What happens when a group of professional bartenders who come together to share courses, experiences and passion meet a leading winery? We found out on Monday, September 8, when, together with the Gaudenti del Lunedì, we visited the headquarters of Gancia, in Canelli.
We would like to anticipate this at the beginning: the success of the day is due not only to the quality of the company that hosted us but above all to the people who are part of it and guided us to discover their world.
The visit started from what are called the 'Cathedrals Metodo Classico,' the old underground cellars, which immediately gave us a taste of authenticity, smelling of humidity and the scent of wine, as in the cellars where grandparents kept hand-bottled wine and in the summer we would take refuge and seek coolness. Perhaps the most important thing to say is that these very 'Cathedrals' became part of the Unesco heritage list just a few months ago. So we could stop and let it be understood that if a company receives this honor it does not need much explanation, but in fact there is still much more to say about what we saw. After the basements, we in fact went on to observe the crushing, the complete process from when the grapes arrive by tractor at the winery to when they are poured into large vats of 4,000 kilos each and then pressed, with processes that are now fully automated, to meet the important demands of the market.
Passing then through the rooms that house the silos where the must is placed before yeasts and sugars are added, we can taste it, before and after this process, while the Charmat method of wine making is explained to us.
Leading the way are, of course, the Muscat, but also the Pinots: white gray and black.
Along the way, some photos and period films make us perceive the change that has taken place over the years, but only in the form, in the mechanized method of work: if for the Metodo Classico in fact the bottles were turned one by one, now the pallet-turner does it automatically, at regular intervals.
The product, however, is authentic, true, and qualified, as can be seen in the last room, the one of the memorabilia, the mementos, the awards obtained over the centuries: from the certificates of the universal expositions to the recognition of Gancia Spumante as the first of the Italian ones, thanks to the use of Champenoise imported directly from France.
Our visit does not end, however, after the tour of the cellars and the focus on the machinery, but continues with a tasting of no less than six wines, plus a bitter, accompanied by the careful explanations of the company's winemaker who takes care to explain the differences between the grapes, the processes and the tasting, starting with the sense of smell.
At the end of the tasting, after some appetizers, we head to the harvesting center, where we find an additional press, the one used only for crushing Moscato grapes.
Touch and go, before setting off again to reach the vineyards of one of the largest harvesters in the area, who owns a good 10 hectares of land. With expertise and patience, he guides us among the vines talking about the annual harvest, the treatment of the plants, and recalling better and worse vintages.
To end the day we are allowed to enjoy the Asti sunset in the rustic farmhouse, where we are treated to a hearty snack of natural and home-made products, with a visit to the small museum inside the house where the tools that were used in the past for harvesting and crushing are preserved.
What did we learn from this day? Not only that there are grapes and grapes and that behind a great brand there is a great work, but also and above all that it is a work that starts from the land and from the men, and those who have learned to invest in it have grown and obtained the results they deserve.
