The past

The cellars of the “Castello di Verduno” have a long story to tell… It’s the story of a wine. At the start of the XVI century, the Cerrato family starts building work on the Castle. In the 1631 Verduno passes under the jurisdiction of the House of Savoy whit the Treaty of Cherasco Later the new owner Carlo Luigi Caisotti has part of the castle rebuilt from a design by Juvarra. In 1838 King Carlo Alberto of Savoy purchases the Castle of Verduno and entrusts the management of his estate and wine cellar to the famous enologist General Carlo Staglieno. Here, following the method suggested by Giulia Falletti Colbert, the ‘Oenotechnician General’ made the first vinifications of the nebbiolo grape, laying the bases for modern Barolo. The Bianco’s family has long owned and cultivated the vine in Barbaresco, but it was by Battista Bianco at the end of 1800 the decision to start making wine from their grapes to produce wine and sell it. Franco Bianco and Gabriella Burlotto created a combination between the two most precious oenological jewels in the Langa district of Piedmont: Barolo and Barbaresco, with a marriage that has created a unique case in the history of the two wines.

The present

After 15 years spent in Eritrea, in 1950 Commendatore Giovanni Battista Burlotto returned home to Verduno and he decided to create a restaurant with accommodation facilities. After painstaking restoration work, in 1953 he welcomed the first 15 guests to the castle. The following year, the number had increased to 20 … Today, the Commendatore’s three daughters and their respective families passionately dedicate their time to the castle, now a hotel-restaurant, wine cellar and holiday farm combined into one. There are two business centers, designed for different stages of production. In Barbaresco there is the winemaking cellar where the six wines with denomination of origin are born and mature: Barbaresco, Barolo, Barbera d’Alba, Dolcetto d’Alba, Langhe Nebbiolo and Verduno Pelaverga. A Verduno there is the bottling and the wines are refined in the centuries-old cellars of the castle until the magical moment of meeting with the table. From the pomace of Nebbiolo and Pelaverga, distilled separately from the distillery of Barbaresco, born our grappa.

The philosophy

We seek to produce wine whose quality can be traced to the traditional vine-growing land of which we are a part. Today Castello di Verduno produces the most precious oenological jewels in the Langa district of Piedmont: Barolo, Barbaresco and Verduno, a rare oenological pearl produced from the grapes “Pelaverga piccolo” varietal. Convinced of its potential, they was the first to plant a whole vineyard with its grapes in 1972. The vines are attended to with loving care under Franco’s vigilant, expert eye. Every vine is followed, from pruning to harvesting. The methods we at the Castello diz Verduno use to make our wine, especially Barolo and Barbaresco, may be defined as ‘traditional’, meaning fermentation in open barrels and long ageing in large oak casks. The production process is monitored with great care and passion by our young oenologist Mario Andron who, following Franco’s precious advice, has introduced new knowhow, supplementing consolidated local techniques with small but significant innovations. Bound by shared values, Franco, Gabriella and the daughters Marcella and Giovanna, with all their collaborators, adopt a ‘hands-off’ approach, tending the fruit slowly, patiently and painstakingly.