ca’ del baio
The Grasso Family
trieso
Barbaresco - Piedmont - italy
story…
For four generations the Grasso family has been quietly making a name for themselves in the Barbaresco region. Stretching back to the late 1800’s when Giuseppe Grasso moved from Calosso in the Asti region to Treiso in Barbaresco with his wife & four children. Here he purchased the Cascina Vellegranda farmhouse and surrounding land, where the Ca’ del Baio winery still stands today. In 1921 Giuseppe’s eldest son, Luigi Grasso, plants the first vines around the property and three years later they would harvest the first crop for personal wine production and the rest to be sold on site. It is with the birth of Luigi’s only son, Ernesto, that the modern version of the Ca’ del Baio estate begins.
In 1955 Ernesto marries a young woman from the Asili district of Barbaresco, Fiorentina ‘Fiorina”, where her family owns land in the historic Asili & Pora Crus. This union solidifies the families ties to both Barbaresco & Treiso for farming vineyards for the production of wine. Two years after their wedding, Fiorina would give birth to Giulio, the now owner and head of Ca’ del Baio winery. The next big step forward takes place when Giulio marries his wife, Luciana, who like his grandmother comes from the Barbaresco area. The two, encouraged by their family, would go on to invest and expand their vineyards in the Barbaresco production area.
Today Giulio & Luciano still run the overall operations at the family estate, along with their three daughters; Paola, Valentina, & Federica. The three sisters have begun to take on a larger role in the family estate as their parents begin the slow process of handing the reins down to the next generation. Their entire wine production is produced from all estate held vineyards within the Barbaresco production zone, consisting of 25 hectares of vines in both villages of Barbaresco & Treiso. The family continues to evolve and work towards producing better wines, not only in quality of the wine itself but also the quality of life for their vineyards and the surrounding plants and animals that make the world of wine so special and unique.
In 2011 Giulio was awarded the very prestigious “Viticulturist of the Year” award by Gambero Rosso; a legendary wine, food & travel publication based in Italy and focused on Italy.
philosophy…
Sustainability and tradition are at the forefront of the on goings of the estate. They derive techniques and theories from several different farming “schools” to craft their own unique regimen that best fits the needs of their vineyards. Along with ensuring the vines are cared for correctly, they also consider the effect of their choices on the surrounding wildlife, people, and the end consumer. All chemical fertilizers & synthetic herbicides have long been eschewed for more natural approaches to pest & weed control. All of the harvesting is done manually. They follow the guidelines of the Green Experience; a philosophy born out of the regions UNESCO World Heritage site status with a drive to preserve the beauty and biodiversity of the Langhe.
Under the Green Experience guidelines producers follow the following 10 rules:
eco-friendly & sustainable viticulture & production
preservation of biodiversity and the natural environment
aesthetic protection of the natural landscape & the human interaction with it
respect for the soil through agronomic solutions
elimination of chemical weeking in the vineyards
sowing of herbal & floral plants in the vineyards (cover crops)
dissemination of useful pollinating insects
strategic placement of bird nests to aid in cultivation
respect & honesty towards consumers
transparency of controls & external certification
The cellar work is a healthy mix of traditional and modern techniques, as well as equipment. All ferments are done on native yeasts and there are no additives outside of SO2, which is kept at a bare minimum for all the wines. Fermentations take place in temperature controlled stainless steel, except for their Riserva bottlings of Asili which is fermented in large open top wooden vats. Elevage is carried out in a mix of vessels; ranging from 100% stainless steel for their whites and their everyday bottlings of Nebbiolo, Dolcetto & Barbera; large Slavonian oak botti for most of their Barbaresco bottlings; for their top Cru Barbaresco there is typically a combination of Slavonian oak botti and used/neutral barrique. When implemented, fining & filtration are done with very gentle application. Nearly all of their Nebbiolo bottlings are refined in bottle for a period of time at the estate prior to release.
Vineyards…
Every bottle of wine produced and sold by the Ca’ del Baio estate comes from estate held and farmed vineyards. Most of which are located within a short distance of the winery itself, allowing for ease of access and limiting the amount of pollution and time is used to get to and from the vineyards. Like most estates in the region they have vineyards planted to Dolcetto and Barbera, but they also have Moscato d’Asti, Chardonnay & Riesling vineyards that they produce a handful of excellent bottlings from.
Their Nebbiolo vineyards are the heart and soul of the estate as well as being what they have the most vineyard holdings of. Amongst these they have holdings in some incredible Cru’s in Barbaresco, including: Vallegrande, Pora, & Asili.
Ferrere
the estate most recent vineyard acquisition made in 2009 | Ferrere is located on the northern border of Vallegrande | vines here were planted between 2008-2009 in gray marl, limestone, & sandy soils with a mostly west facing aspect | the entire harvest from this vineyard goes into their Autinbej bottling
Vallegrande
their holdings in this Cru surround their historic winery facility on the hill and include 3 total hectares of vines all facing west in bluish clayey-limestone marl soils | vines were planted in 1967 | first bottling of this Cru by the estate was in 1965
Pora
from a .3 hectare plot with south to west facings planted in bluish clayey-limestone marl soils | vines were planted in 1948 | first bottling of this Cru by the estate was in 2004
Asili
a 2 hectare plot with south-west facing vines planted in bluish clayey-limestone soils | vines were planted between 1957 & 1999 | first bottling of this Cru by the estate was in 1988
