VINEYARDS |
QUILA manages several vineyards: some for its own needs and some for other agricultural companies. The own vineyards are two: one in the Langhe, on the steep hills of Cossano Belbo (map), province of Cuneo, total area of 1,22 ha (2.3 acres) and a smaller one Roero on the even steeper hills of Guarene, total area of 0,43 ha (1.0 acre). The other vineyards are spread between Langhe and Monferrato (Cossano Belbo, Canelli and Calamandrana).
The estate in Cossano Belbo has also around 40 old olive trees and 60 young ones planted along the main road that crosses the lands and on the borders of the property. The young trees have been planted in 2021. Apart from these two pieces of land QUILA manages 1,5 ha of wild forest and also owns a tiny chunk of land (51 sq.m. / 550 sq.f.) just on the brim of the forest that covers Bric Bissarello, the highest point of “our” hill in Cossano Belbo, that gives the name to our top red wine.
QUILA’s vineyard and olive orchard in Cossano are certified organic since 2023 and certified steep slope viticulture since 2022, while the Roero vineyard will complete its bio-conversion in 2026. No chemical herbicides have been used on the property in Cossano for years even before the conversion.
Initially, the major part of the Cossano vineyard was planted with Muscat and only less than 10% of the total area was under red varietals, such as Nebbiolo and Dolcetto. In 2021 a huge restructuring plan was launched and now the vineyards look like this:
Cossano Belbo, subregion Madonna della Rovere, 350 – 420 m (1150 – 1400 ft) a.s.l.:
Guarene, Roero DOCG, 300-350 m (1000 – 1150 ft) a.s.l.:
The vineyard in Cossano also comprises a triangular form parcel called “The Collection” where some of the previous owners have planted several “not listed” varieties, such as Zibibbo, Freisa, Barbera, Malvasia di Casorzo, Uvalino, Brunetta di Rivoli, Bonarda Piemontese, Barbarossa Piemontese & Tenjurìn ad acino rotondo . We are performing a small-scale scientific research, especially on the rare varieties. In 2022 a small piece of land that hasn’t been used for vineyard for many years was replanted with Uvalino, sourced from The Collection. In the same plot 10 Oinotrons (an ancient Greek vineyard architecture in the form of a pyramid with 4 vines in the angles) with Moretto were installed in 2023.
Rare and experimental varieties are being planted too in the vineyards that QUILA manages for other wineries. In Canelli, for example, Baratuciat and Bianver (both white) were planted along with some new clones of Barbera and Freisa. In Cossano Grignolino and Chardonnay were planted, the latter looking forward to becoming Alta Langa DOCG when the denomination opens again for new inscriptions. Various clones of Nebbiolo were also planted (see next page). In Calamandrana we plan to work with Nebbiolo, Timorasso and Pelaverga:
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