The Story
OUR STORY BEGAN IN 1928, WHEN MY GREAT-GRANDFATHER AND GRANDFATHER STARTED BUILDING CASCINA BALLARIN. HAVING WORKED FOR MANY YEARS AS SHARECROPPERS ON ANOTHER FARM, THE TIME HAD COME FOR THE FAMILY TO EMBARK ON A NEW ADVENTURE.
Everyone in La Morra calls us Ballarin, despite the fact that our family’s real surname is Viberti. One of our ancestors used to work on a farm in Strada Ballerini, in Alba. When he returned to La Morra, everyone started calling him “the guy from Ballarin”, giving a Piedmontese twist to the name of the street. Where we live, once someone gives you a nickname, that’s it, and not even time can erase it, so our relative who worked in Strada Ballerini became Ballarin, and the name is very close to our hearts today.
THE STORY OF CASCINA BALLARIN IS A LOT LIKE THOSE OF MANY OTHER SMALL FARMS IN THE LANGHE. UNTIL FORTY YEARS AGO, PRODUCTION WAS MIXED: THERE WAS A STABLE, FRUIT TREES AND VINEYARDS.
Partly due to luck, partly because the world was changing, we chose to specialise in viticultureand winemaking. In the 1980s, vineyards began to take the place of the orchards, the storerooms were renovated and used as a wine cellar, and stable and barn gave way to a tasting room and the guesthouse.
Today we cultivate our vineyards. We grow grapes in La Morra, Monforte d’Alba and Novello.Every bunch ends up in the cellar and is turned into wine. We grow fewer grapes than we could: in our vineyards you can see cherries and other types of tree that break up the evenly spaced rows drawn by the vines. We might lose a hundred kilos or so of grapes and a few valuable bottles, but what we get in exchange is somewhere to rest in the shade on a hot sunny day, and when you’re working hard, nothing could be better.
We mainly produce Barolo, vinifying it separately from vineyard to vineyard. This makes it possible to appreciate all the individual nuances that the soil has to offer. We also make Barbera d’Alba, Dolcetto d’Alba, Nascetta and other local wines.
OUR VOCATION? WINE AND HOSPITALITY.
Il Viticcio offers a place to spend a holiday right in the heart of the Langhe, as does La Rosa in the Borgo. You can come and taste our wine at the Cellar, where we organise tastings for small and large groups. We invite everyone to book in advance so that we can be one-hundred percent available. We work the land in a sustainable way, accepting technology and mechanisation but without being slaves to it. This means that you will often see us in the vineyards or among the trees, intent on doing jobs that most people have forgotten even exist: planning your visits is the best way for us to plan our work and guarantee the quality of the products that come out of Cascina Ballarin.
