Adriano Grasso Natural Wines

Adriano Grasso Organic Wines Who we are. Our story Our nickname is “cuilà d Roc”. It comes from Rocco Grasso, son of Battista, a name that appears in just one official document: a purchase deed with a loan dated 1862, signed by a notary in Costigliole d’Asti. We know little about him, but family legend tells us a great deal. He arrived from Montegrosso carrying a wooden bin on his shoulders, with no money but with great physical strength and an unbreakable will. It was Rocco, together with his sons Bartolomeo and Domenico Grasso, who built this house. Bartolomeo was my great great grandfather. Here Giusto was born, his son and my great grandfather, exactly where the winery stands today. At the time the farmhouse was called Cascina Alfieri. A poor but capable family, who invested a lifetime of savings in land and farmhouses. From the bottle to a life choice It was my grandfather Dante who first bottled the wine. A bold gesture for the time, driven more by passion than strategy. The first bottles, vintage 1967, won the Douja d’Or. I followed in his footsteps. I graduated from the Alba School of Enology, then earned a degree in Viticulture and Enology. I worked as a winemaker for a winery until 2013. At the end of that year I felt the need to stop. It was time to look for my soul. Little wine. Few wines. The wine I bottle represents me. I grow Gamba di Pernice, Barbera, Moscato and Nebbiolo. All native varieties. I have also planted a small amount of Pinot Noir, a grape I deeply love. My career began with sparkling wines. The winery is organic. I believe in it deeply. I follow the lunar phases for pruning, vineyard work and bottling. Waning moon for still wines, waxing moon for sparkling wines, when life begins and bottle fermentation takes shape. I use green manure and practice manual grass cutting under the vines. It is long and demanding work, but it allows me to observe what lives among the vines. I often find newborn animals hidden in the tall grass. That is why I always leave some areas uncut, so the young can grow safely. I try to use tractors and machinery with common sense, respecting the other living beings in the vineyard and the structure of the soil. We are not alone here, and every gesture matters.