Why it matters
The producer
Stefano Farina started as an innkeeper who grew more interested in the wine he poured than the food he served. In 1939, with Europe tilting toward war, he registered a bottling and marketing company under his own name and opened a winery in Piemonte. That decision, made by a hospitality worker with no winemaking lineage, became a three-generation family business now running five estates across Piedmont, Tuscany and Puglia.
The Piedmontese core divides between two addresses. Tenuta San Quirico, acquired in 1995 in Diano d'Alba, handles the estate's Dolcetto and Barbera work alongside Nebbiolo-based appellations, Gavi, Moscato d'Asti and Arneis. Cascina La Traversa, established in 1975 inside the Barolo zone, supplies the family's Nebbiolo for Barolo DOCG. Between these two Langhe estates, the range covers the breadth of everyday and serious Piedmontese wine within a single producer.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
Diano d'Alba is a comune in the Langhe hills, southeast of the town of Alba. Its ridgelines run at a constant 500 metres and face southwest, which gives Dolcetto and Barbera long afternoon sun and good ventilation. The Dolcetto di Diano d'Alba DOCG applies specifically to this elevated ridge zone, separate from the broader Dolcetto d'Alba DOC that covers lower ground. That distinction matters on the label: Diano d'Alba DOCG indicates higher-elevation fruit from a more tightly defined growing area.
Cascina La Traversa sits within the Barolo DOCG, the larger zone to the southwest of Alba where Nebbiolo is the only permitted red grape. Barolo has a minimum ageing requirement of 38 months, including at least 18 in oak, which shapes the weight and tannic profile of every bottle that carries the name. Farina ages its Barolo in Slavonian oak casks rather than French barriques, a choice that tends toward slower tannin integration and a drier, more traditional wine character.
In the cellar
Vineyards and cellar
At San Quirico, the southwest-facing ridge position at 500 metres gives Dolcetto and Barbera consistent afternoon light through the growing season. Dolcetto, which ripens earlier than Nebbiolo and Barbera, benefits from the elevated position: the cooler ridge nights slow sugar accumulation and help preserve the grape's natural acidity and dark fruit character.
At Cascina La Traversa, Barolo ages in Slavonian oak casks. Slavonian oak is larger-grained and less aromatic than French oak, which means it imparts less vanilla and spice character and allows Nebbiolo's tannins to soften over time without masking the grape's naturally high acidity and floral aromatic profile.
Wines to know
The range in view
The San Quirico range from Diano d'Alba covers the full spread of Piedmontese appellations. Dolcetto di Diano d'Alba DOCG is the home-ground red: dark in colour, with low acidity, firm dry tannins and a characteristic bitter finish that Dolcetto always carries. Barbera d'Alba DOC runs alongside it on the same hillsides; Barbera has notably higher acidity than Dolcetto and a fleshier, plum-forward palate.
Nebbiolo appears in three labels from the San Quirico network. Barbaresco DOCG is Nebbiolo from the zone northeast of Alba, typically more floral and approachable in its early years than Barolo. Nebbiolo d'Alba DOC covers lighter Nebbiolo grown outside the major DOCG zones; it gives the grape's red cherry, rose and firm tannin character in a format that drinks earlier. Le Brume Langhe Rosso DOC blends Nebbiolo and Barbera; the current specification is 60% Nebbiolo and 40% Barbera, though the 2009 vintage reviewed independently used a three-grape formula of 40% Barbera, 40% Nebbiolo and 20% Merlot.
A useful way in
A bottle to begin with
Le Brume Langhe Rosso is the right first bottle. It is a Nebbiolo-dominant blend, currently 60% Nebbiolo and 40% Barbera, produced from San Quirico's Diano d'Alba vineyards and sold under the Langhe Rosso DOC. It costs less than the Barolo and carries no DOCG ageing requirement, so it reaches the market at a more accessible point in its development.