GG_N43_COMPLET_ITA-WEB

ITALY
– DISCOVERY –
MARENCO VINI
The company was founded in 1925 by Michele Marenco,
whose dream was to make wine using grapes from his
vineyard in the heart of the Bagnario di Strevi Valley, a land
with an excellent wine-growing tradition. Giuseppe, his
son, started the company’s evolution process by gradually
buying the best land in Monferrato. In 1956 he built the
winery in the centre of Borgo Alto di Strevi to get closer to
the train station from where he could ship the wine to his
customers. Today, Giuseppe’s three daughters, Michela,
with her husband Giovanni Costa the company’s manager,
Doretta and Patrizia, are carrying on the family dream.
Andrea Costa, the eldest son of Michela and Giovanni,
joined the company in 2014 and tells me about Strevi’s
historical connections to the production of Moscato, so
much so that it is specified in the production regulations as
a particularly traditional and favourable sub-area.
“Our cellar and a large part of our vineyards have been
in Strevi since 1925. We still have the old Dutch jute
sacks used for filtering Moscato until the 1970s in our
cellar. We are one of the Piedmont companies known as
‘Moscatiste’ that produce Moscato entirely from their own
grapes. The fact that we currently have a range of 6 different
wines produced from 100% Moscato Bianco shows how
important Moscato is for us”.
Marenco produces several Moscato d’Asti ‘crus’, such as
Scrapona and the related raisin-based wine, Strevi DOC.
The company carries out in-depth studies into how Moscato
vines produce their precious aroma, to safeguard them from
climate change. The Strevi area is located south-east of the
Moscato d’Asti production area. It is an early-ripening area
as it is slightly warmer than the other suitable areas. The
Ligurian Apennines are less than 10 km away and ensure
the wine region’s natural climate control. The sandy soils
are rich in limestone, preserving good acidity even in
the very hot summers of late. The resulting wine is more
delicate in its aromas with a full mouthfeel, thanks to high
sugar content, that is always balanced by good minerality
and acidity.
Some of Marenco’s vineyards located in the Strevi area, south-east of the
Moscato d’Asti production area
The Moscato vineyards belonging to Marenco, in the Bagnario di Strevi
Valley, covered with snow
SPRING 2021 GILBERT & GAILLARD - THE FRENCH EXPERTS ON WINE 89