2000, this estate is the true headquarter of Ceretto wineries, which houses administrative and commercial activities, offices and the warehouse that stores the wine coming from the 4 different family cellars. In the early XX century, Gastone di Mirafiori and his wife lived here as they had acquired the estate as a wedding gift from the bride’s father; Gastone was the son of Emanuele Guerrieri, Count of Mirafiori, in turn, the son of King Vittorio Emanuele II and of the commoner Rosa Vercellana, known as “la Bela Rosin”: she later became the countess of Mirafiori and Fontanafredda. In 1937, the property was acquired by the Missaglia family, who in 1989 rented 15 acres hectares of vineyards and the three farmhouses to the Cerettos; the latter, eventually bought everything in 2000.
In 2009, the Cerettos decided to build a new space with a modern design for wine tasting and the sale of their products – they also needed an official meeting and promotional event facility. So, they built a futuristic single “grape”-shaped (the “Acino”) similar to a large oval bubble suspended among the vineyards and designed by architects Luca and Marina Deabate; it was made with innovative building materials like EFTE (Ethylene tetrafluoroethylene) which gives it soft compactness and the very texture of grape skin.
The interior was instead designed by the architect Giuseppe Blengini, inspired by the colours of the vineyards and the irregular geometry of their rows.

The main gate to the estate is also worth mentioning: it was created by the local artist Valerio Berruti, who used plasma-cut weathering steel to bring to life a true sculpture delimiting and protecting the vineyards.

Inside the estate, there is a large greenhouse (478 square yards) and a large vegetable garden (4.783 square yards), where the three-star chef Enrico Crippa grows his own vegetables, herbs and flowers, with the help of the three gardeners Enrico Costanza, Pietro Merlo and Nicola Borio. All those precious ingredients are used in Crippa’s famous restaurant “Piazza Duomo” in Alba.

In addition to the most common, although painstakingly selected vegetables (including ancient and peculiar varieties), some 400 plant species are also grown organically, including botanical and horticultural species. Thorough research on edible plants and seeds is currently underway, in order to identify the most interesting local vegetables.

-Vignaioli di Santo Stefano

In 1976, in Santo Stefano Belbo, the brothers Bruno and Marcello Ceretto founded “I Vignaioli di Santo Stefano”, with the help of Sergio Santi and the brothers Giampiero and Andrea Scavino.
The company now owns 62 acres and the tenant of Tenuta San Maurizio (40 acres hectares on the hills belonging to Count Carlo Vittorio Incisa Beccaria).

The wines of the Ceretto wineries

– White wines: Langhe Doc Arneis, Langhe Doc Bianco

– Red wines: Dolcetto d’Alba Doc, Barbera d’Alba Doc, Nebbiolo d’Alba Doc, Barbaresco Docg, Barolo Docg, Langhe Doc Rosso.

– Dessert wines: Moscato d’Asti Docg, Asti Spumante Docg, Barolo Chinato.

This post is also available in: Italiano (Italian)