:: CASA BUFFETTO ::

Archaeological remains and Roman terracotta vine jars found here and there all over the Asti and Monferrato hills testify to the fact that this land has a vine-growing tradition dating back some two thousand years.
The first written documents, on the other hand, go back to the Longobard period, and it is necessary to consult "the most ancient records in Asti's capitular archives", which, however, fail to specify which vines were being cultivated on ecclesiastical and secular land, while such evidence can be found from one corner of Monferrato to the other.

Of much greater help are the documents to be found in Casale's capitular archives, where reference can be found to the berbexina, or berbesina, grape (1249), mentioned elsewhere. The oldest local reference to nebbiolo dates back to 1295, and refers to the act by which a certain Tomaso Asinari of Asti bequeathed to his wife " quantuor botallos carresaritios vini puri vincarum suarum de Cameyrano duos de nebiolo ed duos de nostrali ". And even Pier De Crescenzi, a noted 14 th -century agronomist, spoke about nebbiolo.
The Statutes of Canelli drawn up at the beginning of the 1300s include some nine chapters on how vine-growing was to be safeguarded, thus testifying to the importance given to vines and wine in these places. Moscatello is referred to in the Statutes of Asti of 1379, in the part forbidding the sale of grapes, except "moscatellum", prior to the feast of Saint Michael.
Moscatello grapes are mentioned, " uve moscatelli, rinassi, vernace … et marvaxie ", in the Statutes of Mondonio of 1468. Since the 15 th century there has been a growth in the number of documents regarding vines and wines, and said documents describe tools and systems of cultivation and cellars that are similar to those of recent memory. We also know that the local nobles were increasingly keen on improving their cellars and were proud of being able to show off their "huge, 50-barrel and even up to 100-barrel casks, in which they kept their best wines for many years".
Barbera made its entrance onto this rich oenological scene thanks to the efforts of Count Nuvolone, who, in a treatise written in 1799 "on vine-growing and the method for making wine", numbers "barbera among the finest of black grapes". But there is good reason for believing that barbera itself was hidden away among previous references to "ordinary black grapes". It was only in the 19 th century, however, that barbera fully redeemed itself, so much so that, starting off with the celebrated "Pomona Italiana" by Gallesio in 1839, there began to appear a flood of declarations acknowledging its widespread cultivation and excellent testimonials. Of special historical importance is, lastly, the map published in 1904 by Arnaldo Strucchi illustrating the area of barbera's diffusion. Covering a wide swathe of land from Dogliani to Casale, the map shows that said vine was grown mainly on the hills that wend their way through the communes of Asti, San Damiano, Canelli, Nizza, and Rocca d'Arazzo.

(Text by: "Proposte su una stroria del Barbera", Luciano Bertello and Govanni Minetti)