Cusmano

In 2012, the Cusmano family bought the site of the former consortium for San Marzano Oliveto apples, in Regione Saline. The decision was based on ethics and business: the aim was to breathe new life into a historic place and take advantage of its spacious rooms, which were already insulated and perfect for ageing wine.

The restoration took over a year, and while the outside of the building remains aesthetically unaltered, the interior is a jewel of winemaking technology. The new winery processes all the grapes from the estate’s 48 hectares, producing the famous wines of Piedmont: Barbera d’Asti, Moscato d’Asti, Brachetto d’Acqui, Timorasso and Alta Langa. The visit tours the production and ageing sections of the winery: from the vineyards to the storage rooms for must and wine, the autoclaves for conditioning and adding the sparkle, the bottling line (completely automated), the analysis lab and the tasting room.

San Marzano itself also deserves a mention: an extraordinarily beautiful landscape in which vineyards and cultivated fields give way to the untouched green woods of the nearby Val Sarmassa Nature Reserve.