Luca Ferraris Vineyard: Also an American tale

The Luca Ferraris Vineyard in Castagnole Monferrato in the Piedmont region of Italy has a surprising American connection The story traces back to the nineteenth century when Luca's great-grandfather Luigi Ferraris emigrated to America during the gold rush. Striking gold, he sent the money back to his wife Bruno Teresa, giving her the chance to realize her dream.
After her husband passed away in 1921, she bought the house in Via al Castello that until recently housed Luca's winery. Two years later, Luca's grandfather Martino purchased II Casot, at the time nothing more than a simple rural hut in the middle of 40,000 square meters of land. 

Martino planted vines and bought barrels to make wine with his own grapes in his own cellar. He started by selling his wine to wholesalers in the area, then later began to increase his business by selling larger bottles to individuals traveling back and forth to Turin every week on horseback. Today on that land is home to their  most representative vineyard: Vigna del Casot, now planted with Grignolino, Barbera and the first-ever Viognier grapes cultivated in the Piedmont region, which were introduced in 2006. 

Casot is famous for its reddish, sandy soils that impart unique characteristics such as an elegant nose and very dry tannins to the Grignolino variety.

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