Podere ai Valloni

The Podere ai Valloni winery is an interesting production company, which cultivates its vineyards and produces wine in the area of Boca, in the Upper Piedmont region. It is a family-run winery, which has preserved a typically artisanal character. It produces about 10,000 bottles a year, with no intention of increasing this number, in order to continue making high quality wines. The winery is located on top of a hill and is surrounded by the beautiful panorama of the vineyards. The area of Boca has a very cool and breezy climate, with a good temperature range between day and night. The soils are purplish-red in colour, originating from the disintegration of ancient rocks, mainly porphyry, of volcanic origin, which are rich in precious minerals for the vines. They are the distant geological remains of the eruptive activity of the Valsesia Supervolcano, which was active 300 million years ago.

The history of viticulture in these lands has very ancient origins. The domestication and cultivation of vines was already part of the agricultural activities of the Gallo-Celts, even before the arrival of the Romans. Roman colonisation gave new momentum to vine cultivation, which has been passed down through the centuries to the present day. At the beginning of the 20th century, the vineyard of Boca had a total area of more than 10,000 hectares, which covered most of the hilly territory around the small town and was the main source of income for the population. The subsequent industrialisation process in the nearby Borgomanero area gradually attracted workers, leading to the abandonment of the vineyard. Today, the forest has reclaimed the land and the vine only survives in a few dozen hectares.

The vineyards of the Podere ai Valloni are surrounded by the woods of the Monte Fenera Natural Park, which guarantee an extraordinary environmental richness and biodiversity. The hill of the property was planted with the Nebbiolo grape two centuries ago, using an innovative system of rows of vines. In 1980, when Cristiana and Guido Sertorio bought the estate, they had to restore an abandoned vineyard. Today the ancient rows of vines have come back to life and are managed without the use of herbicides or chemical products, under a certified organic farming system. In these lands the Nebbiolo variety expresses itself with a particular character, which is different from that of the Langhe area. It is a leaner and fresher red wine, with a smooth taste and a typically mineral and saline touch.