The vineyard of ‘Pipu’

The history of the Tortonese Hills passes through viticulture and the history of its vineyards. We tell you about those that are closest to our hearts.

A vineyard, if treated with the right love and care (and if helped by soil and climate) has a very long life. It can live for centuries.

Above all, the vineyards grow and age together with those who care for them, which is why they often tell us ancient stories, which tell us about a territory, its traditions, but above all about people, about figures who have made its history.

Pipu’s vineyard is one of them.
Its origins tell us of true pioneers of our land, of characters who designed its landscape (in the direction of viticulture).

In 1800, three brothers arrive in Fossaghello, a stone’s throw from our Montale Celli, with a pair of oxen and aboard a chariot.
They arrive from nearby Torricella di Sarezzano, but this is the 19th century: moving is still complicated and represents a major life change.

One of the three is named Giovanni and in 1903 gives birth to ‘Pipu,’ a figure destined to make history in local viticulture.

It was he who planted the first rows, in 1940, and since then with passion and the support of the family, he has not stopped. From 1960 they continued planting until they completed a vineyard with 30 rows of 200 vines each.

The vineyard thus spans more than half a century, worked with the necessary dedication first by Pipu, and then by his son Luigi (with grandchildren), in a symbiotic relationship between the land and its cultivators typical of our culture.

Until more recent times, when it experiences a period of physiological decline, due partly to age and partly to the great efforts that a 2-hectare vineyard requires to be kept productive and healthy.

We, Azienda Boveri Luigi, decided to take it in hand and take care of it in 2020, with devotion and due respect, carrying out a ‘restorative’ recovery so that this piece of history of our land would continue to give us its precious fruits.

The vineyard is in excellent shape today, and includes several varieties of grapes, both white and black berry.

A curiosity in this regard: the part closest to the road known as the ‘tabarnè’ was replanted in 1984, and the so-called “‘pink grapes,” a little treasure that renowned agronomists say is a practically extinct grape variety, are found there.

It is our intention to continue to tell you the stories of the vineyards (ours and others), this great cultural heritage and testimony of a past that we do not want to lose.

We thank Rosy Bergaglio, the source of this valuable historical information.