The Antoniottis have been making wine in Casa del Bosco, in the municipality of Sostegno (province of Vercelli), since around 1860 — seven generations. Today, Odilio and his son Mattia run the business, with the same stubbornness as their ancestors. Odilio bottled his first wine in 1970.
There are about 5–6 hectares dedicated to two of Italy's smallest DOCs: Bramaterra and Coste della Sesia. To give you an idea, Bramaterra has only a handful of producers — the vineyards are reached by a steep, 4x4 trail. The historic vineyard is the Martinazzi cru, with vines about 40 years old, on a volcanic porphyry soil. In the vineyard, a natural approach: only copper and sulfur.
A detail almost no one knows: in the 19th century, many of Italy's most celebrated Nebbiolos came from here, from Alto Piemonte — not from Barolo or Barbaresco. Phylloxera, wars, and industrialization took everything away, and the forest swallowed entire vineyards. Bramaterra was the “vino dei Canonici,” the favorite of the Vercelli clergy. A piece of history that was almost lost.
