Estate
The territory
Biodiversity at the center
The estate extends for 826 hectares, of which 102 are vineyards, almost completely covering the municipality of Rocca de’ Giorgi. The generational changes have never put in question the biodiversity, so much so that the company boasts large areas used as woods and rich wildlife areas.
The property guarantees and has guaranteed in these decades a rich biodiversity through a non-excessive exploitation of what nature provides. At Rocca De Giorgi, however, biodiversity is intrinsic to the very conformation of the land, which is hilly, around 250-300 meters above sea level, a third of which (around 300 hectares) is covered in woodland, the true lung of this estate. A unicum in its territory with a perfect alternation of woodlands, vineyards and arable land where it was decided not to practice an intensive agriculture, but rather an extensive one, more respectful and sustainable, with a practically zero use of chemical fertilizers and reduced tillage.
Very careful management
For us it is very important to ensure the correct relationship between the economic use of the resource and the protection of the landscape and the natural heritage that allows the proliferation of a rich fauna (roe deer, wild boar, fallow deer, wolves, pheasants and hares). This is a sign of a rich and protected biodiversity. Even in the design of the winery it was decided to act in the sign of respect for the territory by choosing to enhance an old existing agricultural structure and adapt to its spaces the production process rather than build a new building. From an energetic point of view, the building has been deliberately left without air conditioning systems and, as a sign of environmental sensitivity, meteoric waters are entirely recovered with a circuit of intelligent gutters which give water into a large tank from where it is used to irrigate or clean the external areas of the winery.
Pinot Noir is the protagonist
Today at Rocca de’ Giorgi, the hectares planted with Pinot Noir are 65. The Conte Vistarino winery, as well as fundamentally contributing to the spread of Pinot Noir in Italy, was also the first in our country to make wine according to the classic method in 1865.
Oltrepò means Pinot Noir
Since the end of the 1800s, Oltrepò has been synonymous with Pinot Noir both for the greater extension of the vineyards in Italy intended for the French grape variety, and for the recognized superior vocation, among others, of the Rocca de’ Giorgi area in the Scuropasso Valley.
With more than 3,000 hectares of vineyards, it is the third area in the world, after Burgundy and Champagne, for this multifaceted and difficult but extremely elegant vine.
The phenolic maturation is perfect: good alcoholic balance and great structure allow to obtain a strong territorial identity.
The winery
Heirs of a tradition
Completely renovated in 2017, the winery honors the legacy of Count Augusto, whose pioneering spirit forever transformed the Oltrepò Pavese landscape and laid the foundations for a new Italian wine history.
The modern winery, the wine shop and the tasting room of Rocca de’ Giorgio offers its guests a unique experience in the scene of Italian Pinot Noir. A place where art and history meet each other, where design and architecture alternate harmoniously with the refined and noble style of the historic residence Villa Fornace.
The tasting room
The elegance of anthracite gray and the austerity of steel create a very strong visual contrast with the materiality of the wood of the barriques, all rigorously purchased from the best French producers: the Conte Vistarino winery is a space where modernity continually confronts itself with the heritage.
A state-of-the-art winery
In 2017 a new path officially began, a project started in 2016 and established by the realization of the new and modern winery next to Villa Fornace.
Thanks to state-of-the-art equipment, here we process the whole grapes exclusively by gravity, both for red and white vinification, as well as for the sparkling wine bases.
Since 1700
Villa Fornace
A unique architectural example in the area for the richness of its interiors and the magnificent English garden that surrounds it. The original structure of the 1700s was built on the foundations of an ancient kiln (fornace).
Dive into the Belle Époque
The internal rooms of Villa Fornace have perfectly preserved furnishings, vaults decorated with original stuccoes and floors. The double-height main hall is majestic, with a stone balustrade and splendid decorated ceiling.
The winter garden and the Orangerie
The winter garden inside Villa Fornace, used as a theater during the war, then as a games room, still retains interesting grillage with architectural motifs and false perspectives.
The orangeries, commissioned by Countess Anna Giorgio Vilmercati di Vistarino at the beginning of last century to shelter citrus trees in winter, instead overlooks the park from the Villa.
Villa Winter garden Orangerie
Villa Winter garden Orangerie
Villa Winter garden Orangerie
The museum
Three centuries of stories
The Conte Vistarino Museum traces 300 years of history which have market the winemaking destiny of the Oltrepò Pavese: from the notebooks of feudalism to the poetry of the art historian Carlo Pedretti donated to Countess Lavinia Giorgi di Vistarino, passing through the correspondence with Cavour and King Vittorio Emanuele III.
A full-immersion story in a family tradition that, over the centuries, has been able to keep intact its drive towards research and self-improvement.
Gala and job at court
The two souls of the Estate, the rural and the master one, coexist within the museum as a memory of the relationships that founded the family. On the one hand, in fact, the collection of the vintage ceremonial dress and, on the other hand, the ethnographic collection of agricultural equipment, naturally coexist.
The Wineshop
The wineshop of Pinot Noir
A place that is a mandatory crossing point, where – sitting in front of the Estate and next to the modern winery – you can admire the passing of the seasons, tasting and buying Conte Vistarino wines in a cosy and informal environment.
In the vault of the Conte Vistarino wineshop there are some precious vintage bottles, available for sale, to bring home a piece of the Oltrepò Pavese history.
The aperitif, beyond Pinot Noir
At the Conte Vistarino wineshop, wine and food enhance each other: the tastings of the wines that make the winery famous are in fact accompanied by local products researched and personally selected by Ottavia.
