Monferrato Astigiano: from Ruchè to Albugnano and Terre Alfieri

The history of Asti gives thickness to the agricultural landscape that surrounds the city. The streets of the center, towers and squares tell a place of exchange and public life. The study on the Palio di Asti follows one of the threads of this identity. From the city, moving to countries introduces another dimension, made of short distances on paper and continuous change of perspective.

Each dorsal proposes a different point of view. The bell tower of the village just left to reappear over a vineyard; a nucleus of houses on the nearby hill invites you to continue. In order to understand the Astisan, it alternates the visit of the centers at a distance in the countryside. The landscape acquires consistency when the squares and slopes become parts of the same journey.

Castagnole Monferrato occupies a ridge between the Astilian and the Casalese sector. The location helps to read a territory in which the towns are recalled through the hills: from the country the journey continues following roads that change altitude and perspective. The path of the Ruchè di Castagnole Monferrato gives this observation a concrete productive reference.

A Montemagno, the village gathered around the castle adds a different reading of the same lands. To stop on the streets and then return to the slopes allows to recognize the continuity between the village and the countryside. The pages of the municipalities collect history and places to explore, while the wine story follows the work that keeps the hills cultivated. They are two perspectives that give thickness to the same day.

The Astisan also opens through its more widespread reds. The Grignolino d Asti and the Freisa d Asti add to Ruchè different characters and traditions. For an itinerary, choose two countries first and a stretch of path; then let the tasting resume what you met on the road. The shape of the rows, the old town and name of the denomination acquire a more precise meaning when they become parts of the same route instead of staying isolated information.

The area of the Ruchè di Castagnole Monferrato DOCG includes Castagnole Monferrato, Grana, Montemagno, Portacomaro, Refrancore, Scurzolengo and Viarigi. This circumscribed geography makes the relationship between the name of wine and territory immediate. The pages of the Grana Monferrato, Refranco and Viarigi offer other entrance doors to the discovery.

In Castagnole the route can start from the centre and continue towards the vineyards. In Montemagno, the design of the village and the castle invite you to stop on the architectures before returning to the countryside. Connecting two or three countries allows you to observe the differences between places while remaining within a same wine area. The territory of the denomination thus becomes a concrete experience, made of roads and supports.

The Ruchè gives a special accent to these hills; the Barbera d'Asti and the productions of the name Monferrato open a broader perspective. The territory of Asti is home to a plurality of cultivations and wine traditions. Observing this variety helps to understand why the journey into wine requires to go down to the scale of countries, companies and individual vineyards.

In the lands of Ruchè, the Consortium describes calcareous and dry soils, with a strong exposure to the sun. These elements bring the story to the scale of the vineyard: a slope, orientation and availability of water enter the work of every season. Listening to those who cultivate the plots allows you to know the decisions that accompany that landscape, from the care of the rows to the collection of grapes.

North of the province, Albugnano, Pino d'Asti and Castelnuovo Don Bosco open another itinerary of wine. The name Albugnano leads to the first floor Nebbiolo; the Malvasia of Castelnuovo Don Bosco introduces an aromatic tradition in which the Malvasia di Schierano. The pages of the countries allow to connect these productions to recognizable places and stories.

Further west, the Alfieri Lands give a different perspective to Nebbiolo andArneis. Start from Cisterna d'Asti, San Martino Alfieri and San Damiano d'Asti. These stops extend the story of Astisan: a name of vine becomes the thread to follow the hills and a name adds a precise production context.

Further north, Moncalvo adds a square and a viewpoint to the journey between countries. The Truffle Path connects the center to the countryside through a ring described in the path card. It is a way to give the day also the time of the journey, following a concrete trace between vineyards and farms.

To the south, the story continues in lands of Nice, where Barbera takes on another centrality, and in hills of Canelli, related to Moscato bianco and the history of sparkling wine. Follow these steps makes the variety of Astisan visible. Each territory adds a chapter and suggests a new point from which to start.