I first met Sandro Barossi and his wife in 2013 when I stayed at their beautiful and painstakingly restored 18th century farmhouse surrounded by the vineyards, tucked in the hills of picturesue Dogliana, a corner of Piedmont renowned for the quality of its dolcetto grapes. I always recalled Cascina Corte's wines as bright and charming, and was thrilled when, years later, I was able to introduce Gonzalo to Sandro and we jointly agreed that Cascina Corte's wines were every bit as delicious as I had remembered them. When Sandro left a long career at Slow Food to pursue winemaking, he brought with him a deep commitment to organic and thoughtful agriculture that enriches and respects the land. Sandro looks to maintain the health of the vines with entirely organic solutions, using only verdigris and quarry sulfur. No manure is used on the vines, and never chemical fertilisers. In Sandro's words: "We do not claim ourselves to be organic fundamentalists, but we take inspiration from certain principles of biodynamic agriculture, and organic farming. At the centre of our attention is the fertility of the land, which we nurture through the introduction of Green manure." Amen.

The vineyards are located in the hills of San Luigi, one of the premier areas for production of Dogliani DOCG. The name Dogliani is held to be a mutation of Dolium Jani, meaning 'the wine jar of Janus'. This follows a legend that the Roman god Janus visited the town to try its wines, stored in those days in earthenware dolia (wine jars). The vineyards date back to the late 40's, and produce about 45-50 quintals per hectare. The lion's share of the vineyards are dedicated to the dolcetto grape, with the balance representing barbera.