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The
Barolo wine from Bra(1800- 1900)
From
an article by Lorenzo Tablino
In the 19th century Bra was the main production centre of Barolo.
It was not a coincidence that in Vienna during the 1873 International
Exhibition , the Barolo from the Bra-based Fissore Winery wins
the Gold Medal . But, according to what is written in a 1875
“ Guide of Bra and surroundings”, in the small town
there are other thriving wineries : Manissero, Boglione, Bonardi,
Ternavasio.
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05 Feb 2012
www.ascherivini.it
All rights reserved
Created
by BLULAB.NET
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The
Matteo Cav. Fissore & Son Winery,
founded in 1859 and located at 66, Via Vittorio Emanuele
II, soon became an important and prestigious Barolo label.
The winery used to buy grapes from the best vineyards
in the Langhe and used to produce the classic “Piedmontese”
reds, but in its list there were also Gavi, Brachetto
and Vermuth together with “Barolino Chinato”
and “Gran Vino Barolo”".
The winery closed down after three generations and today
its building is an ordinary condominium.
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Also
Manissero, a 19th century important grape
dealer, stopped his activity in the 20’s. The original
beautiful building with garden is now a private house.
The great wine-making tradition in Bra was continued only
by the Giacomo Ascheri Winery, the only
producer now left with a list including the best Piedmontese
wines.
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The
Ascheri Family has ancient origins: a “Ascherius”
is mentioned in the 1196 “Rigestum” of the
Town of Alba. In the 19th century the family lived in
La Morra and in 1880 Giacomo Ascheri
moved to 19, Via Piumati, in Bra, where he started producing
Barolo.
In 1960 the cellars were enlarged, redeveloped and moved
to a nearby place.
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In
1994 some of the old cellars were cleverly reutilised
by the Ascheri Family who opened the l’Osteria
Muri vecchi, an ideal meeting place where traditional
cuisine and local wines can be truly enjoyed and turned
into cultural, social and convivial experiences.
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In
Bra the “Del Russi” cellars, or better the
Giovanni Battista Ternavasio, are still
there. Ternavasio , a Napoleonic Army general who had
received a medal for the Russian Campaign, returned to
Bra where in 1820 he founded the Ternavasio Winery. He
bought a building from a religious order and turned it
into a cellar which remained open until 1917.
Nowadays it is a condominium.
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However,
he is still famous for the so-called “grotta
del Russi”, an imposing series of tunnels
under the cellars made for promotional purposes.I was
able to visit a part of the cave thanks to the kindness
of Matteo Ascheri – a local wine-maker. It was certainly
one of the most beautiful achievements in the oenological
field.
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Following
a French model -tunnels in the Champagne area– and
based on the design of architect Onofrio from Turin, the
cave was made up of a 20 metre-wide circular hall with
16 beautiful columns . Four 6-metre-high tunnels radiated
from here and ended up in 8-metre-wide round caves connected
by external circular tunnels.
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The cave could contain about 400,000 bottles in
holes made in the walls. Candelabra and lights lit up
the whole cave which was turned into an exceptional exhibition
space, a really unusual one for the times. Among the most
important visitors: tzar Nicholas II, King Vittorio Emanuele
III. After 1917, with the closing down of the Ternavasio
Winery, the cave fell into disuse, then it became a partisans’
shelter during World War II, a salt storehouse after the
war and suffered extensive damage in 1972 due to work
done to nearby buildings. |
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After
years of complete neglect, the cave is now about to collapse
and ,therefore, for safety reasons, closed to the public.
However, a great " Son et Lumière " show
against a background of 400,000 bottles of Barolo welcomed
the Italian Royal Family and the Tzar: it was the year
1904. |
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In this section of the site you will be able to find some reviews concerning the Ascheri Cellars and our Osteria Murivecchi.
These reviews
have appeared in the most important guides and magazines of the sector.)
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