Cascina delle Rose

The Rizzolio family bought the Cascina delle Rose property in 1948, farming it for decades primarily for personal consumption and selling fruit. Giovanna Rizzolio began living on the estate in the early 1980s and eventually purchased the property from extended family in 1992, the same year she bottled the first commercial vintage under the Cascina delle Rose label. That decision made her one of the very few women running her own winery in the Langhe at the time, and she built the estate's identity from scratch around small production, the specific terroirs of Rio Sordo and Tre Stelle, and a deliberately minimal-intervention approach. Her husband Italo Sobrino joined her in the project, and the estate grew into a cult favorite of importers and sommeliers who valued its scale and approach.

• 1948: Rizzolio family acquired the Cascina delle Rose property in Barbaresco; for decades it was farmed for fruit and personal consumption
• Early 1980s: Giovanna Rizzolio began living on the estate, having grown up with the family's connection to the land
• 1992: Giovanna purchased the property from extended family and bottled the first commercial vintage under the Cascina delle Rose label
• Italo Sobrino, Giovanna's husband, joined her as partner in the project; the estate also became the first licensed Agriturismo in the area

Giovanna Rizzolio's significance in Langhe history extends beyond the wines themselves. When she founded Cascina delle Rose in 1992, female ownership and winemaking control of a Piedmontese estate was extraordinarily rare, and she became one of a small handful of women running their own Langhe wineries in the era. The position carried weight beyond her own estate: she was a vocal advocate for the recognition of Tre Stelle as a separate MGA when the official Barbaresco crus were delimited in 2007, arguing that the parcel's distinct character warranted its own classification rather than absorption into the larger Rio Sordo cru. The campaign succeeded, and Tre Stelle today is one of Barbaresco's smallest and most distinctive officially delimited sites, with Cascina delle Rose among its primary champions.

• Among the very few women running their own Langhe wineries in the early 1990s, when family operations were almost universally male-led
• Vocal advocate for Tre Stelle's recognition as a separate MGA from Rio Sordo when official Barbaresco crus were delimited in 2007
• Cascina delle Rose is among the primary champions of the Tre Stelle cru and its distinct identity within Barbaresco
• Estate also notable as the first licensed Agriturismo in the area, predating broader Langhe wine tourism by years

Cascina delle Rose's vineyards sit on the crest where Rio Sordo meets Tre Stelle, in the Barbaresco commune itself. The total estate covers about 7.5 hectares, of which only 5.5 hectares are planted to vineyard; the remainder is forest, hazelnut groves typical of the Langhe, and a small olive planting that reflects the slightly warmer pockets of the lower Tanaro valley. The Rio Sordo parcels yield a Barbaresco of perfumed red fruit, mid-weight structure, and bright acidity; Tre Stelle, the higher and slightly cooler parcel, gives a more mineral, finer-tannin expression that reads almost like a different wine entirely. The estate is among the very few regularly bottling a single-vineyard Tre Stelle Barbaresco, making the side-by-side comparison with Rio Sordo a useful study in how the 2007 MGA classification corresponds to real differences in glass.

• Total estate ~7.5 ha; 5.5 ha vineyard plus forest, hazelnuts, and a small olive planting
• Vineyards on the crest where the Rio Sordo cru meets Tre Stelle, in the Barbaresco commune
• Rio Sordo: perfumed red fruit, mid-weight structure, bright acidity
• Tre Stelle: higher and slightly cooler, with finer tannins and a more mineral profile; among the very few single-Tre Stelle Barbarescos on the market

Cascina delle Rose's winemaking is deliberately quiet. Fermentations are spontaneous on indigenous yeasts, macerations are gentle and conducted in stainless steel rather than with high extraction, and aging takes place in large Slavonian oak casks with no use of barrique. Sulfur is used modestly. The estate's tagline, Vini secondo natura, captures the philosophy: not natural wine in the dogmatic sense, but a deliberate restraint that lets the Rio Sordo and Tre Stelle terroirs speak with minimal cellar shaping. The resulting Barbarescos are distinctly perfumed and mid-weight rather than dense, with the kind of aromatic clarity and digestibility that has earned the estate a devoted following among importers and sommeliers focused on lower-intervention Italian wine.

• Indigenous-yeast spontaneous fermentations; macerations in stainless steel rather than wood
• Aging in large Slavonian oak casks only; no barrique on any bottling
• Modest sulfur use and minimal-intervention philosophy summarized in the estate tagline 'Vini secondo natura'
• Stylistic identity emphasizes perfume, balance, and digestibility rather than concentration or extraction

In 2017, Giovanna and Italo formally passed the reins to their two sons, Davide Sobrino, born in 1987, and Riccardo Sobrino, born in 1992. The transition has been gradual and conservative, with no shift in the estate's small scale, vineyard sources, or minimal-intervention philosophy. Cascina delle Rose remains exactly the kind of small Langhe estate that has become rare in a region increasingly dominated by larger groups: family-owned, hand-farmed, and committed to a single small piece of Barbaresco. The Tre Stelle Barbaresco in particular has become a cult bottle among Italian-wine specialists for its rarity and its clear stylistic departure from the more typical Rio Sordo expression.

• 2017: Giovanna and Italo passed leadership to their sons Davide (born 1987) and Riccardo (born 1992) Sobrino
• Transition was gradual and conservative; no change in scale, vineyard sources, or winemaking philosophy
• Estate remains entirely family-owned and hand-farmed at small scale, increasingly rare in the modern Langhe
• Tre Stelle Barbaresco has become a cult bottling among Italian-wine specialists for its rarity and distinct style versus Rio Sordo