In an area that lives in the shadow of the aristocratic Langa, in October 2022 we discovered a humble, enthusiastic, supportive and consistent reality in the Braccia rese project, born in 2020, which, as the name implies, seeks to give new hands to local agriculture that has declined in the last century. Livio, Elia and Giovanni, all under 30 years old, are dedicated to enhancing the native fruits that the countryside around the village of Busca, in the hills of Saluzzo in the Cuneo region, grows at the foot of the Monviso. Production is about ciders and wines, using local varieties. Livio has a degree in oenology, while Elia moved from the world of design to agriculture to find a more rooted way of life and Giovanni, a geometer by training, wanted to keep the family vineyard together with 2 friends to start the adventure. For them, the production of wines and ciders is a way of giving visibility to a forgotten territory in terms of agriculture, where vines have existed since the Romans, as well as establishing human relationships based on passion and local solidarity.
They cultivate 2 ha of vineyards where they favor local grapes such as Quagliano, exclusive to this area, and Neretto cuneese, historically used in batches, in addition to varieties such as Barbera, Chatus and some rows of Merlot. In 2022 they planted the first white grape, Baratuciat, from a producer friend in the Piedmontese region of Monferrato. The wines produced depart from the local peasant reality to express the specificity of these hills, essentially using vitrified cement vats.
Wines:
“Pink!” : Unprecedented interpretation of Quagliano, indigenous vineyard, oldest on the hill of San Martino, spontaneous fermentation in glass resin, maceration for 7 days. Bottled the following spring with frozen must to cause refermentation.
Barba: from the name Barba which means wise uncle in the local dialect. Typical wine from the Saluzzo hills, with a blend of Barbera and Chatus, also known in the area as Nebbiolo Dronero. Co-fermentation of these vines planted in the early 1970’s. Cement stage.
“Errante”: solidarity wine born from the collaboration with Caritas of Saluzzo, to support immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa who come to settle in the region and work in the countryside. The “Neretta Cuneese” variety refers to a vine that “migrates”, adapts and grows in the midst of other varieties because it was never valued by itself in the area because it was considered inferior in terms of quality. This wine is the fruit of the awareness that wine, a luxury product, cannot be an end in itself but must also be a vehicle for connecting people and transmitting messages of social and territorial solidarity.
