One of the most famous and widely bought wines in the world is made in the heart of Piemonte. And it isn’t red wine. It’s the set of light, sweet, refreshing wines made from Moscato Bianco in all its various guises. Most people will know of the lightly sparkling Asti Spumante that was a regular in the homes of middle England throughout the 60s, 70s and 80s, and continues to sell in great volume in emerging markets across the globe.
The higher quality of Moscato D’Asti DOCG were actually the first set of wines that made me, as a snakebite-drinking student, think that wine was something to be explored. I can’t imagine many people would admit to that, but I genuinely don’t care. I loved them then and I still love them now. And now we have the new Canelli DOCG looking to continue to premiumise these completely unique wines, it feels a great time to be a self-confessed Moscato-lover.
This summer I was lucky enough to meet a like-minded soul, in the form of Alessandro Varagnolo. An entrepreneur from Torino that has moved his family out to the countryside to follow a family dream, Varagnolo is a fellow Moscato disciple that produces beautifully classic, as well as utterly niche examples of these fresh, sweet bubbles. I joined him and his wife, Roberta, at their Tenuta Valdivilla property in Santo Stefano Belbo, from where they run the Ca D’Gal winery, to learn all about their hopes for the future.
Family dream becomes reality
Roberta and Alessandro Varagnolo - ploughing the Moscato Bianco furrow
Alessandro Varagnolo is originally from Torino. Growing up in a family involved in the private and corporate events industry, he grew up with wine and hospitality in his blood. Monthly trips to Langhe saw a family dream forming of moving from the town to the countryside.
Despite this, following an economics degree in Milan and a Masters in Dubai and New York, he found himself beginning the period of the COVID pandemic working for a multinational management consultancy, based in Milan. Although it wasn’t to last, it highlighted what mattered to him.
“I was seeing bosses of mine who had kids at home, but they’d never see them,” reflected Varagnolo. “I’ve lived in Dubai, I’ve lived in New York, I’ve had those experiences, but everything kept reminding me that my family is the centre of my life.” This has become even more important as he and wife Roberta welcomed their first child in October.
In 2022 the purchases of Tenuta Valdivilla, near to Santo Stefano Belbo, and Tenuta La Cova in Calamandrana, both from older winemakers looking to hand on their legacies, saw the family now in control of two traditional estates. The vineyards that came with the properties allowed for the production of three ranges of wines, with four wines in their Moscato range, three in their Barbera range, and four in their Piemonte DOC range of international grapes.
All vineyards are now non-certified organic and all wines, produced in conjunction with local consultants, are now under the brand of Cadgal.
“The wines are from Ca D’Gal, which means House of the Cockerel,” revealed Varagnolo. “Problem we had was that no-one knew how to search for us online, how to spell it, pronounce it, etc. So, we took out the apostrophes for the new branding.”
Traditional ageing technique helps Moscato shine
"I hope it continues to help move Moscato further from the rack ‘em and stack ‘em reputation of Asti Spumante and dually recognised as a true icon of this region," writes Turner
As Varagnolo began searching for the perfect place to realise his dreams, he was bitten by the bug of the hugely underrated wines of Moscato D’Asti. “
When I decided to go for this, I was looking to focus on producing artisanal wines, and in particular niches,” he remembered. “It was then I met more producers who showed me the amazing ageing potential of Moscato that I’d not really come across before.”
One particular ageing technique, that now produces Ca D’Gal’s famous single vineyard Vite Vecchie wine, is burying the recently bottled wines in sand from the nearby Belbo valley, and at regulated low temperatures.
“Releasing Moscato after five years in bottle, under sand, certainly raises eye brows,” admitted Varagnolo, “but I love the extra dimensions it adds, especially as the vineyards give us so much freshness.”
They also produce a single vineyard Canelli DOCG, an attempt to promote the terroir specificity of Moscato that arrived from 2021. The DOCG covers 17 provinces in and around the town of Canelli, with tighter restrictions on yields. It’s an interesting project. Moscato is the main gig in this particular part of Piemonte, so it makes sense that producers try to premiumise.
Despite the occasional grumblings from those quality producers outside the specified provinces, I hope it continues to help move Moscato further from the rack ‘em and stack ‘em reputation of Asti Spumante and dually recognised as a true icon of this region.
Wine lovers increasingly visiting Piemonte
Piemonte is a very beautiful region to visit. The rolling hills of vines and undulating valleys are intertwined with bustling villages and towns built in the Savoy style of yesteryear. Of course, it massively helps to have the city of Torino and the joint towns of Asti and Alba forming great bases for exploration into the famous regions of Barolo and Barbaresco.
Interestingly, however, the COVID pandemic brought a marked shift to tourism in the area. People were looking for something different, away from the crowds, which took them to the lesser spotted areas of Langhe and Monferrato. All of a sudden the German, Swiss and Scandi number plates and rental cars were now filling hotel car parks in Santo Stefano Belbo and Castagnole Della Lanze.
Varagnolo knew this was a must-have as a part of any new project.
“We want our clients to put their feet in our area,” enthused the entrepreneur. “My wife has left her job as a retail manager and has now become the hospitality manager, which we hope gives the guests that family feel we’d love to offer.”
Both Tenuta Valdivilla near to Santo Stefano Belbo and Tenuta La Cova in Calamandrana have both working wineries as well as well proportioned bed and breakfast set-ups.
“We’re not trying to be a super deluxe hotel,” smiled Varagnolo. “We advertise ourselves as a ‘wine country house’ on all the hotel websites, providing our guests with a local Piemontese breakfast and then helping them with their plans for the day.”
3 great wines from Ca D’Gal
Lumine 2023, Moscato D’Asti DOCG
The classic Moscto D’Asti in the range, made from older vines near Tenuta Valdivilla. Soft pressed grapes, the must is then cold filtered and stored at -1°C to allow them to make the wine in three batches across the year to keep the wines on the shelves fresh throughout. Classic notes of grape, orange blossom, tangerine, sage, and white pepper. The finish is a refreshing blend of sage and white pepper with the sweetness of the 120g/l playing a perfect sweet and savoury game. Available at Les Caves de Pyrene
Sant Ilario 2023, Canelli DOCG
The first of two single vineyard Moscato wines, and the one that sits within the recent Canelli DOCG. The vines are on average 70 years old, and yields kept to below 40 hl/ha, giving incredible concentration to the aromas of the wine. The nose builds in the glass over time, allowing you to enjoy each individual flavour as it comes. White pepper, sage, lemon verbena, orange blossom, jasmine, grape, and mineral salinity that lifts the 140g/l residual sugar to still give a fresh, light finish.
Vite Vecchia 2018
The second single vineyard Moscato, made by ageing the wines buried in Belbo sand and at constant low temperatures. Moscato is an aromatic grape anyway, but I could almost smell these aromas out of the bottle, let alone the glass in front of me as it was poured. A pale golden colour betrays the ageing of the wine, as do the manuka honey and nectar notes, with candied orange peel, passion fruit, honeydew melon and varietal saline, sage, and verbena. Super long finish, still plenty fresh and could age in bottle for another 5-10 years. A really special wine.
For more information
For more information on the wines of Ca D’Gal, or to arrange a visit to the properties, please contact Alessandro Varagnolo directly on the email: a.varagnolo@cadgal.com
Mike Turner is a freelance wine writer, presenter and educator, and regular contributor for The Buyer.
