The history of Cascina Borgatta began in 1948 by Italo Barizzone, established the farm in the small commune of Tagliolo Monferrato where today only about 1,400 people call it home. Two of those folks, Emilio Oliveri and his wife Maria Luisa Barizzone, have dedicated their lives entirely to the love of the vineyards they inherited from her father Italo in the early days of the1980s. It is here, at the gates of Ovada in the infamous area of Alto Monferrato, where Dolcetto is known to grow best.

The territory of Monferrato is cut in two by the Tanaro River, which fractionally divides Piedmont from Liguria. The northern part of Monferrato, Basso Monterrato (basso = lower), which lies between the Tanaro and the Po Rivers, is an area of rolling hills and plains. The southern part, Alto Monferrato (alto = high) rises from the banks of the Tanaro into the mountains of the Apennines.

Respect, Respect, Respect- for the soil, for the vine, for the process of making wine. Emilio and Marie Luisa learned this early on from Italo, they started assisting him in the 1960s, and together, have many vintages under their hats. When the great Italo passed in the early 80s, they moved to the farm of Borgatta and carried on his great legacy. With three hectares of native vines of Dolcetto and Barbera grown in the silt-sandy soil, they took the baton of Italo's memory and carried it intact, to today by way of real, authentic, full, and intense wines.

The red wines of Cascina Borgatta are soil-driven wines- with structure and intensity that are well-suited for aging and fabulous for prompt consumption. The Barbera “La Borgatta” and the Dolcetto “La Milla” are perfect expressions of the land on which Cascina Borgatta stands. What you get are wines with full and soft fruity notes along with refined spiciness. More so, they remain wines of great honesty and cleanliness. What you don’t get, is what became the normal of the area for many years- ostentatious stiff wines that lack nuance and fluidity.

Thankfully, the two farmers, both in their seventies, (‘my wife is not young,’ jokes Emilio) are still working with youthful stubbornness and phenomenal pride, continuing their rebellion against the forced, manipulated wine style they saw through the years. Since day 1 they implemented strict biological management with minimal tillage and interventions only with their hands and a bit of copper when absolutely needed. Preserving history one vine at a time, these 2 stewards of the land are the pioneers of organic agriculture in the region, farming for over a half-century in the same way with no assistance from anyone or anything except mother nature.

We became aware of Cascina Borgatta in the summer of 2019. We traveled to see them and were instantly intoxicated by not only the wines but even more so, them. They are kind and generous people who warmly welcomed us in, told us their story, and presented us with a most lovely lunch - made in whole by Maria Luisa. And the wines sung! Oh, and did we forget- they also are dog lovers.

HARVEST: Manually

VINIFICATION: spontaneous fermentation by indigenous yeasts, inside insulating concrete tanks. The refinement phase is carried out in stainless steel and no clarification or filtration is done.

Cascina Borgatta is a member of VinNatur 

CLASSIFICATION/DOC:  They stepped away from the Ovada DOC many years ago because they had conflicting views.

The VinNatur Association brings together winemakers
from around the world who want to defend the integrity of their territory
while respecting the history, culture, and art which has been handed down over time.
Producing natural wine means respecting the soil, the environment,
and the natural cycle of life, and eliminating the use of invasive and toxic agents.
First in the vineyard and then in the cellar.

"La Milla" is an authentic style Dolcetto with a fruity and rustic profile. Scent fruits with notes of cherry and ripe plum, spice- cinnamon, cloves, and cumin. The taste is soft, full, and intense, particularly supple and elegant.  Balanced tannins.

ALCOHOL: 14. % vol
LONGEVITY: 10+ years