This post is also available in: Italiano (Italian)

This winery is located in Rocchetta Tanaro, in the province of Asti.
Braida was the nickname of Giuseppe, the great-grandfather of the Bologna family who now owns this company. Their ancestor was given such nickname when he used to play “elastic football” (a popular sport in Piedmont) around the local village squares.

The vineyards are actually grown in five different locations, all featuring different sun exposures and altitudes. The highest vineyards are Mango d’Alba and Trezzo Tinella, between 1.476 and 1.640 ft above sea level: the first one features sandy soil of calcareous origin that allows perfect drainage of rainwater, while the second, with a looser soil – rich in sand and mixed with calcareous marl – looks like a natural amphitheatre: right there, the southern exposure, the high altitude and the sudden changes in temperature, make grapes ripen quite slowly.

The lowest vineyard is Rocchetta Tanaro (only 525 ft) and it features medium-textured soils, made of clay and sand in equal measures, such as the other vineyards of Castelnuovo Calcea and Costigliole d’Asti.

In all the vineyards, the same traditional winemaking techniques are thoroughly followed: in winter, when everything is silent, pruning, restoring the supports and tying the vines take place; in spring, any winter damage is fixed, offshoots are hoed, and a thorough check for parasites is performed; in summer – starting at the end of July – the grape bunches are thinned in order to reduce their weight and thus increase their quality while keeping weeds under control. Finally, in autumn, after a painstaking sampling of the grapes, only the best ones are harvested, exclusively by hand.

This post is also available in: Italiano (Italian)