Tenuta Carretta

Since 1467: How a lease agreement became one of the oldest wineries in Piedmont

The history of Tenuta Carretta begins with a document: On November 28, 1467, the notary Giorgio di Monteacuto in Piobesi d'Alba concluded a lease agreement for the cultivation of vineyards — and thus laid the foundation for more than 550 years of continuous winery history in one and the same place. The name of the estate goes back even further: documents from the 14th century prove a noblewoman named Carretta Constanzi, daughter of an Albanian nobleman, as an early owner of the area. Her name became the name of the estate.

The Tenuta changed hands several times over the centuries: From the Marchesi Damiano to the Counts of Roero, who managed the estate for over a century from 1811, to the Turin family Veglia, who took it over in 1932. The decisive restart came in 1985, when the Miroglio family from Alba — founders and owners of the textile group of the same name — acquired the Tenuta and invested specifically in quality and infrastructure. Since then, they have been running the winery with a long time horizon: tradition as a foundation, technology as a tool.

Amphitheater of sand and lime: vineyards between Roero and Langhe

Tenuta Carretta is located north of the Tanaro, on the sandier, more permeable soils of the Roero — geologically younger than the marl layers of the opposite Langhe. Around the estate building complex, almost 35 hectares extend as a contiguous single vineyard in a natural southwest amphitheater. South of the river, another 45 hectares are added in the hills of the Langhe, including 2.6 hectares on the Cannubi hill in Barolo — one of the most renowned single vineyards in Piedmont. Further Nebbiolo plots in the Treiso area provide the grapes for the Barbaresco. In total, the Tenuta manages around 80 hectares, all within the Langhe-Roero and Monferrato UNESCO World Heritage site (since 2014).

The soils of the Roero — sandy, well-drained, with embedded limestone marl layers — directly shape the style of the white wines: where sand predominates, aromatically elegant wines are created; where sand meets limestone marl, the red wines become more structured and have better aging potential. The Tenuta consciously uses this natural differentiation by developing its own vinification for each location.

Sustainable cultivation, classic varieties, Piedmontese range

In the vineyard, Tenuta Carretta works according to the principles of integrated cultivation: manual harvest, minimized use of pesticides, which remains limited to the absolutely necessary protection of the vines. In the cellar, this results in consistent manual work: slow pressing of whole grapes, controlled maceration times — every step with the goal of transferring the balance of the grapes unadulterated into the bottle. A special role is played by Arneis, the white lead variety of the Roero. The Tenuta was one of the pioneers who brought this grape variety back from insignificance when it was hardly grown in Piedmont in the 1970s.

The range spans the most important appellations of southern Piedmont: from the aromatically fresh Roero Arneis Cayega to the Gavi del Comune di Gavi and the Langhe Nebbiolo Podio to the great reds — Barbaresco Garassino from the Treiso locations, Cascina Ferrero Barolo, and the flagship bottle Barolo Cannubi DOCG. The spectrum is complemented by a Langhe Rosato and a Nebbiolo d'Alba Spumante Extra Brut — a sign that the house takes tradition and experimentation equally seriously.