Two centuries of wine-making tradition
The Villa Giada winery was founded in the early 18th century and over the years it has grown on the historic Ceirole hills near Canelli, Piedmont, an area traditionally used for growing Moscato vines.
The oldest part of the cellar dates back to 1790 and is typical of a traditional Piedmont farm. As with many other farms in the region, the growing of grapes was, at the time, an integral part of the economy which was based entirely on agriculture. In time, the owners invested in native vines and began to produce their own wines, recognising the untapped potential of this land. It proved to be a very shrewd move.
The first bottles were produced in 1934 and at the start of the 1940s the farm was expanded to produce Moscato d’Asti, a wine which required a considerable technological effort to make. This distinctive wine, sweet and aromatic thanks to the variety of grapes which grow best on the Ceirole hills, began to grow in popularity at the end of the 19th century, at the same time as the introduction of Piedmont sparkling wines.
In the 1970s, our production shifted to focussing on bottling and selling of wines produced using grapes grown on the estate. The modern winery was born and new plots of land were purchased.
Meanwhile in Piedmont, the traditional wines were gaining a reputation and the areas most suitable for producing Barbera were being defined. These days, MGA (additional geographic references) and terroir are the common denominators for anyone looking to produce high quality wines. At Villa Giada, a project was launched to improve the grape varieties: the ideal aspect for the vines on the hills at Agliano Terme and the surrounding villages and meticulous work in the vineyard and the cellars have produced outstanding results. This work led, at the dawn of the new millennium, to the recognition of the area where Nizza DOCG is produced, an area including 18 villages in the province of Asti around Nizza Monferrato, a just reward for this finest version of the Barbera grape in its homeland.
