The vineyard, covering an area of nearly 12 hectares, has belonged to the Cerutti Family since the early 1900's. The land is gently hilly all around the house, the newly rebuilt cellar and a portico is used for storing tools and agricultural machinery. Up to 1950 it was sowable land for cattle breeding. All the work on the estate was done by hand or with rudimentary utensils that were pulled by oxen. In fact the growth of vines was very limited and only a few could be seen scattered all along the fields. The wine produced was just sufficient for their own needs. Once picked, the grapes were all put into a vat and pressed by foot; this process produced the must which was then transferred into wooden casks where it fermented and transformed itself naturally into wine.
Having understood that the land was more suitable for cultivating vines, it was decided in 1948 to concentrate on vine growth rather than cattle breeding. For the first time the land was churned-up with mechanical machines, then by using a very powerful tractor that pulled a plough that was able to dig furrows 1 metre deep. Furthermore, the new idea of planting vines in espaliers (one vine after the other in horizontal lines) was also put into operation. This new way of working has revolutionised rural work by making it easier and quicker. as well as allowing the product to receive more light and heat and being able to feed the soil with anticryptogamic products. Over a period of approximately 20 years a vine production of 10 hectares has been achieved.
Red grapes such as Croatina, Barbera, Uva Rara, Pinot and Cabernet and white grapes like Riesling, Moscato, Malvasia and Chardonnay have been cultivated. The majority of the grapes have always been pressed and vinified on the premises vigorously following the controlled methods according to the current rules and regulations but always keeping to the family tradition; the remainder of the grapes are given to the Cantina Sociale “La Versa”. 20 years ago, the vinification used to be carried out in a cellar adjacent to the old family home, but there was limited space.
Due to increased production, a bigger, brighter and more comfortable premises was needed to adhere to the A.S.L. Regulations. The new cellar is now located in a very strategic position: it overlooks all the vineyards and also faces the new building. Even the equipment has improved and become more modern along the way both for treating the vines and working in the cellar. They passed from pressing wine by foot to a modern pressing system using a tractor. Wine pressing machines have improved tremendously they are now made in steel (material used in order to guarantee hygiene) and are powered electrically. Nowadays they also use pressing systems Also the manual pumps have been substituted with electrical and more powerful ones equipped with which separate simultaneously the grape stalk, the skin and the seeds to allow the must to reach a faster and better fermentation. The estate changed from using the wooden fixed casks to cement fixed containers built on the premises, then to mobile cement containers vitrified inside, then to the always full glass-resin containers and finally to the steel casks filters in order to take away any impurities.
In the cellar there is a modern bottling system which enables several bottles to be filled up in a short space of time and consequently avoids the wine coming into contact with the air. Only sterilized bottles are used. In spite of the intense modernisation of the estate, it still works in an artisan way in respect of the fermentation and the natural process which brings to the transformation of the must into wine. Even in working the land, there have been many improvements: in fact they have passed from using oxen to operating tractors and agricultural machinery to substitute manual labour.
There is work to be done all year round in the country, beginning with the pruning of the old wine-shoots so as the new ones can shoot up the following year; subsequently the new shoots have to be bound. In order to keep the ground free of weeds the soil has to be ploughed frequently. Since the very beginning of the germination up to the maturity of the grapes, the vines are treated with antycriptogramics to prevent disease. The best period is the grape harvest when, with the help of lots of friends, it is an occasion to work and enjoy yourself and at the same time to be in contact with nature.
