Cascina Ca'Rossa

Introducing Cascina Ca'Rossa

Alfonso Ferrio did tend vinifera vines, like most local growers, but the fruit were all sold off in bulk to the local cooperatives. That is until 1995 Alfonso's son Angelo decided to bottle their own wines. A cellar was built and Angelo slowly became the family member responsible for making the wine. But under Alfonso's eye, Angelo began to realize his desire to drop green clusters to produce more concentrated (and less profitable when selling bulk) wine. So Angelo bought a small vineyard seven kilometers away from the family farm; just far enough as Alfonso never acquired a driver's license. This vineyard is now the family's Audinaggio vineyard.

At Cascina Ca Rossa, two distinct styles of wine are produced. The first style which could be considered "normale", pertains to vintage dated wines that are fermented in steel barrels and bottled. The second style, which is more of a "riserva", is used for the best Barbera and Nebbiolo fruit only. Aged in wood, before being bottled and aged for an additional amount of time, these wines are placed on the market the following year. The high level of quality of shown by these two varieties is brought by incredible attention to detail in the vineyard.

With terrain that is very rugged and steep, all of the work is done by hand, including dry pruning and a major thinning out before the darkening of the colors. The vineyards enjoy a southwest exposure at an altitude of between 450 and 500 meters (1400 to 1550 feet) above sea level, and the composition of the terrain is sandy clay. The wines are all fermented in steel vats to preserve fruit freshness. Having about 16 hectares in total (1 ha. purchased in 2016), the family produces about 65,000 bottles per year.