Braida

Rocchetta Tanaro · Asti (AT)

← Piemonte

Established

1961

Giacomo Bologna

Yearly production

700,000 bottles/yr

Estate total

Location

Rocchetta Tanaro, Piedmont

Asti (AT)

Vineyard area

70 ha

Estate total, approximate

Appellations

Barbera d'Asti DOCGMonferrato DOC

History

Giacomo Bologna was born in Rocchetta Tanaro in 1938, the son of Giuseppe Bologna, who was nicknamed "Braida" for his skill at pallone elastico, a traditional Piedmontese ball game. Giacomo inherited both his father's nickname and the family's vineyards around Rocchetta Tanaro, and in 1961 he founded the Braida winery, starting production with a lightly sparkling Barbera del Monferrato called La Monella.

Through the 1980s Giacomo introduced techniques that were innovative for the time, above all aging Barbera in barrique, to lift the grape's quality and reputation beyond that of an everyday table wine. The single-vineyard Bricco dell'Uccellone, first produced in 1982 from a plot at Rocchetta Tanaro, became the wine most associated with that shift, followed by Bricco della Bigotta in 1985 and, from late-harvested grapes, Ai Suma in 1989. The wines' names come from village nicknames: the Uccellone ("big bird") was a woman known locally for a beak-like nose and for always dressing in black, while the Bigotta ("bigot") was a devoutly religious neighbor of the vineyard. Through these wines Giacomo Bologna became one of the leading figures in Barbera's qualitative renewal in Piedmont and an active promoter of the region's food and wine culture.

Giacomo Bologna died in Rocchetta Tanaro in 1990. The estate passed to his children, Raffaella and Giuseppe Bologna, who have continued to run Braida and its portfolio of Barbera, Grignolino, Moscato d'Asti, Brachetto d'Acqui and, together with the Giacosa brothers at Trezzo Tinella, a range of Langhe white wines. In 2024 Braida was recognized by Italy's Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy as a "Marchio Storico di Interesse Nazionale" (Historic Trademark of National Interest), a designation for Italian companies with long-standing history and roots in their territory.

Wines

Illustrative selection

Bricco dell'Uccellone

Barbera d'Asti DOCG · Barbera

First produced in 1982 from 100% Barbera grown in the estate's own vineyards at Rocchetta Tanaro; the wine most credited with establishing barrique-aged Barbera as a serious category. Macerates on the skins for 20 days, then ages 12 months in oak casks followed by a year in bottle. The name recalls a village woman nicknamed for a beak-like nose and for always dressing in black.

Bricco della Bigotta

Barbera d'Asti DOCG · Barbera

First produced in 1985, from 100% Barbera grown on estate hillside vineyards at Castelnuovo Calcea. Macerates on the skins for 20 days, then ages 15 months in barriques followed by a year in bottle. Named for a devoutly religious woman who lived next to the vineyard.

Ai Suma

Barbera d'Asti DOCG · Barbera

First produced in 1989 from late-harvested, 100% Barbera grapes grown in Rocchetta Tanaro. Macerates on the skins for 20 days, then ages 15 months in oak casks followed by a year in bottle.

Montebruna

Barbera d'Asti DOCG · Barbera

100% Barbera from the estate's Rocchetta Tanaro vineyards. Ferments two weeks in temperature-controlled steel tanks before being moved to large oak barrels to age for a year; a lighter, earlier-drinking style than the barrique-aged crus.

La Monella

Barbera del Monferrato Frizzante DOC · Barbera

The lightly sparkling Barbera with which Giacomo Bologna started production at Braida in 1961. Made from 100% Barbera with ten days of skin maceration, at least four months in steel and a secondary fermentation (prise de mousse) in pressurized tanks.

Vigna Senza Nome

Moscato d'Asti DOCG · Moscato

100% Moscato d'Asti from an estate-owned vineyard at Mango, in the Langhe. A low-alcohol, lightly sparkling, aromatic sweet wine typical of the appellation.

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