Grignolino del Monferrato Casalese DOC: wine between stone and hills

Casale Monferrato introduces the route with its urban heritage and relationship with Po. Leaving the city, the road climbs to the countries of Monferrato Casalese. The change is perceptible in the scale of housing and in the opening of the views: the vineyards enter a plot that includes farms, other crops and small historical nuclei.

Rosignano Monferrato, Cella Monte and Ottiglio offer stages to explore this relationship. The town and the hill are better understood by alternating the walk between the houses at a glance from the outside. Each point of view adds an element: the location of the country, the design of the rows, the passage of the road and the continuity of the campaign.

The infernot bring the history of wine under the houses. Dig into the canton stone, store niches and shelves for bottles. The visit makes visible a local competence, able to use the matter of the hills to create spaces collected. A Cella Monte, the story of the Ecomuseo della Pietra da Cantoni helps to connect geology, construction and agricultural life.

The Grignolino enters this culture as one of the recognizable expressions of Casalese. Its history is also seen in the continuity of the work of producers and in the choice to maintain a variety with a marked personality. Observe a infernot after seeing the vineyards changes the way to look at the bottle: wine belongs to a network of places, from plant to house, and to a set of gestures handed down.

The basis of wine is the Grignolino. The profile of many interpretations combines a slightly ruby color, fruity aromas and spicy nuances with a recognizable tannic presence. This report invites you to pass a reading based only on color: the sip can offer energy even when the glass appears bright and transparent.

The tasting can follow two moments. First approach the perfumes, looking for finesse and differences between fruit and spice; then look at how wine occupies the mouth and what feeling leaves after drinking. The tasting of different bottles makes evident the role of wine cellar choices. The same vine can maintain its character through different paths, from the search for immediateness to more articulated interpretations.

You can organize the trip by alternating a village, a stop in the countryside and a meeting with the culture of infernot. This pace prevents the visit to one environment and allows you to connect wine to the landscape. A table with meats, first and meat dishes then offers the opportunity to follow the relationship between the tannins of Grignolino and the flavors of the meal.

To continue, compare the Grignolino d’Asti and the Barbera del Monferrato. The first opens a parallel path dedicated to the same grape; the second adds a different voice of the farmhouse hills. The journey thus finds two directions, both linked to the places visited: deepen a vine or know the variety of productions that live in the same landscape.

The stop in Rosignano can end by observing the hills from the streets of the village. This panorama brings together the stages of the day and gives the name of wine a recognizable setting, made of countries and slopes that you have personally crossed.