Winery Overview
Alasia wines are made by Araldica, Piemonte’s largest and most progressive cooperative which maintains a small, family-run culture thanks to its lead winemaker and manager, Claudio Manera. Claudio’s father was Araldica’s very first winemaker back in the fifties, and Caludio’s wife Lella is also a winemaker and the head of quality control at the co-op. Claudio and Lella ensure 80% of production is bottled at the company’s headquarters in the Monferrato hills (a high percentage for a large cooperative). This location is home to the old cellars and a new winery which opened in 2000. The building is complimented by two estates, each with its own vinification cellars: La Battistina in Gavi (where Araldica is the region’s largest vineyard owner) and Il Cascinone. There are currently 140 growers across 2,223 acres/900 acres in Piedmont contributing to the wines of Araldica. The Alasia wines are the top cuvees, chosen from some of the best vineyards around the Asti area of Piemonte and produced by Araldica. The initial grape selection is carried out by the associated growers who dedicate their best parcels to the Alasia premium line. In the cellar, a further selection is carried out, according to the growing year, to maintain the varietal characteristics of each cultivar. Grapes are harvested from old vines, and harvest is carried out in two phases to select the grapes that have reached an optimal stage of ripening. Alasia is a name that evokes the history of the Monferrato and the love nurtured by Araldica for the hills of Piedmont, its history and legends. The name Alasia is a nod to a historical figure of the region: the daughter of an ancient emperor who fell in love with a knight and ran away with him to live in the area that is now Asti.