Organic: a way of life
Cocconato is an Italian small village located in Monferrato area in Piedmont region, at the top of one of the highest hills of the zone: “A window always open to the sun”.
Here the slopes are steep. For this reason, for a long time vineyards were not cultivated; but, from their side, Cecilia Zucca and her Family never stopped their activities in the last years, always following organic production either in wines, either in typical food from Monferrato: they created with their efforts Poggio Ridente company.
And Poggio Ridente is the name of the vineyard where Cecilia produces some red grapes like Barbera and Albarossa. It is a particular micro-zone, where the climate is uncommon for Piedmont region: temperature is warm almost all the year and it is called the “Monferrato seaside” (even if the sea is more than 150 kms far from there!).
Cecilia’s winery Poggio Ridente counts twenty hectares; from these, nine are wine cultivated, surrounded by woodlands and hedgerows at more than 450 meters above the sea level.
Due to the Owner culture, the production is Organic but it is day by day oriented to become biodynamic, following all natural proceedings.
Cecilia says“ This is a matter of discussion between my husband Luigi, our agronomist and me. Going to biodynamic production is a further occasion to offer an alternative to massive productions, providing fascinating wines which are expression of the soil where they were born”.
Cecilia believes in quality-life idea and she conducts her company with the same concept, discovering old grape varieties like is Bussanello white: it is a combination in the plant between Furmint and Riesling grapes made by Italian Professor Dalmasso during last century. For this wine, Cecilia’s production (grapes come from a Vineyard close to Cocconato and are mixed with Viognier and Riesling) is fully biodynamic.
Last protagonist of Poggio Ridente organic production is the red Ruchè di Castagnole Monferrato, which is grown through collaboration with organic partner winery located in the village of Viarigi, not far from Cocconato.
All the Poggio Ridente Organic and biodynamic production is certified by ICEA (Italian Institute for Ethic and Environmental Certification; accredited IFOAM). But, even more important, is Cecilia thought: that consumer protection requires the right and the duty to indicate always the origin of the winemaker and the natural raw materials, their types, methods of processing, preserving and packaging used; as Cecilia says: “The quality of a product becomes an expression not of formal rules, but the quality of life and the environment in which I personally aspire to. »
