We met Romano Dogliotti and the whole family
La Solista Barbera d’Asti
La Caudrina Moscato d'Asti
Here we are with the King of Moscato, Romano Dogliotti. Smiling, funny, hyperactive, determined, charismatic; this man is sure of what he is doing.
Today, in his truck, he takes us up and down the most beautiful vineyards in Castiglione Tinella, exploring just how beautifully and well-taken care of the vines are. It is not difficult to get to know Romano and fall in love, as he starts to talk, with a few pauses in between to breathe, but the rest it is all about jokes and stories.
The Dogliotti family is the oldest in town and everybody knows Redento, Romano’s father, who founded the winery in 1946 from vineyards inherited by his father, Luigi. He started by selling grapes from the vineyards to big industry players producing Moscato d’Asti—the only practice in those days.
But in the late 1970s, Romano came on board and began to bottle and sell his own Moscato d’Asti La Caudrina DOCG from his very best vineyards-- intense, juicy and perfect. Moscato is the Sunday wine, the one of parties and conviviality.
La Caudrina also produces Dolcetto and Barbera, called La Solista, that Romano keeps talking about; a fresh and ready wine that pays full respect to the traditional wine-making process of Piedmont.
When we get back from the vineyards, the table is already set with the most delicious cheeses, walnuts and cured meats; a perfect pairing with wines that represent what this family is all about: hospitality, the past, and the future of Moscato.
Romano’s sons Alessandro (in the cellar), Sergio and Marco (in the vineyards and production), together with his wife Bruna, perpetuate the collective energy.
To my earlier question ‘What do you do?’, the answer is straight forward: ‘Nun fasuma Moscato’ – ‘We make Moscato’, not just simply that we make wine. He reminds us that Moscato is known as one of the most aromatic varietals and one of the oldest cultivated in the world.
Because it is important to preserve all the grape's fragrance in the wine, it requires a specific technique in the winemaking. Immediately after the harvest, done only by hand, they softly press the grapes and clarify and filter the must.
They then keep this grape juice in refrigerated tanks at 2 °C below zero until it is time for the temperature controlled fermentation, which is made in autoclaves with selected yeasts to obtain a lively wine that presents the specific characteristics unique to the different vineyards.
La Caudrina Moscato is naturally lively, as Romano’s personality, and we decide to stay as long as the laughs in this family keep going.
