Why it matters
The producer
Azienda Agricola Giuseppe Bocchino is a family estate in Canelli, a hill town in the southern Asti province of Piemonte, within walking distance of the Moscato d'Asti vineyards that anchor the range. The family has been making wine since the mid-nineteenth century. The modern estate took its settled form in the 1930s under Aurelio and Luigia Bocchino, and the property has passed through the family ever since, farming around 12 hectares across Canelli, Moasca, and Corneliano d'Alba.
The range is built around Moscato and Barbera, the two grapes that give this part of southern Piemonte its character, with Nebbiolo from Corneliano d'Alba and a dry Cortese completing the portfolio. The estate's approach to growing is direct: no herbicides, minimal sulfite additions, and a production principle the family states plainly: from bad grapes you can make only bad wine, from good grapes you can make both good wine and bad wine. The logic runs in one direction, always back to the vineyard.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
Canelli sits in the southern Asti province where the Belbo river valley opens into a landscape of rounded hills covered in Moscato Bianco. The town holds a particular position in the Moscato d'Asti DOCG: Canelli is one of only three geographic sub-zones, alongside Santo Stefano Belbo and Strevi, that can add the name Canelli to the DOCG label. That distinction on the label signals hillside Moscato grown in the designated Canelli area, a zone with a reputation for aromatic depth and enough natural acidity to carry the wine's sweetness without making it heavy.
The estate also holds land in Moasca, a commune east of Canelli, and in Corneliano d'Alba, a village north of Asti in the Roero district bordering the Tanaro river. Corneliano sits outside the Moscato belt and supplies the estate's Nebbiolo, grown in conditions closer to the Langhe than to the sweet-wine heartland of southern Asti.
In the cellar
Vineyards and cellar
The estate farms without herbicides and uses minimal sulfite additions throughout production. Herbicide-free farming on sloped calcareous clay requires more mechanical and manual work to manage soil competition, and the discipline flows from the family's stated belief that wine quality is determined in the vineyard before it can be determined anywhere else.
For Re d'Autunno, the cellar method is the vineyard method: the oldest Moscato vines in Sant'Antonio di Canelli must dry on the vine before harvest. Passito production of this kind concentrates sugars and aromatic compounds progressively through dehydration, producing a different sensory register from artificially dried or botrytis-affected grapes. When conditions are right, the grapes dry slowly over weeks of mild autumn air. When rain or stagnant conditions arrive, the family passes on the vintage entirely rather than picking at the wrong moment.
Wines to know
The range in view
The range divides clearly into two groups: Moscato-based whites and a Barbera-led red tier.
Sorì dei Fiori Moscato d'Asti DOCG Canelli is the estate's central white, made from Moscato Bianco on south-facing Canelli slopes. It is low in alcohol, lightly sparkling in the frizzante style, floral and sweet, with high natural acidity that keeps the sweetness from settling heavily on the palate. Peach blossom, apricot, and orange blossom are the aromas; the mousse is gentle; the finish is clean and bright.
A useful way in
A bottle to begin with
Start with the Sorì dei Fiori Moscato d'Asti DOCG Canelli. It is low in alcohol, gently sparkling, floral, and sweet, made from Moscato Bianco on south-facing slopes in Canelli, one of three DOCG-recognised sub-zones in the Moscato d'Asti appellation. The grape grows on calcareous soils that give it bright natural acidity, and that acidity is what makes the wine work: the sweetness is real but it never becomes dense or cloying. White peach and orange blossom come first; a soft mousse carries the wine across the palate; the finish is clean and short.