Carussin - 'Assinoi' - Barbera - Piemonte, IT - 2022 - 3000ml

Notes from the Winery/Importer

Viticulture: Organic / Biodynamic Soil type: chalk/clay Elevation: 350m - 400m Grapes: Barbera planted in 1970, 1981 & 1984 Method of fermentation: Manual harvesting with baskets. Asinoi is made with soft pressing, controlled fermentation and average maceration, wine is pumped over circa 3 times a day, wine becomes steady naturally during ageing. Short ageing in concrete tanks. Biodynamically farmed, certified-organic, low sulfur Barbera. Famiglia Carussin (an eclectic, extended, character-filled clan) use 15-35 year old vines planted on the high hills of San Marzano Oliveto to grow fruit with a wildly spicy red berry fingerprint. Asinoi is tannin free, chillable, and likely to be all gone before the real heat of grilling season arrives, so hurry up and order yours. — JM ---

Who: Bruna Ferro and her sons Matteo and Luca

Where: San Marzano Oliveto, south of Asti, north of Canelli (Piemonte, Italy)

What grapes: Barbera, Carica l’Asino, Cortese, Moscato

Key facts: Certified-organic, with biodynamic tendencies. They make beer. They have donkeys.
-Piedmont Wine Imports

Notes on the Producer

Carussin Farm was born in 1927 in San Marzano Oliveto, a small town of the southern region of Monferrato in the province of Asti, in the hills between Nizza Monferrato and Canelli, followed by its founder’s settlement: Ferro Maggiore came from a close town called Calosso, there is where the name of the Farm comes from, in Piedmont dialect it means “Calossese”, original from Calosso.
In its begginings the Farm consisted of one house with 4 hectars of vineyards, to be expanded with the acquisition of a second house with 2 hectars. In 1950 Maggiore Ferro passes away crusche by an ox and his son Carlo follows with his work, helped by his uncle Giovanni. In the following years the Farms winegrowing potential gets stronger, substituing apple plantations with grapes, specially of Barbera d’Asti; reaching the current Vineyard area of circa 13 in town and circa 6 in Gino’s and Angelo’s lands, Luigi’s father and uncle respectively, from whom we buy such great grapes. The Farm’s lands are complete with fields of Clan!Destino beer’s barley and an area of 6.87 HA of woods in Roccaverano.
The Year of the change: now we produce quality wine
The most important breakthrough in terms of production was in 1961, year in which Carlo marries Vanda, as she also comes from a family of farmers, she takes his side in an incomparable way leading the farm, always making efforts to improve their products’ quality. In 1962 Bruna was born, as soon as she finishes her studies she dedicates her work, with her parents, to the difficult art of winegrowing and high quality winemaking.
In 1981 Luigi Garberoglio meets Bruna and gets attracted by the fascinating work of winemaking, and by Bruna, of course! Its consolidation will come 3 years after with the “inevitable” marriage… In 1988 Ferro Carlo leaves to his daughter his precious wealth of experience and wisdom, with his support and with so much will to grow, she continues this fascinating and compelling work which is winemaking. Nowadays Luigi Garberoglio and Bruna Ferro “nest their dreams” on their inherited reality, applying their life philosophy. With their sons Luca and Matteo, the family group is complete.
No chemicals that could harm nature are used on the Farm’s lands since 1984; besides, with the instruction of Dr. Leonello Anello we follow the work on our vineyards with the modern biodynamic method, good practices that extand in the cellar. Our work in the vineyards is certified organic by “Suolo e Salute”.
Carussin waits for your visit to the farm and to the cellar: the tour begins at the “core cellar” where Bruna’s grandparents used to work and it follows through the wine ageing room, you could then peek the winemaking cellar, where there are the pressing and the bottling facilities.