Cascina Guido Berta

Guido Berta learned the trade running someone else's cellar through the 1990s before turning to his family's own vines, and it shows in the wines: Barbera above all, off six hectares planted back in 1960 and 1988. The range climbs from a straightforward Barbera d'Asti through the Superiore up to the Nizza DOCG he calls Canto di Luna, with a Moscato d'Asti, a Chardonnay and a Pinot Nero besides. The vineyards run from the Saline slope at San Marzano over to Agliano Terme and Nizza Monferrato.

The old underground cellar is where a visit happens — cool, still, the kind of room Guido treats as somewhere to think. Tastings run in Italian and English, and the estate keeps proper hours: through the week and, unusually for these parts, weekends too, though a call ahead never hurts.