Cantina Togliana

Carema, Piemonte

Carema is unique amongst the great northern Nebbiolo villages, the vineyards were literally dragged up the mountain.  Morainic* soils from the valley floor have been restrained by steep, high, dry stone terraces on which pergolas, known locally as topia, are built from granite and wood.  The Romans first terraced these hills to encourage the population of this strategic valley to dissuade a Gaulish malice. 

For the Milanesio family, wine was natures’ reward for working these torturous terraces.  The idea of Carema being a commercial proposition remains tenuous and until recently Achille and his father were only bottling their ‘Runc’ for family and friends.  The cantina is the cellar of a farmhouse built in 1530, a single vaulted room lined with small steel fermentation vats and a few barrels; until this year, tasting was on a precarious plastic table.