Cascina Galarin
Visiting large wineries like Opus and Robert Mondavi in California, Vietti in Italy and Louis Roederer in France for the wine enthusiast is one of life’s little pleasures. But many of the most enjoyable wine excursions involve finding the smaller, limited production, multi-generation family-run wine producers.
Wine is more than just the tactile experience of seeing, smelling, and tasting. It is a story that provides a sense of time, love, and livelihood. In our most recent trip to Italy, we spent a great deal of time in Piedmont, especially known for truffles and grapes like Moscato, Barbera, and Nebbiolo amongst many others. This is a story about one small family producer whose wines you cannot find on U.S. shelves but maybe should.
Alba, the Launching Point
Cascina Galarin headquartered in Castagnole delle Lanze, in the province of Asti about 50 kilometers southeast of Turin and under 20 kilometers northeast of Alba is one of those wineries well worth the visit. Alba itself is almost equidistant between Barolo, which is considered the “King” of the Nebbiolo grape, and Barbaresco, often called the “Queen” of Nebbiolo. The town of Alba with a population of approximately thirty thousand has four two-star Michelin restaurants and one three-star, Piazza Duomo, which is also ranked as the 18th best restaurant in the world.
Their Vineyards
Cascina Galarin has been making wine since the 1700s and with a generational transfer of leadership of the winery to brothers Marco and Giovanni Carosso, they are now at the forefront of modern winemaking techniques and since 2016 achieved the grueling three-year process of being certified organic. And while not certified biodynamic, they do incorporate some aspects of filtration during the waning moon which is a component of biodynamic farming. What makes this wine tour special is that it can be led by one of the actual brothers, in this case, Marco, a low-key, subtly humorous gentleman who obviously knows the business. A small group of six for a half day tour is picked up at your hotel or B&B in Alba. You start with a visit to their vineyard in Barolo with hilltop views of vineyards in nearby Barbaresco. With this intimate of a group, attendees can delve into the growing and winemaking process to a greater depth than normally afforded in larger wine tours.
The majority of grapes grown in their vineyards are focused on Nebbiolo, Moscato, Barbera and to a lesser extent, Chardonnay, Arneis, Pinot Nero, and Freisa. After tours of vineyards in both Barolo and Barbaresco you have a lovely lunch at one of several restaurants in Asti followed by a visit to their winery and an extensive tasting of their portfolio.
The Wines
While having a nice portfolio of varietals listed above, three that we found especially good that I want to expound upon are their Monferrato Nebbiolo Superiore, Moscato D’Asti, and Barbera D’Asti.
The Moscato D’Asti is 100% Moscato Bianco. Grapes are hand-harvested, crushed, pressed, and naturally clarified and stored without sulfates with fermentation in stainless steel so no malolactic fermentation. This winemaking process provides for a crisp, refreshing wine that preserves the varietal characteristics of the grape.
Monferrato Nebbiolo Superiore is 100% Nebbiolo also hand-harvested with fermentation in small wooden vats with a maceration period of up to 30 days and aged up to 20 months in oak. It was well-balanced with hints of mint and cooking spices.
The final wine that especially stood out during the tasting was their Barbera D’Asti Superiore which is 95% Barbera and 5% Freisa which adds tannins to the softer Barbera grape. Aged in small barriques of various woods for approximately 18 months, this is thoroughly approachable wine that can be sipped or paired with many appetizers or pastas.
Their wines are not distributed into the U.S. at present but they do ship to states where legal. To look at booking a tour when visiting Piedmont or ordering their wines, please visit:
