Azienda Agricola Fidanza

The Fidanza family has grown grapes in Calosso for five generations. The first on record is Carlo Fidanza, who already owned vines and a small stable here in the early 1800s. The family moved to the Rodotiglia hill north-east of the village in 1968, and Fabio Fidanza has run the farm since 1994. There are 12 hectares, nine of them vineyard on clay, with old Barbera and Moscato vines plus Dolcetto and Nebbiolo. Sprays are kept to a minimum, mostly copper and sulphur, and the rows are grassed, green-manured and fed with organic fertiliser. The wines ferment in concrete vats and age in oak casks and barriques, in a cellar cut into the tufa. The range is short: a Barbera d'Asti, the Barbera d'Asti Superiore 'Sterlino', which is their best-rated wine on Vivino, a Monferrato Rosso called 'Que Duàn', a Dolcetto and a Moscato d'Asti.

This is a quiet family farm, not a tourist cellar. The website talks about ending a walk through the vines with a glass on the terrace, but it doesn't advertise visiting hours or a tasting programme, so phone Fabio before you go. The easiest place to try the wines is the Fiera del Rapulé in October, where Fidanza pours in the Crotin 'd Gonda.