Rocche del Gatto

The Rocche del Gatto winery is one of the leading wineries in Liguria, and in particular in the Savona area, which focuses on the traditional interpretation of wines, carefully ensuring the most authentic expressions of the aromas and tastes of the territory. Founded by Fausto De Andreis in 1982, the winery made its official debut in the world of wine with the 2002 harvest and enjoys the collaboration with Luigi Crosa of Vergagni and his daughter Clara.  

Rocche del Gatto's 4.5 hectares of vineyards are distributed between the plains and low hills, at an altitude ranging from 30 to 40 metres above sea level, and are planted with Pigato and Vermentino grapes, typical of the Ligurian Riviera of Ponente. The vines are trained using the alberello and spurred cordon systems, and are rooted in soil characterised by red earth, rich in iron and minerals.  

Fausto De Andreis began his passion for wine as a young boy in the 1950s, thanks to his father's teachings. Over the years, he has acquired wine-making techniques and developed his own unmistakable and unconventional style, to the point of being affectionately known as "the anarchist of Pigato". Rocche del Gatto's production philosophy sees a balanced relationship between age-old tradition and technological modernity, in order to retrieve the knowledge and flavours of a harsh land cultivated with hard work and passion. This is why meticulous care is taken in the vineyard, fermentation is activated spontaneously thanks to the exclusive use of indigenous yeasts, and long macerations are carried out on the skins. This allows for the extraction of the aromatic, mineral and tannic substances that characterise the vines and genuinely express the territory of the Ligurian Riviera of Ponente.

Unlike the majority of producers, Fausto allows his wines to be tasted from the steel vats, where Vermentino and Pigato are still turbid and in progress: at this stage there are no lies or half-truths and you can already understand what the quality of the wine will be.  

The wines of Rocche del Gatto display an authentic character, a strong personality and surprise everyone with their complexity. The musical metaphors with which the producer himself describes them are beautiful and expressive: the Vermentino is "a fine soloist", the more complex Pigato is "an orchestra" and the Spigau is defined as "the symphony orchestra". These are wines that deserve to be listened to attentively and with patience.