Why it matters
The producer
In the Monferrato hills of Asti province, the cooperative known as Cantina Sociale di Casorzo exists because more than 200 small farmers decided, in 1951, that their vineyards were worth more together than apart. Post-war rural exodus was emptying the countryside around the village of Casorzo, and the grape at the centre of local winemaking, Malvasia Nera, had no commercial future unless someone could press, bottle, and sell it at scale. The farmers formed a coalition, mortgaged their homes and land to fund equipment and a shared cellar, and waited three years for the first harvest.
That wager held. Today the cooperative works around 200 hectares across ten appellations, produces roughly 15,000 hectoliters per year, and bottles approximately 450,000 units. It controls the vast majority of all Malvasia di Casorzo d'Asti DOC production anywhere. Without this cooperative, the appellation would be, in practical terms, an archive entry rather than a wine you can buy.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
Casorzo is a small village in the Monferrato, the broad hilly zone that runs through the central and eastern part of Piemonte between the Langhe to the south and the Casale hills to the north. This is Asti province, not Barolo or Barbaresco territory of Cuneo province to the southwest. The hills here are gentler, the soils looser, and the climate warm enough in late summer for aromatic grapes to ripen fully while holding useful acidity.
Malvasia di Casorzo d'Asti is a DOC appellation covering a cluster of communes around Casorzo, Grazzano Badoglio, and a handful of neighboring villages. The appellation requires Malvasia Nera as the primary grape, and the rules mandate a naturally sweet, lightly sparkling style. Low alcohol, typically around 5 to 6 percent, follows from the way the fermentation is stopped before all the sugar converts. The wine is sweet and lightly sparkling, between a dessert wine and a festive red rather than in either camp cleanly.
In the cellar
Vineyards and cellar
The cooperative draws from approximately 200 hectares of member vineyards across the appellation communes. Malvasia Nera is grown on hillside parcels where the combination of warmth and adequate acidity allows the grape to reach full aromatic ripeness, the condition that produces the pronounced rose and red-fruit nose the appellation is known for. The cooperative meets IPQ quality compliance standards.
Wines to know
The range in view
The range centers on Malvasia di Casorzo d'Asti DOC, a lightly sparkling sweet red from Malvasia Nera. Within this appellation the cooperative produces at least two tiers. The standard Malvasia di Casorzo is ruby to cherry in color, frothy, rose-petal and red-fruit on the nose, sweet on the palate with balanced acidity, and closes with a lingering fruity finish. Alcohol sits at low levels consistent with the appellation style.
Rosa d'Amore Dolce is the premium tier. Sourced from hand-selected grapes, it is ruby-red and distinctly frothy in the glass. The fragrance is more pronounced, with a clear rosy character over strawberry and cherry fruit. The palate is sweet and aromatic at 5.5 percent alcohol. It is sold in a presentation box, positioned as a gift wine, and bottled in limited quantities above the standard range.
A useful way in
A bottle to begin with
Rosa d'Amore Dolce is the right first bottle. At 5.5 percent alcohol it is light enough to pour freely, and the frothy ruby appearance in the glass makes the wine's character immediately legible: this is not a conventional red, not a dessert wine in the classic sense, but something between the two that the Monferrato hills have produced for generations. The nose is rose-petal and sweet cherry, the palate is sweet with enough acidity to stay fresh, and the finish is aromatic and fruiting. Start here to understand both the Malvasia Nera grape and what the cooperative built around it.