Escaping the city with a life project of wine and renovation: Rocco di Carpeneto and Cascina Corte, the story of two couples from Monferrato and Langhe

2018/04/11 Agricultural Estate / Alto Monferrato / amphorae / architectural characteristics / artenova / city / farmhouse / hills / life project / Monferrato / old vineyards / Piedmont / suggestive hills of the Langhe / Terracotta / Tuscany / wine cellar / wine jars / wines

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The magnetic call of the land, and a return to ancestral roots in Piedmont has exerted its pull on the owners of the Agricultural Estate, Rocco di Carpeneto, halfway between Ovadi and Aqui Terme, in the province of Alessandria, among the gentle hills of Monferrato and the owners of Cascina Corte, in the suggestive hills of the Langhe, around San Luigi, in the province of Cuneo. Here are the stories of two couples who decided to leave city life for the country, to revive old vineyards and renovate old farmhouse properties.

Rocco di Carpeneto, Alto Monferrato

Leonardo Parisi (left) with Paolo Baretta from Rocco di Carpeneto

Paolo Baretta and Lidia Carbonetti of Rocco Carpeneto used to live in Milan. They arrived in Piedmont with the intention of taking over some old vineyards and a wine cellar where wine was produced for family use. The renovation involved not only the main farmhouse building today used for holiday rentals, but also the farm itself, which now practices organic farming.

The couple also worked on the reorganisation of the cellar and today the wines of Rocco Carpeneto are refined in various ways: in oak barrels, Artenova terracotta jars and in cement and steel tanks.

The two Amphora wines of the company are: Admura and Rataraura

In the wine cellar of Rocco di Carpeneto there are seven Artenova amphorae

Seven Artenova amphorae in the wine cellar of the company: two 400-litre eggs, two 700-litre eggs, two 500-litre classic wine jars and one dolium of 900

Cascina Corte, Dogliani hills, Langhe

Leonardo Parisi with Sandro Barosi

Sandro Barosi and Amalia Battaglia, respectively from Bra and Mondovì, found Cascina Corte after two years of endless search in an area of Cuneo on the hills of Dogliani. Here in the mid-1700s Ignazio Corte, Count of Bonvicino and Grand Chancellor of the Savoy family, built the main body of Cascina Corte on a pre-existing monastery.

“Some years ago – write the owners of Cascina Corte on their website – “we began to fantasize about a life project: to renovate an old abandoned rural house and start up a new business, to live in the countryside leaving the city and open our home to friends and guests”. The house was bought in 2001; it was already called Cascina Corte a name they have continued to use. The renovation of the farmhouse was undertaken respecting and maintaining its original architectural characteristics.

The three Amphora wines of the company are: Langhe Nebbiolo, Langhe Barbera and Dogliani Pirochetta Vecchie Vigne.

Classic jars grace the Cascina Corte wine cellar

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