Territory
Our valleys.
A local legend has it that in 1945 the Nobel Prize-winning writer Ernest Hemingway, a war correspondent at the time, crossed the Trebbia Valley following a motorized column that left from Chiavari, describing it as ‘the most beautiful valley in the world’. Whether this quote corresponds to reality or was made up by some inhabitant of the valley, it doesn’t matter.
What is certain is that the narrow valleys carved by the Trebbia River and its tributary Aveto in the Apennine ridge that divides Piacenza from Genoa are enchanting. Viticulture here has ancient roots. Remains of wine vessels from the Roman era have been found in the area, and there are documents that bear witness to the excellence of local winemaking since the Middle Ages.
Coming to the present day, traveling in the Trebbia Valley in search of ‘traditional’ wines can reserve pleasant surprises: the uniqueness of this area is that the producers have teamed up, creating a real community to be discovered.
The territory
Casè is the local dialect form for Casal Pozzino, a place located on the hills above Travo, in a transition area between the continental climate of the lowlands and the Tyrrhenian weather of nearby Liguria. Summer temperatures are lower than in the valley and winter breezes reduce the risk of severe frosts.
The soil of our vineyards, which range from 400 to almost 600 meters in height, is a mixture of limestone and clay, and the percentage of limestone increases the closer you get to the crest of the hill. For this reason the vines on the hillock, close to the crest, produce fewer grapes, but much more concentrated, with characteristic mineral notes.
The vineyards
The varieties present in our vineyards are typical of the Trebbia Valley: Barbera, Bonarda, Malvasia di Candia, Ortrugo, Sauvignon, Trebbiano and Marsanne. The vineyards are often old, recovered from elderly winemakers who were no longer able to take care of them, with the exception of Pinot Noir, which we have planted since 1997.
In our vineyards we do not use chemical fertilizers and herbicides, as is normally the case in industrial winemaking, but only methods of plant defense taken from the local tradition. Our goal is to grow healthy vines, able to resist parasites and feed themselves.
At harvest time, the grapes are picked by hand and the best bunches are selected directly in the vineyard. Unripe or damaged bunches are discarded. The grapes are harvested in small containers to avoid being crushed under their own weight.
