The wines of Viticoltori dell' Acquese

The cooperative Viticoltori dell' Acquese has been based in the village of Acqui Terme in Piedmont since 1953. This cooperative produces DOC and DOCG wines from grapes grown on the Piedmontese hills, which were awarded Unesco World Heritage status in 2014. Viticoltori dell' Acquese's sparkling wines are made according to the Metodo Martinotti, better known as the Charmat method.

Check out our wine made by Viticoltori dell' Acquese

Gattinara, a medieval village in the north of Piedmont, has held DOCG status since 1990. History shows Gattinara has had a wine culture for even longer - winegrowing in this region peaked in the 19th century. But with phylloxera first, and then severe hailstorms at the start of the 20th century, the vineyards had a hard time of it. The number of hectares plummeted to a dramatic low point, and a phase of rebuilding began.

It was during this period that Mario Antoniolo returned to Gattinara and started acquiring various vineyards, which now belong to the premier crus of Gattinara. At the time, not everyone was charmed by these vineyards - growing vines on the steep foothills of the Alps, on volcanic soils with granite, limestone and iron, and a very low pH, was a challenge. Mario gladly took it on, restructuring the vineyards with terraces and training the vines so that work could be done with small tracked mini-tractors. In 1955 the first bottles were bottled, and six years later the first overseas export took place.

Rosanna, Mario's daughter, took over La Cantina Antoniolo in 1970. Her exceptionally good tasting skills led her to move to single-vineyard crus: the base Gattinara, and three crus. The differences between vineyards can be tasted in the wines. The terroir-focused thinking, the experimentation with aging in small French oak, and the extreme hygiene in the cellar all come from Rosanna. But this doesn't mean nature and tradition aren't respected, both in the vineyard and in the cellar - it's the natural yeasts that carry out fermentation in the cellar. Rosanna has since handed over the reins to her two children, Alberto and Lorella.

Alongside its red and rosé wines from Spanna, La Cantina Antoniolo also produces Erbaluce di Caluso. Erbaluce is a grape variety typical of Piedmont, from which dry, sparkling and passito wines are made. A curiosity: this grape is rare and hardly found outside the Caluso region. Alberto and Lorella work together with a producer of the Erbaluce grape from Caluso to produce the DOCG wine Erbaluce di Caluso. We currently have one wine from Viticoltori dell' Acquese in our range. You can view all our wines from Viticoltori dell' Acquese here.

If you want to know more about this winery, here you will find the link to the website of Viticoltori dell' Acquese.