Daytripping in the Monferrato: Costa dei Platani

We didn't have to go very far for this day trip. Right on the other side of Acqui from Regione Valloria is a beautiful ridge called Maggiore. Recently, friends had put us in contact with Carlo and Laura, who have a beautiful home and winery called Costa dei Platani .We heard they make fabulous Barbera. In our search for which there is no goal other than to enjoy wine, we were interested. So, we made arrangements to go and taste some wine yesterday evening.

As Italian hospitality would have it, what started as as simple wine tasting ended up as a lovely dinner, outside on their breathtaking property. With a little over 8 acres, Laura and Carol produce only a few, but absolutely excellent wines. Their Barbera, named Maggiore after the ridge on which they live, is a lightly wooded, wonderfully smooth wine. Carlo is absolutely passionate about his wines --it exudes from every pore of his being.

From the Barbera we ascended into Albarossa, which as few know, is an experimental wine of this region. It is a hybrid cross of the Nebbiolo and the Barbera Grape. There are only a handful of winemaker growing this grape, which has been in this experimental phase since about 2000. We are blessed to have this be the third Albarossa we are tasting directly at the vineyard. It is an extremely smooth version, with the fullness and indigo color one expects from this particular grape. Slightly higher in tannin than Barbera, it can have an alcohol percentage of 15 percent.

The last wine we tried was their Monferrato Rosso. Rossi are always blends, like the Super Tuscans. If it is a Langhe Rosso, it is a blend from the Langhe. Likewise, a Monferrato Rosso is a blend from the Monferrato. Carlo and Laura's blend is Barbera, Cabernet Savignon, and Merlot. This is a very smooth, full bodied wine which was my personal favorite.

They bought this property in 2000 and finished renovating and planting in 2001. It was a huge project, and one which we could emotionally relate to on many levels. They really only make the wines they want to, at the quality level they deem as correct, something which we respect. They are consumate hosts and we were very happy to have made their acquaintance.

This is another example of the depth of this area. This winery is literally 7 minutes from our door and it took us four years to discover them!

From Monferrato with Love

Upper left, the church at Vaglio Serra; right beautiful vista
Lower left, garden bounty; right, Luigi Castino's cantina

We are on vacation, officially. We purposely blocked out this week in our B&B schedule to be able to savor a little bit of summer for ourselves. The weather has been perfect and we have been eating, sleeping, eating, sleeping.

We decided today to take a little drive into the Monferrato. We live here, I know. But we have not driven down every winding way. Today, we decided to drive from Acqui back to Acqui, and in between, we wanted to stop at a couple of places we had never been.

Armed with notes from our friend and Monferrato wine expert Paolo Ferrero, co-author of the wonderful Piemontese cookbook Monferrato Mio and owner of Buon Gusto Tours, we headed for the area between Nizza Monferrato and Asti... more specifically Mombercelli and Castelnuovo Calcea. We know from our own experience that the best Barbera d'Asti comes from this area, and since we are only really interested in small producers who make their own products, Paolo had specifically clued us in on one in particular to visit.

The first thing we noticed today were that the tractors are out in full, preparing the streets and roadsides for the vendemmia, which is set to start in a couple of weeks. Grass cutting was the order of the day. We wound through the small city of Nizza Monferrato, and out the other side -- into the very heart and soul of Barbera country.

We wound our way up to the village of Vaglio Serra, a small hamlet which lives from Barbera production and agriculture. At the top of the village are vistas of the entire Barbera production area, all the way to the Langhe. The tower in Barbaresco is in the far distance. There are two churches at the very top of the village, one consecrated, the other deconsecrated.

The gardens in this little village were just gorgeous and motivated me to come home and weed.

We drove back down and in the direction of Mombercelli, a working man's town with a lovely large piazza. We took out Paolo's instructions and found the small cantina of Luigi and Larissa Castino, who produce Cortese, Grignolino, Barbera and Barbera Superiore. We knew we had stumbled upon something special. Very small family cantina, and two people with warmth and pride. The first wine we tried was the Grignolino, which was historically produced with greater volume in this region than Barbera. As heavier, fuller wines came in to favor, Grignolino production fell, and is now considered a specialty wine of the region. For me it is an aperitivo red wine, light, peppery, and dry, the perfect companion for cheese or light antipasti. We then tried Luigi's 2007 Barbera, which is just being bottled now. 2007 was a fantastic year for Barbera, since there was almost too little rain and lots of heat. The wine is concentrated. We also got to taste the 2007 Superiore directly out of the barrique. Beyond fantastic. This will not be bottled for another year, and we put our name on the waiting list, we want at least ten cases for our new wine cellar which will be built this winter.

We love people like Luigi and Larissa. They are honest. They make an honest product, and need to be supported.

After leaving the Castino's, we drove back down the hill through Castelnuovo Calcea, and back to Nizza Monferrato, where we stopped at Le Due Lanterne for a lovely lunch of vitello tonnato, carne cruda, tagliatelle in sugo di salsiccia, and gnochetti di spinaci, all served with a light Cortese, the white wine of the region.

A lovely day, all in all, and we have it here, so close to home. From Monferrato with love!