Sandro Barosi, Cascina Corte
Piedmont, Italy
The name of the company, Cascina Corte, is taken from the farm-house situated at the centre of our vineyard.
The remains of the house are the original structure, and it has been found situated on maps which date back to the middle of the 17th century. The house holds a lot of interest from an architectural point of view, and has been subject to a thorough restoration, in keeping with the original style.
The vineyards stretch all around the farm-house, hidden in the hills of San Luigi, this is one of the best areas for the production of Dolcetto di Dogliani.
The vineyards date back to the late 40's, and produce about 45-50 quintals per hectare (the strongest Dolcetto di Dogliani, producing 90 quintals per hectare.)
In 2002 we planted 1.5 hectares of new vineyards, half with Nebbiolo and half with the Barbera variety. Taking advice from our agronomist Giampiero Romana, we planted different rootstocks depending on the terrain of each area, and endeavoured to use varieties which had been traditionally cultivated here.
Here at Dogliani we look to maintain the health of our vines with entirely organic solutions, we use only verdigris and quarry sulfur. We do not use manure on our vines, and never chemical fertilisers.
We do not claim ourselves to be organic fundamentalists, but we take inspiration from certain principles of biodynamic agriculture, and organic farming. At the centre of our attention is the fertility of the land, which we nurture through the introduction of Green manure.
Cascina Corte produces: a Dogliani, from a selection of Dolcetto grapes across the vineyard; a more valuable Pirochetta from only the Dolcetto grape ("Dogliani Superiore Pirochetta Vecchie Vigne"); a Barbera; a Nebbiolo; a Rosé wine table and the original Barnedol (40% Dolcetto, 40% Barbera, 20% Nebbiolo).