Bava

The history of the Bava estate boasts more than ninety-five vintages and four generations that have followed one another in the management of the wine cellars and vineyards. It has been characterized by a continuous entrepreneurial, cultural and qualitative growth, step by step, in the typical Piedmont style. The family has owned their vineyards in the village of Cocconato since 1600. In 1911 the wine cellar was established, extending its vine properties in other villages of the Monferrato and Langhe areas.

Run by the three Bava brothers, Roberto, Guilio and Paulo, the winery's initiatives include the use of French barriques for ageing Barberas and the use of rare local Cortese grapes to produce Alteserre (Chardonnay/Cortese blend), the "Super-Piedmontese" white wine from Bava.

Bava is renowned for producing wines that owe more to the vineyard they originate from than the winemaking and maturation techniques employed. PianoAlto, whose inaugural vintage was in 1996, is produced from 15 hectares of 30-60 year old Barbera vines in the village of Agliano d'Asti. However, like the memorable Cocconato Stravecchio in the 1950s, it is the Stradivario that is the flagship wine of today, a serious wine from a classic family-owned vineyard, matured in French barriques.

Near their Cocconato base north of Asti the BAVA the fine, limestone rich vineyard Cadodo, planted with a mix of the indigenous and noble Nebbiolo, the supple Barbera and the more international Merlot, produces the Vigneti di Cadodo Monferrato DOC,  a fresh, modern style of wine.